Category: World

New footage shows what appears to be blood outside the home of Savannah Guthrie’s mom, Nancy Guthrie, as the search for her continues.

NewsNation posted video Tuesday of an apparent blood trail outside the door of Nancy’s home in Arizona.

The dark blood splatter is noticeable on the brown tiles leading up to the door.

In a separate video shared by Senior National Correspondent Brian Entin, he pointed out Nancy’s ring camera was missing from its slot.

Nancy, 84, has been missing since Sunday.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday morning that authorities found blood inside Nancy’s home, although it’s unclear whose it was.

Law enforcement sources also confirmed to the outlet that there were signs of forced entry, further raising concerns that she was the victim of foul play.

Police believe Nancy was likely abducted from her home outside Tuscson.

A spokesperson for the Pima Country Sheriff’s Department told Page Six Monday that investigators believe Nancy was “taken from the home against her will, possibly in the middle of the night.”

“That includes possible kidnapping or abduction,” the spokesperson added.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told CNN Monday night, “This is an elderly woman in her mid-80s who suffers from ailments… she couldn’t go 50 yards.”

He added that based on his 50 years on the job he has a “gut feeling” Nancy was abducted, explaining that “something they told me about that scene made me believe there is more than just a missing person.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/02/03/celebrity-news/new-video-shows-apparent-blood-trail-outside-savannah-guthries-moms-home/

Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison (0001.HK), said on Wednesday its Panama Ports Company unit has started international arbitration proceedings against Panama after the country’s top court annulled its licences to operate two Panama Canal ports, in a case that could take years to resolve.
Panama’s Supreme Court last week ruled the contracts violated Panama’s constitution by giving the company exclusive privileges and tax exemptions.

It is unclear how long the arbitration proceedings could take, although given the political sensitivities involving the U.S. and China and the complexity of the deal, it could drag on for a number of years, some analysts said.
“This is an example of the increasing interconnection between international trade, geopolitics and law,” said Jason Karas, international disputes specialist and managing partner of Karas So LLP in association with Mishcon de Reya.
The decision and move to seek arbitration casts further doubt on the future ownership of the two ports, which CK Hutchison has operated for nearly three decades, and the company’s planned $23 billion deal to sell its port businesses.

“The board strongly disagrees with the determination and corresponding actions in Panama,” CK Hutchison said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
“The group continues to consult with its legal counsel and reserves all rights, including recourse to additional national and international legal proceedings in the matter.”
The Panamanian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ja Ian Chong, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, said international arbitration proceedings usually take a few years, and it is voluntary for a state to honour the decision.
“Panama can just ignore CK Hutchison … I think that’s apparent to CK Hutch. They probably want to show to shareholders that they are doing all they legally can,” he said.

The conglomerate may also want to show the Beijing and Hong Kong governments it is doing all it can to “avoid blame” amid China and U.S. tension, he added.
CK Hutchison’s shares were up 2% on Wednesday in early trade, while the Hang Seng Index (.HSI), was down 0.4%.

‘SHAMEFUL AND PATHETIC’ COURT RULING

China on Tuesday warned Panama there would be “heavy prices” to pay for the court ruling which it called “absurd” and “shameful and pathetic”.
The two Panama Canal ports are at the heart of a $23 billion buyout bid led by BlackRock (BLK.N), and Mediterranean Shipping Company of CK Hutchison’s 43 ports in 23 countries. BlackRock and MSC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
After Beijing criticised the deal, the conglomerate said in July it was in talks to include a Chinese “major strategic investor” in the consortium.

Sources have said the Chinese investor is COSCO (1199.HK), and it was seeking a large stake, while the others were keen for it to be a minority shareholder, a position that became a sticking point in talks.
The court ruling has made the future of the deal unclear, but some analysts think a transaction can be finalised without the two Panama Canal ports included in the portfolio of assets.
“The deal may continue with the remaining ports. The twist is that with the two key ports’ situation crystallized by the Panama Supreme Court, actually the ports deal may have a clearer path to completion, from the legal perspective,” said Winston Ma, New York University School of Law adjunct professor.
He said CK Hutchison could use the arbitration process to seek damages and compensation for having the contracts annulled.
The deal opened a new front in contention between the United States and China, as they grapple for control of the world’s most important trade routes.
CK Hutchison’s Balboa and Cristobal ports are considered strategic assets in the Panama Canal, the main seaborne trading route into the United States. Balboa is at the canal’s Pacific entrance while Cristobal is at the Atlantic entrance.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/ck-hutchison-unit-launches-arbitration-against-panama-over-port-ruling-2026-02-04/

The budget package secures funding for most US government agencies until the end of September, except for the Department of Homeland Security.

Earlier on Tuesday, the House of Representatives had approved the package in a close vote of 217-214. The upper chamber of the US Congress, the Senate, had already given its approval last week.

“This bill is a great victory for the American people,” Trump said of the legislation, which was held up by Democratic opposition to funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for the controversial operations by federal agencies targeting migrants.

The approval of the budget package secures funding for most of the government apparatus until the end of September, with the exception of the DHS. As a compromise solution, the package provides the department with only temporary transitional funding until February 13.

What do we know about the latest shutdown?

Funding for government agencies expired on Saturday when Congress failed to act in time to avert a shutdown. So far, the shutdown has not resulted in major disruptions to government services.

Last week, Trump negotiated a spending deal with Senate Democrats. The Democrats are demanding new restraints on Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown following the killing of two US citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/us-trump-signs-bill-ending-partial-government-shutdown/a-75791158

The move comes after Donald Trump stepped back on his insistence that the US must control Greenland to ensure national security. Greenland has warned the US still wants to control the strategic Arctic island.

NATO on Tuesday said “planning is underway” for an Arctic mission, coming weeks after US President Donald Trump frayed the strategic alliance by claiming the US needs to control Greenland to avert unverified security concerns from Russia and China.

Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, told reporters that a “NATO enhanced vigilance activity” will “further strengthen NATO’s posture in the Arctic and High North.” He did not provide further details as planning has just begun.

It is also unclear where the exercises will take place. Denmark is currently leading an ongoing NATO exercise in Greenland called Operation Arctic Endurance.

Information about the plans was initially reported by Germany’s Spiegel newsmagazine, with NATO’s commander, US General Alexus G. Grynkewich, having ordered concrete plans to begin for a mission titled “Arctic Sentry.”

The magazine reported NATO defense ministers could meet in the coming weeks in Brussels for consultations on the preliminary plans for the operation.

Greenland still wary of Trump

In the run-up to the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos last month, Trump alluded to using force to take over Greenland, a large Arctic island with strategic value.

The White House did not walk back Trump’s claims, as the president repeated his insistence that the US would “have” Greenland “one way or the other.”

With the integrity of the defense alliance in question, Washington’s European allies were forced to balance support for Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland with not further antagonizing Trump.

However, after appearing at Davos and meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump said he had struck a “framework” deal that would ensure US interests, and appeared to back off on his threats to use force.

Rutte said he had discussed with Trump how NATO allies could work collectively to ensure arctic security. Details of the deal Trump mentioned remain unclear.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/nato-sets-arctic-mission-plans-in-motion/a-75790421

A new study has drawn parallels between the addictive qualities of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and tobacco products and called for similar levels of regulation.

A study by researchers at three United States universities claims to have identified similarities between the addictive characteristics of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and cigarettes, and has recommended similar levels of regulation.

According to the study, which was published this week in the Milbank Quarterly healthcare journal, UPFs “share key engineering strategies adopted from the tobacco industry” which are designed to drive “compulsive consumption.”

The study found that common UPFs like soft drinks, chips and cookies are industrially produced in such a way as to optimize the “doses” of addictive ingredients and encourage overuse.

“UPFs are not just nutrients but [are] intentionally designed, highly engineered and manipulated, hedonically optimized products,” it says.

Should UPFs be regulated like tobacco products?

The researchers from Harvard, the University of Michigan and Duke University therefore recommend applying regulatory policies to UPFs similar to those which are now widely applied to tobacco.

These could include clearer labeling, higher taxes, limits on availability in schools and hospitals, and restrictions on child-targeted marketing.

The authors of the study point out that, unlike tobacco, food is necessary for human survival, making the need for UPF regulation even more urgent because “opting out of the modern food supply is difficult.”

The findings come two months after a UNICEF study published in The Lancet in December revealed the extent of UPF consumption among young children in 11 different countries.

The study found that 10-35% of children aged five and under already regularly consumed sweet soft drinks, while 60% of teenagers admitted to having eaten at least one UPF product the day before.

UPFs in Africa: ‘Growing public health alarm’

In developed countries, the study found that over 50% of people’s calorie intake is derived from potentially harmful UPFs – but poorer developing countries are also increasingly at risk.

Responding to the Milbank Quarterly study, Githinji Gitahi, the chief executive of Kenya-based NGO Amref Health Africa, warned of a “growing public health alarm” across Africa.

“Corporate [organizations] have found a comfortable, and profitable, nexus: weak government regulation on harmful products and a changing pattern of consumption,” he told The Guardian. “This places new and preventable pressures on already stretched health systems.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/ultra-processed-foods-engineered-like-cigarettes-study/a-75783689

We live in a bustling, crowded world, yet loneliness appears to be on the rise. Why are so many of us feeling isolated and what can we do about it?

There are many kinds of loneliness – everyone feels it differently. But what is it to you?

Perhaps loneliness is a city. On its streets, among the hubbub, the crowds, the chatter and laughter, you remain a stranger – discombobulated, disconnected, in the way.

Maybe it’s a relationship turned sour. A marriage or partnership of unheard words and unmet needs. You’re there, but never seen.

Or perhaps you feel like Robert Walton, the polar explorer from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, who is surrounded by dependable shipmates but really just craves one true friend, “the company of a man who could sympathise with me, whose eyes would reply to mine”.

It’s common knowledge that physical isolation can lead to loneliness – and few things are as painful as the chronic, imposed solitude experienced by many of society’s most vulnerable.

But if you’ve ever experienced situations like those described in the opening sentences of this article, you might also have suspected that other people – counterintuitively – aren’t always the antidote to loneliness. They may even be part of the problem. In fact, we can just as easily be lonely in a crowd, in a romantic relationship, among friends.

It is an experience that was recently confirmed by a 2021 study involving 756 people who regularly recorded how they felt using a smartphone app over a two-year period. Feelings of loneliness seemed to increase in overcrowded, densely populated environments – in other words, modern cities. Could it be that our increasingly urban, technology-dominated lifestyles are making us feel less connected to one another? And are there solutions hiding within these findings?

It’s certainly important to understand this paradox. We’re reportedly living through a “loneliness epidemic” – a global outbreak that knows no boundaries, affects young and old, and can even rewire our brains. The BBC Loneliness Experiment, which sampled 55,000 people around the world in 2018, found that 40% of 16 to 24 year olds feel lonely often or very often. Other studies show that around 10% of adults around the world feel lonely – and in many different ways.

But it comes at a time when we have arguably never had more ways of connecting with others thanks to technology that lets us dial up friends and family on the other side of the globe, chat online with people we have never met, and follow the lives of those we know in social media feeds. Urban populations are also growing rapidly, with 68% of the world’s people expected to be living in cities by the middle of this century.

So, in our busy, technology-connected world, why do we still feel lonely, even around others? And is it really another pandemic – something always to be avoided, medicalised, eradicated, stigmatised? Or can we also learn from it?

Loneliness is a fuzzy, complex concept, something we all experience in our own way. Fay Bound Alberti, professor of history at King’s College London and author of A Biography of Loneliness, argues that loneliness, rather than being a single state of mind, is actually a “cluster” of emotions, which may include feelings such as grief, anger and jealousy. Her research reveals it is also a relatively recent “invention”, with the word only taking on its current meaning around the year 1800 (more on this later).

Nevertheless, loneliness is now generally defined in science as the disconnect between actual and desired social relationships – reflecting the reality that you don’t have to be alone to be lonely.

Sam Carr, a psychologist at the University of Bath who researches human relationships, believes the “biggest myth” is that people are always the solution to loneliness.

“People can actually be the cause of it,” says Carr, who is also the author of All the Lonely People, an exploration of people’s diverse experiences of loneliness. “Everyone’s a sort of jigsaw piece and we want to feel like we fit in. And other people often can be the reason we don’t feel like we do. Even if they’re a friend or partner, perhaps they don’t recognise us for who we are. Or they make us feel invisible. Or we have to pretend we’re someone else in their company. For a lot of people, this seems to be the essence of their loneliness.”

Bound Alberti agrees that physical isolation from others is not necessarily what makes people lonely.

“People think that being lonely means you have to be alone,” she says. “But my research shows it’s not so much the physical distance from others that makes us feel most lonely, but the emotional distance. The loneliest people are those in relationships that should be fulfilling – but are not. Some of the loneliest times I’ve experienced have been when I’ve been surrounded by too many people that I’m not remotely on the same wavelength as.”

Carr recently received a letter from America. Its author revealed that she’s been married to her husband for half a century. She also revealed that he’s always been the source of her loneliness. She’d hoped marriage would be the cure – it ended up the cause.

After all, if one partner prioritises physical connection while the other craves an inquiring, intellectual bond, they may well end up lonely, together.

“It can be about perception – whether you feel like your needs are met,” says Olivia Remes, a mental health researcher at the University of Cambridge and author of The Instant Mood Fix. “Some people with a strong connection to just one person don’t feel lonely, while others, who are surrounded by many people, but want deeper connections, do.”

“Contact with nature is helpful as it increases our attachment to a place. It makes us feel like we belong – Olivia Remes

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has removed thousands of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein from its website after victims said their identities had been compromised.

Lawyers for Epstein’s victims said flawed redactions in the files released on Friday had “turned upside down” the lives of nearly 100 survivors.

Email addresses and nude photos in which the names and faces of potential victims could be identified were included in the release.

Survivors issued a statement calling the disclosure “outrageous” and said they should not be “named, scrutinized and retraumatized”.

The DOJ said it had taken down all the flagged files and that mistakes were due to “technical or human error”.

In a letter submitted to a federal judge on Monday, the DOJ said: “All documents requested by victims or counsel to be removed by yesterday evening have been removed for further redaction.”

The department said it was continuing to examine new requests, as well as checking whether there are any other documents that may need further redaction. A “substantial number” of documents independently identified have also been removed, it added.

Under the terms of the release, which was mandated after both chambers of Congress approved a measure compelling the DOJ to publish the documents, the federal government was required to redact details which could identify victims.

On Friday, two lawyers representing victims asked a federal judge in New York to order the DOJ to take down the website hosting the files, calling the release “the single most egregious violation of victim privacy in one day in United States history”.

Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards said there was “an unfolding emergency that requires immediate judicial intervention” due to the DOJ “failing to redact victims names and other personally identifying information in thousands of instances”.

Several of Epstein’s victims added comments to the letter, including one who described the release as “life-threatening” and another who said she had received death threats after her private banking details were published.

Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday, Epstein survivor Annie Farmer said: “It’s hard to focus on the new information that has been brought to light because of how much damage the DOJ has done by exposing survivors in this way.”

Another of Epstein’s victims, Lisa Phillips, said that many of the survivors were “very unhappy with the outcome” of the release.

“The DOJ has violated all three of our requirements,” she told BBC’s Newsday on Tuesday. “Number one, many documents still haven’t been disclosed. Number two, the date set for release has long passed. And number three, DOJ released the names of many of the survivors.”

She added: “We feel like they’re playing some games with us but we’re not going to stop fighting.”

Gloria Allred, a women’s rights lawyer who has represented many of Epstein’s victims, previously told the BBC that numerous victims’ names had been disclosed in the latest release, including some who had not been identified publicly previously.

“In some cases… they have a line through the names but you can still read the names,” she said. “In other cases, they’ve shown photos of victims – survivors who have never done a public interview, never given their name publicly.”

A spokesperson for the DOJ told the BBC’s US news partner CBS that it “takes victim protection very seriously and has redacted thousands of victim names in the millions of published pages to protect the innocent”.

They added that the department was “working around the clock to fix the issue” and “to date 0.1% of released pages” had been found to have unredacted information that could identify victims.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0k65pnxjxo

Russia has used a record number of ballistic missiles to target Ukraine’s energy sector, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The combined missile and drone strikes hit power plants and infrastructure in Kyiv and multiple locations causing “the most powerful blow” so far this year, according to private energy company DTEK.

The strikes were launched as temperatures dropped to -20C (-4F) and left more than 1,000 tower blocks in the capital without heating once again and damaged a power plant in the eastern city of Kharkiv beyond repair.

Zelensky said Russia was “choosing terror and escalation” rather than diplomacy to end this war and called for “maximum pressure” on Moscow from Ukraine’s allies.

The attack comes after a so-called “energy truce” agreed by Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin expired at the weekend.

Ukraine’s president suggested that Russia had simply used the time to stock up on missiles and prepare for the next attack.

It also came on the day Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte was in Kyiv to meet President Zelensky and to address the national parliament.

Donald Trump’s initiative was meant to give diplomacy a chance. Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine are due to meet in Abu Dhabi for another round of talks co-ordinated by the US later this week.

It is clear that Russia has other ideas.

And in fact, there is always a gap between Russia’s massive strikes which makes Ukrainians doubt there was ever any real pause at all.

We heard the first explosions in Kyiv soon after midnight and the air raid lasted more than seven hours. There were several subsequent blasts.

Residents spent the night sheltering in metro stations, with some pitching tents on the platforms to protect them from the freezing cold.

President Zelensky has said more than 70 ballistic and cruise missiles were fired – significantly more than usual – together with 450 drones which are used to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences.

Ukraine’s Air Force said it had intercepted only 38 of the missiles, which means many reached their target.

Officials here have complained repeatedly of a shortage of missiles to protect the skies. Ukraine relies on US-made Patriot missiles, in particular.

“Timely delivery of missiles for air defense systems and the protection of normal life are our priority,” Zelenksy wrote on X this morning. “Without pressure on Russia, there will be no end to this war.”

In response, Nato’s secretary-general said he was urging member countries to “dig deep in their stockpiles” and provide the missiles Ukraine needs.

“I know that more is urgently needed,” he said. “We are working to ensure that more comes quickly.”

Rutte also said Nato was standing by Ukraine as it made tough decisions during peace talks and that the alliance would provide the “hard power” to back up any eventual deal.

But the Nato chief agreed with Zelensky that Russia’s overnight attack did not “signal seriousness about peace”.

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of using the coldest days of winter to “terrorise people”.

DTEK has confirmed that two of its own power plants were hit again overnight, including in Odesa, in what it says was the ninth massive attack on the sector since October.

State-run facilities were hit in Kyiv, Dnipro and elsewhere, adding to serious damage caused by a series of previous targeted attacks.

DTEK says some of the plants targeted were providing heating only, not electricity, which means they were exclusively for civilian use. The Geneva Convention makes clear that targeting civilian infrastructure is a potential war crime.

Each time makes it harder to carry out repairs and leaves the system more fragile, and prone to blackouts.

Teams of engineers have been working through the night for weeks to fix things – drafted in from all over the country and hailed as heroes.

But there are not enough workers to keep up with demand.

We have met residents who have had no heating in their homes for days, in some cases weeks. They sleep in hats and coats, and under piles of blankets, but it is still bitterly cold.

Many use soup kitchens to get free hot meals because there are also power cuts here for hours on end.

People believe these attacks are intended to turn them against the authorities in Kyiv, to make their lives so miserable they submit to Russia’s demands – including to hand over land in the eastern Donbas region that Moscow currently does not control.

Instead, there is a lot of anger here at Russia for attempting to freeze civilians in their homes as well as resistance to any form of compromise with Moscow.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwng25114ro

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”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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”.

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.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3dmjn7n985o

The list of some of the world’s most rich and powerful people with ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has lengthened, after the US government released millions of new files from its investigation into the disgraced financier.

The latest drop of material – dubbed the Epstein files – on 30 January included three million pages, 180,000 images, 2,000 videos, and a number of household names like Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Elon Musk.

There is no suggestion that appearing in the documents implies any wrongdoing. Many people who have featured in previous releases have denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

The release came weeks after the deadline set by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by US President Donald Trump in November. It required a full release of all Epstein-related documents.

Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans say the Trump administration has still not met its obligation and is holding back additional documents.

Here is a list of some of the people mentioned in the latest release.

The deployment of a powerful model of Turkish combat drone to a remote airstrip on Egypt’s southwestern border signals a sharp escalation in Sudan’s civil war, suggesting one of its largest neighbours 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-kilometre frontier with Sudan, has provided staunch political backing to the country’s military in its nearly three-year conflict with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

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.
Cairo’s position toward the conflict started to change when the RSF made a series of advances in Sudan’s western Darfur region, first capturing a strategic northwestern triangle between Egypt and Libya in June and then overrunning the Sudanese military’s last foothold in Darfur, the city of al-Fashir, in October, according to eight regional analysts and three diplomats briefed by Egyptian officials.

Egypt’s presidency warned in December that the country’s national security was directly linked to Sudan’s, and Cairo would not allow its “red lines” to be crossed. Those lines include preserving Sudan’s territorial integrity and rejecting any “parallel entities” that threaten the country’s unity, it said.
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.
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 defence firm Baykar, with the ability to travel at high altitudes, remain airborne for 24 hours and carry a wide range of munitions.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry and State Information Service did not answer questions about operations at East Oweinat or in Sudan. Sudan’s 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.

Cairo’s 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 country’s military and the RSF fell out over how to integrate their forces during a planned transition to civilian rule.
U.N. experts have accused the UAE of providing weapons to the RSF, which Abu Dhabi denies. Sudan’s 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.
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 doesn’t 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.”

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, will testify in a congressional investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a staffer said on Monday.
The decision could head off a planned vote in the Republican-led House of Representatives to hold the two prominent Democrats in contempt, which could lead to criminal charges.

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.

Asked if the House would hold up its contempt votes against the Clintons, House Speaker Mike Johnson told Reuters: “They’re working on that right now. The lawyers are looking into the details.”
Johnson earlier welcomed the news of the former president and the former secretary of state agreeing to testify.

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 offered to cooperate with the panel but had refused to appear in person, saying the investigation was a partisan exercise aimed at protecting Republican President Donald Trump.

“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,” the Clintons’ deputy chief of staff, Angel Urena, said on social media.
Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane several times in the early 2000s after leaving office. He has expressed regret about the relationship and said he knew nothing about Epstein’s criminal activity.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/clintons-agree-testify-house-epstein-investigation-aide-says-2026-02-02/

U.S. 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%.
Trump’s 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 world’s highest tariffs, with a simple applied rate of 15.6% and an effective applied tariff of 8.2%, according to World Trade Organization data.

FEW DETAILS AVAILABLE

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 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 India’s commerce and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests sent after working hours. Russia’s 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 India’s 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 Trump’s 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.

‘BIG THANKS’ FROM MODI

“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.”
India’s 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 Trump’s “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.

WESTERN HEMISPHERE OIL

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 world’s 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.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/india/trump-says-agreed-trade-deal-with-india-2026-02-02/

Residents of Washington DC-area are fuming as nearly 20 schools remain closed over snow-clogged streets a week after Winter Storm Fern slammed the region.

The DMV-area was rocked by last week’s blizzard, which cemented Virginia in ice and buried DC and Maryland in mountains of snow — for the first time since last January. Prior to that, the southern tip of the Mid-Atlantic region hadn’t seen snow in years, leaving local officials scrambling to clear the streets.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, cheekily dubbed the remaining mountains of sleet “snowcrete” because it’s proven so difficult to remove.

The city is using the shuttered RFK Stadium campus and Carter Theatre Amphitheater as dumping grounds, she said in a post on X.

Eighteen public school systems in the DMV and all DC public charter schools were either closed or enforcing delayed starts on Monday.

Buildings hit, energy sites targeted and four people injured in multiple strikes hours after US president says ‘we’re doing very well with Ukraine and Russia’. What we know on day 1,441

• Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, its second-largest city of Kharkiv and other centres early on Tuesday, officials said, triggering fires and dealing new blows to energy infrastructure. The strikes injured four people, officials in the two largest cities said. In Kyiv, as nighttime temperatures dipped close to -20C (-4F), witnesses reported loud explosions after midnight, saying missiles and drones were being deployed. The strikes caused damage in five districts, hitting three apartment blocks and a building housing a kindergarten, the city’s military administration chief, Tymur Tkachenko, said on Telegram. Flames consumed an apartment on the upper floors of a Kyiv block in videos posted on social media.

• Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said the attacks targeted energy infrastructure and called for tough decisions to keep heating systems from freezing. “The goal is obvious: to cause maximum destruction and leave the city without heat in severe cold,” he said on Telegram. Public broadcaster Suspilne also said Russian strikes had knocked out power in two towns in the Kharkiv region, Izium and Balakliia, and struck two apartment buildings in the northern city of Sumy.

• Donald Trump said earlier that his administration may have some good news soon on its push to end the war in Ukraine. “I think we’re doing very well with Ukraine and Russia. For the first time, I’m saying that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “I think we’re going to, maybe, have some good news.”

• 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 Trump’s 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.

• Ukraine has agreed with western partners that any persistent Russian violations of a future ceasefire agreement would trigger a co-ordinated military response from Europe and the US, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people briefed on the discussions. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

• Zelenskyy said it was “realistic to achieve a dignified and lasting peace”, ahead of the Ukrainian talks with Russian and US officials due to take place over two days from Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. “Ukraine is ready for real steps,” the Ukrainian president said. A White House official said Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff would attend the talks. Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian delegation would also hold bilateral meetings with US officials during the two days.

• Russia has repeated that it would regard the deployment of any foreign military forces or infrastructure in Ukraine as unacceptable foreign intervention and treat those forces as legitimate targets, the Russian foreign ministry said on Monday, citing foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Moscow has repeatedly said it will not tolerate such troops’ presence there.

• The EU’s decision last week to ban Russian gas imports was “100% legally sound”, the bloc’s energy commissioner said, adding it would prevent Russia from weaponising energy. “We’ve said we will no longer help indirectly finance [Russian president Vladimir] Putin’s war in Ukraine by buying gas there,” Dan Jorgensen told reporters in Lisbon on Monday after meeting with Portugal’s energy minister. “That also means it’s no longer possible for Russia to blackmail EU member states to weaponise energy against us.”

Source : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/03/ukraine-war-briefing-kyiv-under-russian-missile-attack

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Sunday she plans to send humanitarian aid to Cuba this week, including food and other humanitarian aid.

Sheinbaum’s comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump said he asked the Mexican leader to suspend oil shipments to the Caribbean island.

Sheinbaum said at a public event in the northern state of Sonora that she did not discuss Cuban affairs in a phone conversation with Trump on Thursday. She added that her government seeks to “diplomatically solve everything related to the oil shipments (to Cuba) for humanitarian reasons.”

Earlier, Trump told reporters that he told the Mexican president not to send oil to Cuba.

Following the U.S. military operation carried out in early January to remove Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, the South American nation suspended oil shipments to Cuba, which had been declining in recent years.

Source : https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-02-02/news-1KqpI1FFba0/p.html

For more than two decades, the Shinawatra family has defined Thai electoral politics. Will their Pheu Thai Party continue to hold sway as voters cast their ballots on Sunday (Feb 8)?

BANGKOK: It is a Sunday morning and Nid Wandee and his wife, Patchareewan, have nearly sold out of grilled chicken at a local market in the Lad Phrao area of Bangkok.

It has been a good day for the couple but a rough patch for the family.

Nid, who has been in business for more than a decade, says customers who once spent freely now buy less, while his family’s costs have kept on rising.

With the Thai economy in the doldrums, Nid, originally from Thailand’s northeast but living in Bangkok, is looking to the general election on Sunday (Feb 8) for answers. And mostly thinking back to better days.

When Thaksin Shinawatra was prime minister in the early 2000s, the populist leader won great support from rural voters and the working class, the likes of Nid.

The upcoming vote will be a test of whether the Shinawatra dynasty still has pulling power in contemporary Thailand, political experts told CNA.

Thaksin’s rise energised a generation of voters who felt, for the first time, that politics worked for them, said Napon Jatusripitak, coordinator of the Thailand Studies Programme at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.

“This was literally the first big change in the Thai political landscape, and it dramatically improved the living circumstances of a very broad segment of the Thai population, particularly those in the working class and rural communities,” he said.

“For the first time, Thai people felt that their votes mattered.”

Nid, 48, recalls policies like cheap 30 baht (US$1) healthcare and support for local entrepreneurs and products that made the lives of poor Thais better two decades ago.

The universal health insurance scheme was introduced in 2002 during Thaksin’s time as prime minister from 2001 to 2006. It covered more than 99.5 per cent of the Thai population, who paid 30 baht per healthcare visit at its launch, and particularly benefitted the lower-income.

Like many in his generation, Nid measures today’s politics against what he remembers before.

“Maybe my confidence has dropped a little from 100 per cent, but I still believe in Thaksin because those past policies are still in my memory. They make me feel that he was still better than other parties today,” he said.

Stars including Olivia Dean, Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber stepped out at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Here are some of the most eye-catching looks from on the red carpet and inside the premiere ceremony before the main show.

Vladimir Motin has been convicted for manslaughter after a deadly collision last year off the coast of the UK.

A London court on Monday convicted the Russian captain of a container ship that collided with a US oil tanker off the east coast of the UK last year, killing one sailor.

Mark Pernia, a Philippines national, was lost at sea and presumed dead after the Solong cargo ship collided with the Stena Immaculate, which was carrying 220,000 barrels of high-grade aviation fuel, triggering a fiery blaze.

The Solong’s captain, Vladimir Motin, was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence by a UK court. Motin, who had pleaded not guilty, will be sentenced on Thursday.

When the trial started last month, Prosecutor Tom Little told jurors that Motin did “absolutely nothing” ‌to prevent the collision. He said the Solong had been on course to hit the Stena Immaculate for more than 30 minutes before the North Sea collision.

The prosecutor added that the Solong’s alarm system had been switched off, and the crew of both ships were given no warning of an imminent collision.

How did the crash happen?
The Portuguese-flagged Solong was heading from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The Stena Immaculate was waiting for a berth to discharge its cargo ‍when the Solong rammed into it at roughly 29 kilometers per hour (18 mph), tossing Pernia into the sea.

Jurors were presented with audio recordings from the Solong’s bridge control room, in which men could be heard having casual conversation in Russian in the hour leading up to the crash.

As the Solong neared the tanker, no talking in the control room could be heard. The silence was interrupted by the collision’s initial impact, which was so loud jurors winced after being warned to decrease the volume on their listening devices, AFP news agency reported.

The collision set both vessels ablaze and triggered a massive offshore rescue operation.

Investigating officer Craig Nicholson described the crash as a “senseless tragedy.”

“It’s a miracle that there weren’t more fatalities or serious injuries,” he said.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/russian-captain-found-guilty-in-north-sea-tanker-collision/a-75776831

The move intends to support the world’s richest man’s efforts to dominate both the rocket and AI markets. Musk aims to use the deal to build data centers in space.

SpaceX announced the deal, which *is meant to support the efforts by Musk — the world’s richest man — to dominate both the rocket and artificial intelligence markets.

A few of the most well-known products owned by Musk will play a part in the deal, including AI chatbot Grok, satellite company Starlink and his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

What’s behind the SpaceX, xAI deal?
In a statement announcing the deal, Elon Musk said his goal is to create “the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth.”

Musk has previously spoken about his aspirations to develop a technology to allow data centers to operate in space, and the merger could be a step to make developing such technology easier, with solar power being the source of energy.

According to Musk, the electricity demands needed by AI computers cannot be met on Earth “without imposing hardship on communities and the environment.” He argues that adding access to solar power will “transform our ability to scale compute.”

Acquisition comes ahead of SpaceX public offering
While the statement announcing the deal did not reveal the financial terms behind it, business media outlet Bloomberg reported the merged company would be valued at $1.25 trillion (roughly €1.06 trillion).

This comes ahead of a reported public offering planned by SpaceX in mid-June, which could raise as much as $50 billion.

Elon Musk was previously against a SpaceX IPO due to the public scrutiny of another company he owns, electric car maker Tesla, which is being publicly traded, while also claiming the aspiration for financial gains stands against his goal of settling Mars.

The company’s latest projects include developing Starship, the largest rocket ever built, with its purpose being missions to the Moon and Mars.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/musk-owned-spacex-acquires-his-xai/a-75777397

An 18-year-old injured in the New Year bar fire in the Alpine resort of Crans-Montana has died, Swiss authorities said on Sunday, taking the death toll of one of the worst disasters in modern Swiss history to 41.
The Swiss national was in hospital in Zurich and died on Saturday, the statement by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Valais added, without providing any further information.

Most of those killed in the blaze at “Le Constellation” bar were teenagers and some of the 116 people who were injured are still in hospital with severe burns.
The additional victim was a young man living near the western city of Lausanne, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
On Saturday, hundreds of people marched alongside bereaved parents through the lakeside town of Lutry near Lausanne, carrying a large banner demanding “truth and justice”.
“Today, we are just asking for justice and truth and afterwards we will mourn,” Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, who lost her 17-year-old son Arthur in the fire, told a crowd of people carrying white roses.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/death-toll-swiss-new-year-bar-blaze-rises-41-2026-02-01/

Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father have returned to their home in a Minneapolis suburb after being detained by U.S. immigration officers and held at a detention facility in Texas, a lawmaker said on Sunday.
A federal judge on Saturday ordered the release of Adrian Conejo Arias and his son, whom immigration officers detained during a Minnesota raid. U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat, wrote in a social media post that he picked them up on Saturday night at the detention facility and escorted them back to Minnesota on Sunday.

“Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack,” Castro said. “We won’t stop until all children and families are home.”
A photo that went viral last month shows Liam wearing a blue bunny hat outside his house with federal agents standing nearby. He was one of four students detained by immigration officials in a Minneapolis suburb, according to the Columbia Heights Public School District.
The Ecuadorean boy and his father, who entered the United States legally as asylum applicants, had been held in a detention facility in Dilley, Texas.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery wrote in a ruling on Saturday the case had its genesis in “the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.”

Biery, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, cited the Constitution’s requirement that an arrest warrant must be based on a judge finding probable cause of a crime. The use of “administrative warrants” issued by immigration officials “is called the fox guarding the henhouse,” he wrote.
Democrats have called for reforms after large-scale enforcement operations in Minnesota and other states, and following two deadly shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis involving ICE agents. Those demands by Democratic lawmakers include mandatory body cameras, the end to roving patrols and halting the use of face masks.
Funding for the Homeland Security Department has been held up as Republicans and Democrats continue negotiating over a DHS bill. “We’ll be talking about that in the near future,” President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Some Republican mayors also see a need for reforms. “We’re generally encouraged that the administration seems to be exploring that pivot,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/five-year-old-boy-detained-by-ice-has-returned-minnesota-lawmaker-says-2026-02-01/

THIS is the terrifying moment a truck stuck on rail tracks is smashed by an oncoming train.

A blue semi truck cabin became lodged on snowy train tracks in Gastonia, North Carolina during a powerful winter storm.

The shaky video, taken by a shocked onlooker, shows an freight train barrel towards the truck – too late for it to move off the tracks.

The train crashes into the truck, smashes it to pieces as onlookers can be heard shouting in the background.

Miraculously, the driver escaped prior to the collision without injury.

Authorities said the area would “be tied up for quite some time” to clean up the scene.

Emergency officials have urged residents to “stay off the roads if possible” as dangerous winter weather continued to impact the area.

A “bomb cyclone snowstorm” – a storm that strengthens extremely fast -had just dumped the town and much of the Carolinas with inches of snow.

Wilmington and Raleigh in North Carolina and Columbia in South Carolina are expected to see record snowfall

Winter Storm Gianna has left around 35 million Americans under extreme weather warnings for snow and ice.

The rapidly intensifying storm brought heavy snow to the Southeast, dangerous winds along the East Coast and coastal flooding from North Carolina all the way to New England.

Bitter Arctic air over the eastern half of the country has helped fuel the system, turning what might have been a cold rain into snow.

Typically sunny Florida is experiencing freezing temperatures and there’s even a chance of snow flurries in Tampa Bay.

Orlando theme parks, including Disney World and Universal Studios have even temporarily closed in the bitter conditions.

Cities in Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee have been hit with widespread power outages.

“This storm could unleash heavy snow and howling winds across the Southeast this weekend,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Scott Homan said.

“People need to prepare for the possibility of dangerous blizzard conditions in some coastal areas from North Carolina to the southern Jersey shore.

“Blizzard conditions may reach parts of Long Island and southern New England.”

Residents have been advised to secure loose objects and boat-owners have been wared about the dangers of heading to sea.

The anticipated storm comes just a week after Winter Storm Fern raged from New Mexico to New England, killing at least 60 and plunging 230 million Americans into a mix of freezing cold temperatures, ice, and up to a foot of snow.

Frigid temperatures and weather-related accidents made the storm deadly.

In Texas, 16-year-old Elizabeth Angle died alongside her best friend in a sledding accident after they crashed into a tree.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15871971/train-smashes-truck-stuck-rail-bomb-cyclone-snowstorm/

TENNIS FANS will be watching the action in next weekend’s Super Bowl very closely – to see if Serena Williams announces a spectacular comeback.

The sport’s greatest female player retired at the 2022 US Open in New York and everyone assumed she had tossed away her racquets for good.

But then the American superstar sparked intrigue about playing again after her name appeared on the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s latest Registered Testing Pool list, which was published in October.

And the 44-year-old, who has yet to rule out a comeback when asked directly in interviews, is being tipped to make a big announcement during the biggest event on the US sporting calendar next Sunday.

Last month, Today presenter Savannah Guthrie pressed the 23-time Grand Slam champion on her plans during an awkward interview and she stuttered with hesitation before saying: “I don’t know, I’m just going to see what happens. I’m just having fun and enjoying my life right now.”

Those who follow tennis will watch next weekend’s half-time show to see if she says anything in a paid-for television advert.

Williams is on a promotional push for the telehealth company Ro, which distributes the GLP-1 weight-loss drug Zepbound.

She claims this medication has helped her lose 34 pounds in a year, while she also has a personal connection through husband Alexis Ohanian, who is a Ro investor.

Ro will get more global exposure on the night of Sunday February 8, having purchased a television advertising slot for Super Bowl LX, which sees the Seattle Seahawks battle the New England Patriots in Santa Clara.

Given that a 30-second advert costs about £6million, it will have to carry some impact – and what better way to sell a product, to hundreds of millions of people, by saying it has helped inspire Williams to make a sensational return.

A teaser trailer shown on Instagram had Williams, wearing a blue tennis skirt, sticking an injection in her biceps, and then dancing to a tune as she endorsed the impact Ro’s medication has had on her fitness.

She declared: “I’m moving better on Ro, I’m feeling better on Ro.”

Williams had previously written on social media “Omg yall, I’m NOT coming back” when the revelation of her name in the drug-testing pool went public – but that is probably because it had taken plans out of her own hands.

There is no reason to be on that list and be available for daily drug testing unless you intend to return.

Athletes must nominate an hour and a location every day in which they are available for a potential visit by out-of-competition testers.

Certainly Wimbledon and the US Open would love to give Williams a wildcard, the chance to say goodbye to fans properly.

Especially as her last appearance on Centre Court saw her lose in round one to unheralded Frenchwoman Harmony Tan in 2022.

Playing singles again is unrealistic, even though her elder sibling Venus, 45, has done that this year, but there is more chance of a sisters’ act in doubles.

Former world No1 Williams appeared at last year’s Super Bowl when she joined the rapper Kendrick Lamar on stage for a choreographed dance during the half-time show of Super BowL LIX.

Training rumours

Williams is a mum of two, having given birth to her second child Adira River in August 2023, a younger sister for Alexis Olympia, born in September 2017.

There has been talk that she has been sharpening up her game in practice sessions with the retired male player Jesse Levine in Florida – perhaps another sign of her impending comeback.

The chances of her getting to Slam No24 – the mark held by Australian Margaret Court – are extremely unlikely, but her sponsors Nike would be delighted if she did play again.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/sport/15873323/serena-williams-shock-tennis-comeback-super-bowl-advert/

MOTOR racing ace Lewis Hamilton is dating US reality star Kim Kardashian, The Sun can reveal.

The mum-of-four and Brit seven-time F1 world champ enjoyed an ­intimate dinner and a couple’s massage as part of a romantic weekend getaway in the country.

US reality star Kim, 45, flew in from Los Angeles on her £100million private jet to spend an evening with British F1 hero Lewis, 41.

She arrived with a mountain of luggage for her brief stay at the exclusive Estelle Manor in the Cotswolds, with three bodyguards protecting the couple.

Insiders said they were granted exclusive use of the posh spa at the country club in Witney, Oxfordshire, before ­having a meal in a private room.

A source told The Sun: “It all appeared to be very romantic. Kim and Lewis made use of all the facilities on offer.

“She had two bodyguards with her and Lewis had a close protection officer but they remained in the background.

“They had a couple’s massage booked in and had full use of the facilities for just the two of them

“Two of the three stood guard outside the door to their room, so no one could disturb them.”

Seven-times world champion Lewis has known Kim for years, and was close to her ­rapper ex Kanye West.

However the pair have never been romantically linked.

Mum-of-four Kim touched down on Saturday afternoon at Oxford Airport, where two cars — one for her luggage — were waiting to make the nine-minute journey to Estelle Manor.

An hour later, Lewis, who drives for Italian team Ferrari, arrived at the Grade II-listed property by helicopter, chartered from London’s Battersea Heliport.

An onlooker told The Sun: “Kim’s arrival was very low-key.

“She was flanked by two bodyguards and was whisked inside.

“An hour later, around 4pm, Lewis landed in a helicopter and walked inside where other guests were mingling around.”

Insiders said the couple shared a room in the main part of the house, which sits in 85 acres of land.

They also had exclusive use of the spa and pool in the evening before an intimate dinner for two.

‘All kept very quiet’

A source added: “They had a couple’s massage booked in and had full use of the facilities for just the two of them.

“It was all kept very quiet — they clearly wanted to have some time for just the two of them.

“In the evening, they had dinner in a private room so they didn’t have other guests around.

“Estelle Manor is an incredible place to have a date, it’s so luxurious and glamorous.”

However social media regular Kim shared nothing from her time at the hotel — where rooms cost upwards of £1,000 a night — while Lewis also failed to post any updates.

Yesterday morning, he was spotted using the gym and walking through the grounds in an oversized grey tracksuit with the hood up.

The pair checked out at around 11am and left together in the two cars which had taken Kim from the airport.

An onlooker spotted one of Kim’s close protection officers ­lugging her £80,000, 50cm Birkin bag plus eight suitcases.

They added: “While Lewis was walking around and using the front doors, Kim was taken out through a side exit.

“You couldn’t miss it was her — she had about eight suitcases with her which had her name embossed on the side.

“One of her bodyguards was carrying her enormous Birkin bag, it looked so heavy he had to use both his hands to lift it to the car.

“They left together, along with the bodyguards and drove off.

“Guests who spotted them were murmuring about it because although Estelle Manor normally gets famous — and very rich — guests, it’s not every weekend Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton drop by.”

Kim and Lewis met on the celebrity circuit and were pictured with their-then partners, Kanye West and Nicole Scherzinger, in 2014 at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in London.

“He’s outspoken, to say the least. I love that. He’s electrifying in everything he does

Lewis later struck up a friendship with Kim’s half-sister, supermodel Kendall Jenner.

In 2024 she joined him for a lap at the Miami Grand Prix.

Kim’s mum Kris Jenner also spent time with him in the pits at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2019.

In 2015, Kanye invited Lewis to spend Easter with their family — and they bonded over music.

Kanye said: “Lewis Hamilton’s over at my house and we’re playing some music in my studio.

“We’re having an Easter brunch and all of the family’s there, my wife’s family, my friends, everything. And everybody’s like, ‘What is this music?’ And I’m like, ‘It’s Lewis Hamilton’s music’.

“They’re like, ‘Oh my God. It’s really good’.”

Lewis later joined Kim and her family when Kanye headlined Glastonbury that year.

Lewis said of Kanye: “He’s outspoken, to say the least. I love that. He’s electrifying in everything he does.

“I wish I could be that outspoken, I really do. But I’m signed to brands that have an idealistic image they wish to be connected with, so I need to be careful.”

After she split from third husband Kanye in 2021, Kim stayed close to Lewis, and they were both handed gongs at the Wall Street Journal’s innovator awards.

Lewis was celebrated for sport, and Kim for her shapewear and lingerie firm Skims, which is now valued at around £3.6billion.

He shared a photograph of them backstage and wrote: “It’s such an honour to be recognised amongst a group of such remarkable talent.”

High-profile women

Kim and Lewis were last seen together after Kate Hudson’s New Year’s Eve party.

The actress threw a bash in Aspen, Colorado, to ring in 2026, with Kim and Lewis ­spotted leaving separately.

Lewis has been linked to a number of high-profile women over the years, including singer Rita Ora.

His longest public relationship was with former Pussycat Dolls star Nicole, from 2007 until 2015.

Since her divorce, Kim, who is studying to be a lawyer, is said to have had a brief ­relationship with gridiron star Odell Beckham Jr.

She revealed she wrote a manifestation list in August 2024 with 52 requirements for a partner.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/15874584/lewis-hamilton-kim-kardashian-romance-date-country-club/

Australia may have seen the last of Novak Djokovic.

On Sunday, he was one win away from a record-breaking 25th major title, but Carlos Alcaraz took that dream away after defeating the 38-year-old in four sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5, across three hours and two minutes for the Australian Open title, becoming the youngest man to achieve a career Grand Slam at 22 years old.

A year ago, Djokovic turned his attention to only the majors, focusing on winning one more title before walking away from the sport. After the chance slipped away from him in Australia, he was ominous in his runner-up speech about his future in tennis.

“I tried to give you back with good tennis over the years,” Djokovic said on the court. “… I must be very honest and say that I didn’t think that I would be standing in a closing ceremony of a grand slam once again, so I think I owe you the gratitude as well for pushing me forward the last couple weeks.”

“God knows what happens tomorrow, let alone in six months or 12 months,” he added. “It has been a great ride. I love you guys.”

Last year, Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner emerged as the next great rivalry to take over men’s tennis. They split the four majors — facing each other in three finals — and traded the world No.1 ranking back and forth. Both have won the last nine major titles combined, including Sunday, and have proved to be in a league of their own.

While Djokovic has shown he is the most suitable player to get past the two young talents, he had not seen a major final since Wimbledon in 2024, when he lost to Alcaraz. His last title came at the 2023 U.S. Open, when he defeated Daniil Medvedev.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/02/01/sports/novak-djokovics-cryptic-comments-spark-retirement-buzz-after-australian-open-loss/

Catherine O’Hara looked frail in her final public appearance three months before her tragic death at the age of 71.

The “Home Alone” star beamed while posing with several guests at the 2025 Angel Awards, hosted at the Proper Hotel Santa Monica in Los Angeles last October.

She sported a chic green striped pant suit paired with a black button-up shirt underneath.

O’Hara appeared chipper, posing on the red carpet with her husband, Bo Welch, who wore a blue blazer and beige-colored pants.

A guest at the ceremony told the Daily Mail that the actress “looked very slender,” noting, “It was noticeable.”

“Her face was almost gaunt, but she still looked very pretty,” the insider added. “She is a striking-looking woman — and she had a touch of glam going on. She hid her figure in a bulky green pinstriped suit.”

“She seemed to be in great spirits, however, and was very friendly and upbeat and lovely,” the source continued.

The awards celebrated chefs in LA who assist with helping those “facing critical and life-threatening illnesses” by delivering them food, per Project Angel Food’s website.

A rep for O’Hara wasn’t immediately available to Page Six for comment.

O’Hara died following a brief illness at her LA home on Friday, her agency told Page Six.

Page Six exclusively learned that the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call at the “Schitt’s Creek” alum’s home around 4:48 a.m. after she experienced “breathing difficulty.” She was transported to the hospital in “serious” condition.

O’Hara, whose cause of death hasn’t been revealed, previously suffered from dextrocardia with situs inversus, a rare birth defect, “in which the organs in your chest and abdomen are positioned in a mirror image of normal human anatomy,” per the Cleveland Clinic.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/02/01/celebrity-news/catherine-ohara-appeared-gaunt-in-final-appearance-3-months-before-death/?_gl=1*1n3n8nq*_ga*MTgwMjY4OTEzMy4xNzQ0ODU3NDg5*_ga_0DZ7LHF5PZ*czE3Njk5ODYyMTQkbzcxNCRnMSR0MTc2OTk4NzE3NiRqNTkkbDAkaDA

Invitations have also been sent to Nepal, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, Romania, and others.

Bangladesh has invited India to participate as an international observer for its upcoming 13th Parliamentary elections and the referendum on the July National Charter, both scheduled for February 12. The invitation has been extended alongside similar requests to several other countries, although India has not yet confirmed whether it will send an observer mission.

According to the interim government, a total of 330 international observers have confirmed their attendance so far. These include representatives from six international organisations, 16 countries, and 32 individuals from various global bodies.

Confirmed missions include delegations from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the European Union, and other international organisations.

A 62-year-old home movie could blow the JFK assassination wide open — and prove once and for all there was a second shooter on the grassy knoll that fateful day.

The grainy 8mm footage, captured by Dallas air conditioner repairman Orville Nix as bullets ripped through Dealey Plaza on Nov. 22, 1963, hasn’t been seen since 1978, when it was sent away for analysis by an LA company and later fell under federal ownership – although the feds claim they don’t have it.

Nix died in 1972, and his granddaughter picked up from her late dad the legal war to recover his film — which she’s convinced is worth more than $900 million as it may hold the key to exposing one of history’s biggest coverups.

Now a federal judge has ruled that the battle over the film can go forward — and the footage might finally see the light of day.

Unlike the famous Zapruder film showing the moment President Kennedy was shot in the head, Nix’s camera was pointed at the infamous grassy knoll — the exact spot where many witnesses thought shots originated. Conspiracy theorists have long believed a second gunman was hiding behind a fence on the knoll.

The Nix film captured first lady Jackie Kennedy climbing on the back of the presidential limo immediately after her husband was shot — and a view of the fence.

The film could reveal evidence that gunman Lee Harvey Oswald didn’t act alone — thanks to new optic technologies and AI, according to Scott Watnik of Wilk Auslander LLP, a lawyer for Nix’s granddaughter, Linda Gayle Nix Jackson.

“It’s really the only one that is known to have captured the grassy knoll area of Dealey Plaza right as the assassination occurs,” Watnik told The Post, noting that the film could bolster a 1978 House Select Committee on Assassinations report that found Kennedy “was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy.” That panel obtained the Nix film and played a role in the legal saga for its return.

“If we subjected the camera-original film to optics technology of 2026, we can certainly capture details in the film that we never could have captured when . . . the committee had the film in 1978,” he said.

The FBI, in its own 1980 analysis, found inaccuracies in that report, which relied on acoustic analysis to try to pinpoint the location of a potential second shooter.

During the last six decades, the Nix film has been held by the FBI, news outlet United Press International, Congress, and a private firm called The Aerospace Corporation in Los Angeles, which analyzed it and says it handed it back to the National Archives.

The National Archives in 1988 said it had only a copy of it – and the legal discovery process set forth by a Court of Federal Claims Judge Stephen Schwartz in a Jan. 15 order gives lawyers a chance to try to force the government to reveal information about its stewardship.

The family’s case rests on the 5th Amendment, which states that the government shall not take property without providing “just compensation” in return.

But the 1992 JFK Records Act law granted the government ownership rights to JFK assassination evidence, while setting up a process for release of records to the public.

But the family’s massive monetary demand could run into trouble — given that an arbitration panel valued the Nix film’s more famous counterpart, the 8mm film shot by dress maker Abraham Zapruder, at $16 million back in 1999, calling it “a unique historical item of unprecedented worth.”

Lawyers for Nix’s granddaughter cite that value as a benchmark for what Nix’s film might have been worth back then — but want their client to get a whole lot of interest, based on the government’s longtime possession.

“If one were to say this film is worth what that one is worth as of ’92, and you apply 32 years of compound interest at a quarterly compound basis, you start to get numbers in the many many hundred of millions,” Watnik said. One “preliminary estimate” his team reached was $930 million.

It’s not just about getting money to Nix’s heirs — Nix’s son, Orville Nix, Jr., died in July, slowing proceedings.

Lawyers for Nix Jackson say they want to use the court case and potential trial that would come if no settlement is reached to force new information from the government about how and where it has stored materials, including fragments of JFK’s brain, and recordings of internal communications by Dallas cops the day of the shooting.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/02/01/us-news/jfk-assassination-film-held-by-feds-could-be-worth-900m-and-could-prove-2nd-shooter-on-grassy-knoll/

Nvidia’s CEO said it would be another good year for business, even as he expressed concerns about supplies of memory chips – which support AI workloads – amid a production crunch.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praised and lightly cajoled his major Taiwanese suppliers to produce more to help power strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI), capping a visit to the island of his birth, where he has been mobbed by adoring fans at every step.

Speaking at an impromptu press conference in the rain outside a Taipei restaurant late on Saturday (Jan 31), where he had hosted suppliers for a “trillion-dollar dinner”, named after the market capitalisation of those firms attending, Huang said this would be another good year for business.

“TSMC needs to work very hard this year because I need a lot of wafers,” he said, laughing, referring to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest producer of advanced chips used in AI applications.

“TSMC is doing an incredible job and they’re working very, very hard. We have a lot of demand this year,” he added after taking pictures with a beaming TSMC CEO CC Wei.

“Over the next 10 years, TSMC will likely increase their capacity by much more than 100 per cent, and so this is a very substantial scale-up in the next decade.”

Wei did not answer questions from reporters.

Last month, TSMC said capital spending could jump as much as 37 per cent this year to US$56 billion, and would increase “significantly” in 2028 and 2029 given AI demand.

Huang, who emigrated to the United States as a child, is met by a throng of adoring fans wherever he returns to Taiwan. Local media, who refer to him as “the people’s dad”, breathlessly report on his every move.

Huang co-founded California-based Nvidia in 1993. Last year, it became the first company to breach US$5 trillion in market value, continuing a meteoric rise that has firmly positioned it at the heart of the global AI revolution.

In Taipei, he expressed concern about supplies of memory chips, which support AI workloads, amid a production crunch.

“We need a lot of memory this year,” he said. “I think that the entire supply chain is challenging this year because demand is so much more.”

Huang periodically stepped out of the dinner, attended by two dozen executives, including Young Liu, chairman of contract-electronics maker Foxconn, Nvidia’s biggest server maker, to greet his fans and sign autographs.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/jensen-huang-nvidia-taiwan-ai-chips-5898776

The budget outlines US$133 billion to fund infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities while India receives billions in investments from tech giants.

India will spend a record amount on infrastructure and defence, the finance minister said in her national budget speech on Sunday (Feb 1), with plans for high-speed rail, submarines and fighter jets.

New Delhi plans to spend US$133 billion on infrastructure and US$85 billion on defence, a respective rise of around 9 and 15 per cent compared to last year’s budget.

Data centres, artificial intelligence, and the mining and processing of rare earths will also receive government support, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told parliament.

She said public spending on infrastructure had increased dramatically from around US$21 billion (2 trillion rupees) in 2014-15 and that it was now at an “all-time high”.

The defence spending hike comes after a four-day conflict with arch-rival Pakistan last May that killed at least 70 people, and saw both sides make extensive use of drones as well as intense missile and artillery barrages.

“BEST INTEREST”

Defence minister Rajnath Singh described the spending as “unprecedented” and said it would help equip India’s armed forces with fighter jets, drones, ships, submarines and other critical hardware.

“It is in the best interest of the nation,” he added.

New Delhi is in the midst of negotiating defence contracts with domestic and international suppliers, including France, the United States and Germany.

The world’s most populous country sees massive infrastructure spending as key to sustaining its high growth rate by boosting domestic manufacturing and creating millions of new jobs.

“India is not content with simply being the fastest-growing economy,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after the budget.

“India wants to become the world’s third-largest economy. This year’s budget presents an ambitious roadmap to give new momentum to” domestic manufacturing and self-reliance.

Sectors including textiles, pharmaceuticals, electronics and chemicals are primary targets to boost exports, Sitharaman said.

She promised the development of business parks for textiles and chemicals and said US$5 billion would be spent on boosting domestic electronics manufacturing.

“CONFIDENT STEPS”

It is the first budget since US President Donald Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on most Indian imports in August.

New Delhi and Washington are in the process of negotiating a long-delayed trade agreement.

But relations have soured over India’s purchases of Russian oil, which Washington says is helping bankroll Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

New Delhi signed a major trade deal with the European Union last month, with many crediting Trump’s tariffs for helping finalise the deal.

“Today, we face an external environment in which trade and multilateralism are imperilled, and access to resources and supply chains are disrupted,” Sitharaman said in parliament.

“India will continue to take confident steps towards ‘Vikasit Bharat’ (developed India) by balancing ambition with inclusion”.

The budget touted plans for seven high-speed rail corridors linking some of India’s most important cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai.

It also puts forward a scheme to build “rare earth corridors” in four mineral-rich states in southern and eastern India.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/india-budget-pledges-record-infrastructure-and-defence-boost-5899576

The shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis came barely days after another protester in the city, Renee Nicole Good, was shot and killed by an ICE agent. The incidents have led to widespread protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown

Two federal immigration agents who shot and killed Alex Pretti during an encounter in Minneapolis last week have been identified, according to documents reviewed by ProPublica. The records name Jesus Ochoa, a 43-year-old Border Patrol agent, and Raymundo Gutierrez, a 35-year-old Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer, as the shooters in the encounter that left Pretti dead last weekend.

The killing has triggered days of protests in Minneapolis and renewed calls for criminal and civil rights investigations. Both agents were assigned to Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement operation launched in December that deployed armed and masked federal agents across the city.

The shooting came just days after another Minneapolis protester, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was killed by a different immigration agent.

Pretti’s death has drawn scrutiny amid President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign.

Reactions to the Minneapolis Shootings
Lawmakers from both parties have called for an independent investigation. “We must have a transparent, independent investigation into the Minnesota shooting, and those responsible—no matter their title—must be held accountable,” Republican Senator John Curtis of Utah wrote on X.

CBP notified some members of Congress on Tuesday that two agents fired Glock pistols during the altercation but did not name them. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later confirmed the agents were placed on leave following the 24 January shooting.

After a week of protests, the Justice Department said on Friday that its Civil Rights Division had opened an investigation. A DOJ spokesperson declined to say whether DHS had provided evidence such as body-camera footage.

What We Know About the Agents
Ochoa joined CBP in 2018 and Gutierrez joined in 2014 and works in CBP’s Office of Field Operations. He is assigned to a special response team that carries out high-risk operations similar to police SWAT units. Records show both men are from south Texas.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Gregory Bovino, who had overseen immigration enforcement operations in several Democratic-led cities, was removed from his role as Border Patrol commander at large and reassigned to El Centro, California.

According to a notice sent to Congress, the shooting occurred after officers attempted to remove Pretti and a female protester from the roadway.

“The woman and Pretti did not move,” the report said. “CBP personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody. Pretti resisted CBP personnel’s efforts and a struggle ensued.”

The report states that one agent shouted “He’s got a gun!” before two agents discharged their weapons.

Pretti was legally carrying a handgun at the time, state and federal officials have said. Some analyses of bystander video appear to show an agent removing the weapon before shots were fired, though officials say the footage is inconclusive.

Videos shared online show Pretti filming federal agents in a popular food and arts district. During the encounter, a masked agent appears to push a woman to the ground. Pretti steps in and is pepper-sprayed before being tackled by multiple officers. Approximately 10 shots are then heard as bystanders scream.

Federal officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, initially said Pretti had attempted to attack agents. Bovino said officers fired after “fearing for [their] life”. Stephen Miller, a senior Trump adviser, initially described Pretti as “a would-be assassin” but later said CBP officers “may not have been following” protocol.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have accused the Justice Department of obstructing state-level investigations. “DOJ has also blocked prosecutors and agents from cooperating with state law enforcement officials and prevented state officials from accessing evidence,” the committee said in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/alex-pretti-shooting-border-patrol-agents-identified-jesus-ochoa-raymundo-gutierrez-minneapolis-article-153545309

European nations have scrambled to boost their militaries since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Brussels launching the Security Action for Europe lending initiative in response.

Britain should “do more together” with the EU on defence, including through a bloc-wide initiative to bolster arms stocks that London has not yet joined, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said.

The comments follow talks for London to access the 150-billion-euro (US$174 billion) European Union rearmament loan scheme ending in failure last year amid disagreement over the entry fee.

On the sidelines of a visit to China this week, Starmer told reporters he remained open to exploring closer cooperation.

“I do think that both on spending, on capability and cooperation … we need to do more together,” the UK leader said.

“I have made the argument that that should require us to look at schemes like SAFE and others, to see whether there isn’t a way in which we can work more closely together.”

European nations have scrambled to boost their militaries since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Brussels launching the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) lending initiative in response.

Created to provide EU countries with loans at lower rates to help them rearm, London and Brussels wrangled for months over the level of contribution Britain would make to join but failed to seal a deal.

It was a setback in Starmer’s bid to rebuild post-Brexit relations with the EU since winning power in July 2024, hoping to fire up Britain’s insipid economy.

London and Brussels struck a strategic partnership agreement last May, which included a pact to deepen defence cooperation as well as measures to boost trade.

EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic will be in London Monday to meet with several UK ministers, ahead of the next bilateral summit scheduled for later this year.

Starmer has ruled out rejoining the 27-member bloc’s customs union, favouring closer ties with its single market.

“I think there are other areas in the single market where we should look to see whether we can’t make more progress,” he said during this week’s overseas trip.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/starmer-says-uk-should-do-more-eu-in-joint-defence-5899646

Golden, the inescapable hit from the movie K-Pop Demon Hunters, has become the first ever K-Pop song to win a Grammy Award.

Performed by the fictional band Huntr/x, it picked up best song for visual media as the awards ceremony got underway in Los Angeles. It is also nominated for song of the year.

Other early winners included British stars Yungblud, The Cure and FKA Twigs, while the Dalai Lama won best audiobook and eight year old Aura V became the youngest ever Grammy recipient, for best children’s album.

In the film categories, the Southern horror film Sinners won best soundtrack and best score, in the same week it picked up a record 16 nominations at the Oscars.

Released last June, K-Pop Demon Hunters became Netflix’s most-viewed movie of all time, with more than 480 million views.

The propulsive soundtrack, full of inescapable earworms, became the first to top the Billboard charts since 2022, when Disney’s Encanto created a similar craze.

Its success at the Grammys suggests a growing recognition of Korean pop’s cultural and commercial force.

Blackpink singer Rosé is also up for three prizes at Sunday’s ceremony for her song APT, including song and record of the year.

Last August, the Recording Academy announced that a group of artists, producers and songwriters who had made significant contributions to K-pop had joined the organisation’s voting body, including Seventeen singer Woozi, Enhypen’s Jungwon and Le Sserafim’s Huh Yunjin.

Lord Mandelson says he has resigned his membership of the Labour Party as he does not want to “cause further embarrassment” by his links to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The former cabinet minister, who was sacked as US ambassador last year because of his past connections to Epstein, appeared in the latest release of files by the US Department of Justice on Friday.

Documents suggest Epstein made $75,000 (£55,000) in payments to Lord Mandelson in three separate $25,000 transactions in 2003 and 2004.

In his letter to Labour’s general secretary, 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.”

He added: “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.

“I want to take this opportunity to repeat my apology to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now.

“I have dedicated my life to the values and success of the Labour Party and in taking my decision, I believe I am acting in its best interests.”

Earlier on Sunday, Lord Mandelson had said he did not know whether the newly released documents were authentic.

He reiterated his regret for “ever having known Epstein” and for continuing his association following the disgraced financier’s conviction, apologising “unequivocally to the women and girls who suffered”.

Earlier on Sunday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch had called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to suspend Lord Mandelson’s membership and launch an investigation into his ties to Epstein.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed had said the government was not aware of Lord Mandelson’s alleged financial links to Epstein, after being asked about it by Laura Kuenssberg.

Lord Mandelson was sent to Washington by Sir Keir in December 2024 as the UK’s ambassador, but was sacked the following September after further revelations emerged about his friendship with Epstein.

Emails revealed he had been in contact with Epstein after the US financier’s 2008 conviction, sending a string of supportive messages.

Images of the former UK ambassador to the US in his underwear have also been uncovered in the latest tranche of Epstein files.

In a redacted picture, he is seen standing next to a female, whose face is not visible.

Lord Mandelson has said he “cannot place the location or the woman and I cannot think what the circumstances were”.

It is not known when or where the images of Lord Mandelson and the female were taken.

Being named or pictured in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, emails in the files released on Friday also show Lord Mandelson tried to change government policy on a planned tax on bankers’ bonuses, following requests from Epstein.

“Trying hard to amend,” Lord Mandelson wrote to Epstein in December 2009. “Treasury digging in but I am on [the] case.”

At the time Lord Mandelson was business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government.

Lord Mandelson has told the BBC that every UK and international bank was making the same argument about the impact on UK financial services, adding: “My conversations in government at the time reflected the views of the sector as a whole not a single individual.”

The recently released bank statements, first reported by the Financial Times, appear to show three separate payments referencing Lord Mandelson, who was Labour MP for Hartlepool at the time, being sent from Epstein’s JP Morgan bank accounts.

The first, dated 14 May 2003, shows a payment was sent to a Barclays bank account where Reinaldo Avila da Silva – Lord Mandelson’s partner at the time – is named as “A/C”, typically an abbreviation for account.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8jm2vpve1o

A new batch of Epstein files has ratcheted up the heat on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor over his links with the pedophile financier. Now, the British PM says the former prince should testify in the US Congress.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday said former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should testify in the United States Congress, a day after new revelations about the disgraced ex-royal’s links to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein created a stir.

The US Department of Justice dumped over 3 million documents from the Epstein files on Friday, which included emails that showed Mountbatten-Windsor —King Charles III’s brother — maintaining regular contact with Epstein for more than two years after the American financier was found guilty of child sex crimes.

What did Keir Starmer say?

On being asked if Mountbatten-Windsor should answer US lawmakers’ questions about his knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, Starmer said “yes”.

The British leader spoke to the media upon arriving in Japan to conclude his East Asia tour.

“Firstly, I always approach this question with the victims of Epstein in mind. Epstein’s victims have to be the first priority. Whether there should be an apology, that’s a matter for Andrew,” Starmer told reporters.

“But, yes, in terms of testifying, I’ve always said anybody who’s got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they’re asked to do that because you can’t be victim-centred if you’re not prepared to do that.”

The prime minister’s remarks are likely to intensify pressure on Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles and honors by the king in late 2025.

Previously, Starmer had only encouraged “anybody who has got relevant information” in such cases to testify.

In November, members of a US congressional committee probing the Epstein case stepped up their calls for Mountbatten-Windsor to answer questions.

Starmer had then said that the former prince doing so was a “decision for him”.

New Epstein files open up can of worms for former prince

The latest Epstein documents show undated photos of Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over a woman lying on the floor.

No further context was provided for the images, in which both Andrew and the woman are clothed.

It was also unclear where the pictures were taken.

Screenshots and scans also appear to show emails from Epstein proposing Mountbatten-Windsor have dinner with a “beautiful, trustworthy” 26-year-old Russian woman.

It was unclear if any meeting took place.

Andrew, Epstein and the royal downfall

The renewed focus on Mountbatten-Windsor comes as he is reportedly set to vacate his 30-room mansion on the royal estate at Windsor after being ousted by his brother, the king.

British Media on Saturday pictured the 65-year-old driving on the grounds of the estate.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the ex-Duke of York, has denied ​wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/epstein-files-uk-pm-starmer-says-ex-prince-andrew-should-testify-in-us/a-75745526

As tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high, China’s role is under growing scrutiny. How far would Beijing go to support Iran — and where are the limits if conflict broke out with the US?

China has emerged as a key player in Iran’s escalating confrontation with the United States, as mass protests and economic collapse strain the Islamic Republic from within.

In early January, widespread demonstrations driven by economic hardship, political discontent and sustained foreign pressure posed one of the most serious domestic challenges Iran’s leadership has faced in years.

The unrest soon gave way to a sharpening regional standoff, as President Donald Trump ordered large US military deployments to the Middle East and issued warnings demanding that Iran curb its nuclear program and ballistic missile development.

During the protests, China reportedly assisted Iranian authorities in implementing a nationwide communications blackout.

On January 15, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also condemned US threats as a return to the “law of the jungle,” contrasting what he described as American aggression with China’s offer to play a “constructive role” in helping the Iranian government and people “stand united.”

On Saturday, January 31, amid heightened tensions with Washington, Iranian state media reported that Iran plans to hold joint naval exercises with China and Russia in mid-February in the northern Indian Ocean.

The announcement was followed by a surge of unconfirmed claims online alleging that China was supplying military assistance to Iran, as well as speculations over whether the Chinese government would intervene in the event of a US military confrontation.

Iran deepens ties with China

For years, China has been one of Iran’s most important economic and diplomatic partners, providing a crucial outlet as Tehran has faced sweeping US sanctions and remained on the Financial Action Task Force’s blacklist. These restrictions have severely limited Iran’s access to the global financial system and made it dependent on China for trade and political support.

That relationship has taken on a sharper security dimension ever since Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June 2025. In the months afterward, Iran and China reportedly expanded security cooperation agreements designed to improve intelligence sharing and coordination against perceived external threats.

However, Hamidreza Azizi, a Middle East security analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (SWP) in Berlin, cautions against overestimating Beijing’s commitment to defending the Iranian government. He said China’s involvement in Iran and the wider region remains largely pragmatic.

“China did not emerge as a forceful defender of Iran after the 12-day war with Israel, and it is unlikely to do so in the event of a possible US military intervention,” Azizi told DW.

By contrast, China has provided more robust support to other regional partners. During the 2025 clashes between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, Beijing offered Pakistan tangible military assistance, according to sources including Indian military officials. No comparable level of support has been extended to Iran, Azizi noted.

China’s limited footprint in Iran

Iran’s relationship with China is primarily shaped by confrontation with Washington. While US sanctions have pushed Iran closer to China, they have also constrained Chinese investment and limited China’s ability to expand its economic footprint in Iran.

“For now, Beijing appears more focused on opposing unilateral US action than on ensuring the survival of the Iranian regime itself,” Azizi said. “Years of recurring unrest and widespread corruption in Iran have also reinforced perceptions in China that the country under the current leadership represents a high-risk environment for investment.”

This caution is particularly evident in the huge gap between China’s trade with Iran and its trade with other Gulf countries. In 2024, China’s total trade with the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, reached roughly $257 billion (€217 billion), according to a report by the London-based think tank Asia House. China’s bilateral trade with Iran was only a fraction of that and totaled less than $14 billion the same year, according to Chinese government data.

“So while China does want the region to remain stable to protect its broad economic and energy interests, it is unlikely to go out of its way to defend the government in Iran itself,” Azizi said.

China, Iran, and the “Axis of Upheaval”

In the US, the partnership between Iran and China is often cited as part of what has been portrayed as an “Axis of Upheaval.” The term refers to the growing strategic, military and economic alignment between China, Russia, Iran and North Korea — sometimes abbreviated as CRINK — aimed at challenging the US-led global order.

European and NATO officials have also noted this convergence. NATO chief Mark Rutte, speaking at the meeting in the European Parliament on January 26, said, “It is undeniable that, as we speak, Russia, China, North Korea and Iran are aligning more and more.” He added that while the partnership “is not yet well structured,” these countries are increasingly willing to challenge Western influence.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/how-far-will-china-go-to-back-iran-if-the-us-strikes/a-75741327

An explosion that hit a building in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday was caused by a gas leak, according to a preliminary assessment, the local head of the fire department said.
Iranian state media reported that at least two people have been killed and 14 injured in the blast, which comes amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s crackdown earlier this month on nationwide protests and over the country’s nuclear programme.

“This (gas leak) is the preliminary assessment. My colleagues will give more details in the next few hours,” Mohammad Amin Liaqat, the fire department chief, said in a video published by Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency.
A video published on social media showed people standing among debris and wrecked cars in front of a damaged building following the explosion.
Reuters was able to verify the location by analysing buildings, trees, and road layout, which matched satellite and file imagery. Reuters could not independently verify the date the video was filmed.
Separately, four people were killed after another gas explosion in the city of Ahvaz near the Iraqi border, according to state-run Tehran Times. No further information was immediately available.

NERVES STRAINED AS TRUMP PILES PRESSURE ON IRAN

The explosions highlighted the jittery mood prevailing in Iran amid its clerical rulers’ standoff with the Trump administration.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on January 22 an “armada” was heading toward Iran. Multiple sources said on Friday that Trump was weighing options against Iran that include targeted strikes on security forces.
Ali Larijani, a senior Iranian security official, said on X on Saturday that work on a framework for negotiations with the United States was progressing, downplaying what he described as an “atmosphere created by artificial media warfare.”
Trump told Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich that Iran was “negotiating, so we’ll see what happens,” Heinrich wrote on X.
“You know, the last time they negotiated, we had to take out their nuclear, didn’t work, you know. Then we took it out a different way, and we’ll see what happens,” Heinrich quoted Trump as saying.

Before the reports of the two blasts on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused U.S., Israeli and European leaders of exploiting Iran’s economic problems, inciting unrest and providing people with the means to “tear the nation apart.”
The semi-official Tasnim news agency said social media reports alleging that a Revolutionary Guard navy commander had been targeted in the Bandar Abbas explosion were “completely false.”
Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel was not involved in Saturday’s blasts. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bandar Abbas, home to Iran’s most important container port, lies on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway between Iran and Oman which handles about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/explosion-occurs-irans-southern-port-bandar-abbas-iranian-media-reports-2026-01-31/

Cubans from all walks of life are hunkering into survival mode, navigating lengthening blackouts and soaring prices for food, fuel and transport as the U.S. threatens a stranglehold on the communist-run nation.
Reuters interviewed over three dozen residents of towns and neighborhoods around the capital Havana – the country’s political and economic engine – from street vendors to private sector workers, taxi drivers and state employees.

Together, those discussions paint a picture of a people pushed to the limit as goods and services – particularly those tied to ever more limited fuel supplies – become scarcer and more expensive.
For much of rural Cuba, this is not entirely new. The island’s frail and antiquated power generation system has been slowly failing for years and residents have grown accustomed to spending hours at a time without functioning electricity, internet or water pumps.
But the seaside capital, where the streets are lined with 1950s-era cars and colorful if decrepit Spanish colonial architecture, has until recently fared better.

Now crisis looks set to swamp it, too, as fuel shortages take hold, with first Venezuela, then Mexico halting oil shipments to the island.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said tariffs will be imposed on imports from countries that supply Cuba with oil, ratcheting up the pressure on Washington’s long-time foe in the wake of the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a key Cuban ally, in early January.
In many other countries, the conditions would have sent people out into the streets. So far, in a nation where dissent has long been curbed, there has been little sign of protest. But it is unclear how much more Cubans will be willing to endure.
Cuba’s peso has lost more than 10% of its value against the dollar in three weeks, pushing up the price of groceries.
“This has put me in an impossible situation,” said Yaite Verdecia, a Havana resident and housewife. “There’s no salary that can cope with this.”

DAILY LIFE GETTING MORE DIFFICULT

Trump, when asked about the prospect of a U.S. military intervention in Cuba shortly after the capture of Maduro, said he did not think an attack was necessary because “it looks like it’s going down.”
On Friday, Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez declared an “international emergency” in response to the U.S. tariff warning, which he said constituted “an unusual and extraordinary threat.”
But the government has said little about how it will manage the growing threat of humanitarian crisis.
Many of the Cubans Reuters spoke with said daily life – already difficult – had been reduced to basics like assuring food, fuel for cooking, and water, and that it had become noticeably harder in recent days.
Lines for gasoline have grown significantly this week at a handful of service centers in the city still supplied with fuel. And since the U.S. blocked Venezuelan deliveries of oil to Cuba in mid-December, virtually all gas has been sold at a premium, in dollars – a currency to which few Cubans have access.
“It used to be that you could sign up and get fuel once a month (in pesos),” said Havana resident Jesus Sosa, referring to an app that would let residents know when it was their turn to fill up their cars. “Not anymore. Sales in national currency have stopped.”

‘YOU HAVE TO PAY THE PRICE OR STAY HOME’

The crunch has hit both public and private transportation, putting some buses and private taxis out of business and forcing others to raise their prices.
Daylan Perez, a 22-year-old who hails private taxis for clients in old Havana, said fewer buses mean people now have no choice but to pay rising fees for private transport.

“You have to pay the price or stay home,” he said.
Even transportation by electric vehicle – once thought to be a panacea in a city short of fuel – has been hit by blackouts that now last for eight to 12 hours or more.
Taxi driver Alexander Leyet of Havana swapped to an electric three-wheeled taxi recently, thinking he had outsmarted the pack.
“Now because of the blackouts I can only charge my taxi for four or five hours,” he said.
For decades, the government that has its roots in Fidel Castro’s 1959 Cuban Revolution has survived despite sometimes brutal economic struggles, upending regular predictions of imminent collapse or an uprising.
It has long alleged a U.S.-led effort to foment revolt, but the most recent widespread protests were in the pandemic year of 2021, despite a 12% contraction of the economy between 2019 and 2024.
Sharp crackdowns on any form of dissent, combined with the emigration of between one and two million people since the pandemic, have all but eliminated organized in-country opposition. The Cubans interviewed by Reuters generally declined to answer questions about the prospect of protests.

POWER GOES OUT

But none of those interviewed disputed that change was necessary.
“I’m just praying God finds a way to get us out of this (mess),” said Mirta Trujillo, a 71-year-old street vendor from Guanabacoa who burst into tears as she told Reuters she could no longer afford food. Previously, she had depended on a ration book of basic goods provided by the government, but that was phased out post-pandemic as tourist income and other sources of hard currency dried up.
“I’m not against my country… but I don’t want to die of hunger,” she said.
On a recent weekday evening, Reuters witnessed an accident at a busy intersection in Havana where the stoplights were not functioning as a result of a power outage.
“Sometimes when the power goes out, accidents happen because the traffic lights don’t work,” said Raysa Lemu, whose apartment overlooks a boulevard in Marianao, on the outskirts of Havana.
“It used to be they turned off the power two or three times a week, but now it’s every day and sometimes it’s up to 12 hours.”
Julia Anita Cobas, a 69-year-old housekeeper from Guanabacoa, gets up at 4 a.m. each morning for a 10-mile (16-km) commute that now approaches four hours round-trip. With less public transportation available, the journey has become longer and more costly.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/cubans-under-siege-us-stranglehold-sets-2026-01-31/

A federal judge has ordered the release of Adrian Conejo Arias and his five-year-old son, Liam Conejo Ramos, whom immigration officers detained during a Minnesota raid.
The boy — seen in a now viral photo that showed him wearing a blue bunny hat outside his house as federal agents stood nearby — was one of four students detained by immigration officials earlier this month in a Minneapolis suburb, according to the Columbia Heights Public School District.

“The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children,” U.S. District Judge Fred Biery wrote in a ruling published on Saturday.
“Ultimately, Petitioners may, because of the arcane United States immigration system, return to their home country, involuntarily or by self-deportation. But that result should occur through a more orderly and humane policy than currently in place.”
The Ecuadorean boy and his father, who entered the United States legally as asylum applicants, were sent to a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, their attorney Marc Prokosch previously told Reuters.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/judge-orders-release-5-year-old-father-detained-minnesota-ice-raid-2026-01-31/

What began on Dec. 28 in Tehran as a revolt against economic hardship and the collapse of the national currency quickly spread across dozens of other Iranian cities and provinces. People from diverse socioeconomic, religious and ethnic backgrounds joined what has become the largest anti-regime protest since the 1979 revolution.

Chants of “death to the dictator” and “death to Khamenei” echoed far beyond Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. As a response, the government shut off all internet services, leaving roughly 92 million Iranians in a digital blackout since Jan. 8.

The protests are not an isolated eruption but the latest chapter in a continuous cycle of uprisings from the 1999 student movement, the Green movement of 2009, the protests of 2017 and the bloody November of 2019, the “uprising of the thirsty” in 2021 and the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising of 2022. Each was driven by different grievances but united by a deepening crisis of legitimacy and governance.

For authoritarian regimes, internet blackouts are a powerful political tool of repression that conceal state violence.

Violence Justified For ‘Security’

As the protests spread, the regime responded by unleashing lethal violence on the streets. Security forces fired live ammunition and pellet guns at demonstrators, deployed tear gas, carried out mass arrests and raided medical facilities where injured protesters were being treated, including hospitals in Illam and Tehran.

Arrests have surpassed 40,000, while estimates of the death toll vary widely, with reports suggesting that tens of thousands have been killed during the most intense days of repression. In cities such as Rasht, witnesses documented massacres as protesters attempted to flee security forces.

At the same time, state media outlets and senior political and judicial officials labelled protesters “terrorist agents” serving the United States and Israel, rhetoric that helped legitimize extreme violence in the name of national security.

The Internet Blackout As Political Strategy

Plunging millions of people into digital darkness was not a security precaution but a deliberate strategy used to disrupt collective action, prevent the documentation of state violence and control what both domestic and international audiences could see.

Mobile data, broadband connections and even phone lines were cut across the country, leaving families unable to contact loved ones, protesters cut off from one another and the outside world largely blind to events inside Iran. This was neither an unprecedented move nor a temporary security response. Iranian authorities have repeatedly restricted or disabled internet and telephone access during periods of sociopolitical unrest.

Under blackout conditions, the internet is not simply a space for expression, it is vital infrastructure that allows for information to flow.

By fragmenting connectivity, the state does not need to erase every image or silence every voice. It only needs to prevent a shared public record from forming. Violence becomes harder to document, deaths harder to count and accountability easier to evade.

Diaspora Activism Under Blackout Conditions

Outside Iran, this enforced silence prompted a wave of digital mobilization.

Iranians in the diaspora and their allies turned to platforms such as X and Instagram, circulating the hashtag #DigitalBlackoutIran to draw global attention to the shutdown and the escalating repression inside Iran. The hashtag became a way to make absence visible, revealing that the lack of images, videos and updates was itself the product of deliberate regime suppression and crackdown.

As the blackout continues, what’s at stake is not simply connectivity but the ability to bear witness. The struggle over internet access in Iran is therefore a deeply political one: it’s a struggle over who’s allowed to narrate, who’s allowed to be seen and whose suffering is allowed to register as real.

This use of #DigitalBlackoutIran didn’t emerge in vacuum. It drew on previous movements and uprisings in Iran, where independent journalists are tightly restricted and repressed, public dissent is criminalized and uprisings are often followed by violent crackdowns and information blackouts.

When people cannot safely gather, publish or speak openly, and when documentation is actively disrupted, hashtags become a way of speaking out and of preserving what might otherwise disappear.

They allow dispersed users to find one another and construct a shared narrative of what’s happening. In this sense, hashtags function as a tool for mobilization and advocacy and as living archives of protest, keeping a record of repression and resistance alive when the state seeks to fragment, deny or erase it.

Yet the very visibility that gives hashtag activism its power also makes it vulnerable under authoritarian rule.

In Iran, the regime does not rely solely on blocking platforms or cutting access. It also actively manipulates online conversations from within. Alongside internet shutdowns, blocking social media platforms and filtering news websites, the state deploys co-ordinated networks of pro-regime accounts, often referred to as a “cyber army,” to disrupt protest hashtags.

These accounts flood hashtags with abusive and degrading language, disinformation and conspiracy narratives. The aim is to make participation emotionally, psychologically and socially costly.

This strategy reflects a broader shift in how autocratic regimes manage dissent online. Rather than silencing opposition, they increasingly seek to dominate digital spaces by overwhelming them, blurring truth with falsehood, intimidation with debate and visibility with noise.

Source : https://studyfinds.org/why-iran-turns-off-internet-protests/

Catherine O’Hara and her husband, Bo Welch, reportedly kept news of her mystery illness to themselves ahead of her death.

O’Hara died Friday at the age of 71, her agency CAA, confirmed to Page Six following TMZ’s initial report. “Prolific multi-award-winning actress, writer, and comedian Catherine O’Hara died today at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness,” they told us in a statement.

The Los Angeles Fire Department told us exclusively on Friday that they responded to a 4:48 a.m. call to O’Hara’s home. They subsequently transported her to a hospital in “serious” condition.

A cause of death has not yet been revealed, though according to 911 dispatch audio obtained by Page Six, she was having “breathing difficulty” during her final hours.

According to the Daily Mail, Welch may have known “what was coming,” but “many of those closest to O’Hara were kept in the dark about her condition during her final days.”

Sources told the outlet on Saturday that some pals were left in “complete shock” following the “Schitt’s Creek” actress’ death.

A rep for O’Hara did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment on Saturday.

O’Hara was scheduled to shoot Season 2 of Seth Rogen’s “The Studio,” but pulled out just days prior to her death. According to the Sun, the schedule was “reworked … to focus on scenes without her character” as she addressed “personal matters.”

“It was not widely known she was dealing with any health or major issues,” an insider told the outlet following her death.

Aside from her spouse of 33 years, she also leaves behind sons Matthew, 31, and Luke, 29.

The legendary comedic actress — who starred in cult classics including “Beetlejuice,” “Waiting For Guffman,” and “Best in Show” — rose to mainstream fame after starring in “Home Alone” in 1990.

In more recent years, she experienced a career resurgence with prominent roles in “Schitt’s Creek” and “The Studio.”

In a resurfaced 2024 interview, the actress divulged that she felt “lucky to be alive” and continuing to field high-profile opportunities. “I’m lucky [I get] to keep doing things like this at my age — I can’t believe it,” she told Elle Canada in August 2024.

“Over the past few years, when I’ve gotten scared or nervous, or if I start grousing about something, I’ve tried to really practice turning it around and being grateful. Like, ‘How lucky are you right now to be alive? And then to have this opportunity right here in this moment?’”

Following O’Hara’s death, a deluge of celebrities and co-stars shared tributes to the beloved Golden Globe and Emmy winning actress.

“You were a special part of my life and after life,” director Tim Burton wrote in part.

Longtime friend and repeated co-star Eugene Levy also shared a tribute on Saturday.

“Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today. I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for over fifty years,” he said in an emotional statement.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/01/31/celebrity-news/catherine-ohara-and-bo-welch-kept-pals-in-the-dark-about-mystery-illness/

Cardi B has reportedly warned boyfriend Stefon Diggs after he welcomed four children with four different women in 2025.

“She’s been very clear with Stefon: if he messes up, if another woman comes forward with a baby after they became official and started a family together, she’s done,” an insider told the Sun in a report published on Saturday.

“She told him plainly that if he cheats or has a child behind her back, it’s over.”

Diggs, 32, welcomed daughter Charliee Harper with Aileen Lopera in April 2025, a son with K’yanna Barber in 2025, and a daughter with Cayy Benji, also born sometime in 2025. Plus, Cardi B gave birth to their son in November 2025.

Lopera dropped a paternity and child support lawsuit against him earlier this month, Page Six confirmed. Lopera’s attorney, Tamar Arminak, previously claimed a paternity test proved that Diggs is the father of Charliee.

“The paternity has been confirmed. Mr. Diggs is the father of the child,” Arminak told us in November, adding that “Mr. Diggs has acknowledged his daughter.”

Still, the “Bodak Yellow” rapper is said to be loyal to the New England Patriots wide receiver, despite the fact that she “hates the drama.”

“Cardi has known since day one that Stefon had a reputation as a womanizer and had seen multiple women in the past, but her love for him is above all of that,” the source explained to the outlet.

“She knows he has been faithful since they made things official and that he’s been transparent about his previous relationships, only seeing her since they committed to each other.”

The insider also divulged that the Grammy winner — who shares daughters Kulture, 7, and Blossom, 1, and son Wave, 4 with estranged husband Offset — “loves” that the NFL star is “not a deadbeat dad.”

“She believes he’s a present, loving, and supportive father,” they shared.

Diggs kickstarted his family in 2016 with the arrival of daughter Nova, whom he allegedly shares with ex Tyler Marie. And according to the Sun’s source, the rapper, 33, has no problem with his large family.

“She sees his children as an extension of the family and enjoys when they’re all together, spending time as one big extended family,” the source shared.

“She doesn’t harbor hate toward Stefon’s exes or the mothers of his children,” they added. “She doesn’t judge — she just wants everyone, especially the kids, to be happy and grow up in a stable, healthy environment.”

She also “does get upset when people talk badly about him, seeing it as disrespect,” a second source for the Sun shared.

“She’s had arguments over how some people address or treat him in public — but she’s learning how to handle it better.” The Sun’s source said that when the rapper “loves, she fights for her man. Period.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/01/31/celebrity-news/cardi-b-warns-stefon-diggs-after-he-has-4-kids-with-4-different-women/

The US federal government has partially shutdown despite a last-ditch funding deal approved by the Senate.

The funding lapse began at midnight US eastern time (05:00 GMT) on Saturday, hours after senators agreed to fund most agencies until September. The bill includes just two weeks’ funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, instead of shutting it down entirely.

The bill has yet to be approved by the House of Representatives, which is out of session.

US President Donald Trump struck the deal with Democrats after they refused to give more funding for immigration enforcement following the fatal shooting of two US citizens in Minneapolis by federal agents.

It is the second such government shutdown in the past year and comes just 11 weeks after the end of the previous funding impasse that lasted 43 days, the longest in US history.

That shutdown in 2025, which spanned 1 October to 14 November, had widespread impacts on essential government services including air travel and left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay for weeks.

This shutdown, however, is unlikely to be that long or widespread as the House of Representatives is set to be back in session on Monday.

The White House, though, has directed several agencies, including the departments of transportation, education and defence to execute shutdown plans.

“Employees should report to work for their next regularly scheduled tour of duty to undertake orderly shutdown activities,” a White House memo to agencies said. “It is our hope that this lapse will be short.”

Trump has urged Republicans, who hold the majority of seats in the US House, to vote for the deal.

Lawmakers plan to use the fortnight in which the DHS will continue to be funded to negotiate a deal. Democrats want that deal to include new policies for immigration enforcement agents.

“We need to rein in ICE and end the violence,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“That means ending roving patrols. It means requiring rules, oversight, and judicial warrants… Masks need to come off, cameras need to stay on, and officers need visible identification. No secret police.”

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8rk33dpvmo

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has applied to launch one million satellites into Earth’s orbit to power artificial intelligence (AI).

The application claims “orbital data centres” are the most cost and energy-efficient way to meet the growing demand for AI computing power.

Traditionally, such centres are large warehouses full of powerful computers which process and store data. Musk’s aerospace firm claims processing needs due to the expanding use of AI are already outpacing “terrestrial capabilities”.

It would increase the number of SpaceX satellites in orbit drastically. Its existing Starlink network of nearly 10,000 satellites has already been accused of creating congestion in space, which Musk denies.

The new network could comprise up to one million solar-powered satellites, according to the application filed on Friday with the Federal Communications Commission – which does not specify a timeline for the plan.

SpaceX claims the system would deliver the computer capacity required to serve “billions of users globally”.

It also says it would be the first step towards “becoming a Kardashev II-level civilisation – one that can harness the Sun’s full power”, referencing a scale of hypothetical alien societies proposed by an astronomer in the 1960s.

Musk wrote on his social media site X: “The satellites will actually be so far apart that it will be hard to see from one to another. Space is so vast as to be beyond comprehension.”

Like the Starlink satellites, which provide high-speed internet, they would operate in low-Earth orbit at altitudes from 500-2,000km (310-1,242 miles).

SpaceX claims “orbital data centres” – a concept also being explored by other firms – would be a greener alternative to traditional centres, which require enormous amounts of power and water for cooling.

An expert previously told the BBC that launching hardware into orbit remains expensive and that the infrastructure to protect, cool and power them can be complex – while a growing quantity of space debris puts the physical hardware at risk.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyv5l24mrjmo

More than 20 financial institutions worldwide have publicly vowed not to finance deep-sea mining — an activity scientists say could cause irreversible harm to ocean ecosystems. However, a DW investigation has found that some have invested at least $684 million (€581 million) in companies linked to the industry.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing into companies racing to extract nickel, cobalt, and copper for batteries and other industrial uses from deposits buried thousands of meters below the ocean surface — an environment where scientific knowledge remains limited. Less than 0.001% of the seafloor has been explored.

Among the investors are some of the world’s largest financial institutions — including Deutsche Bank, UBS, Credit Suisse, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas — according to DW’s analysis of company filings compiled by Greenpeace Germany’s investigation unit.

The investments come as the United States pushes to advance deep-sea mining as a future source of critical minerals. At the same time, some 40 countries have already announced a moratorium on the practise, arguing the environmental risks for these critical ecosystems need to be properly assessed.

The deep sea is “home to incredible life that is fragile, yet essential to the planet,” Diva Amon, a marine biologist and scientific advisor at the University of California, told DW. “We don’t yet understand what we’re planning to destroy, and once it’s gone, we can’t bring it back.”

‘It’s greenwashing’ — when pledges and investments diverge

When contacted by DW, Deutsche Bank and Credit Agricole said their commitments apply to financing specific projects, not to investments in companies. Critics argue this distinction allows banks to avoid directly funding individual seabed-mining operations while continuing to invest in companies preparing to mine — akin to refusing to finance an oil drilling site for climate reasons but still buying shares in the drilling company.

The other banks did not respond to DW’s questions.

“It’s greenwashing,” said Mauricio Vargas, a former investment strategist turned financial expert at Greenpeace. “Banks want to avoid negative PR related to environmental controversies.”

Vargas added that banks often rely on technicalities and small-print exceptions, counting on the public not fully understanding the implications of their investment policies.

Andy Whitmore of the Deep-Sea Mining Campaign said the gap between banks’ public commitments and their investments often reflects internal incentives.

“Their policies are carefully worded,” he said, adding any commitments are often made in good faith, “but there are pressures within banks to invest in areas deemed as potentially profitable, and/or mis-sold as profitable.” Accordingly, commitments are not always applied uniformly across large institutions.

But some banks, such as one of Norway’s largest financial groups, Storebrand, have managed it. DW found the group recently divested millions of dollars from companies linked to deep-sea mining.

A Storebrand spokesperson told DW the decision followed the precautionary principle, which prioritizes avoiding harm in the face of scientific uncertainty.

“Storebrand will not invest in companies involved in deep-sea mining until we have more scientific knowledge on the impacts of these activities,” they said.

When green commitments contradict short-term incentives

Goldman Sachs, on the other hand, has no public policy opposing deep-sea mining. Still, the Wall Street giant markets itself as a leader in environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing.

DW found it holds €187 million in stakes across companies enabling deep-sea mining. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

“Goldman Sachs is one of the biggest wealth managers in the world, and what it does matters,” said Tariq Fancy, former chief investment officer for sustainable investing at BlackRock, which manages around $10 trillion in assets.

“It’s much cheaper to paint yourself green than to actually be green,” Fancy added. With time frames for high returns “the shortest they’ve been in decades,” he said, many CEOs operate on five-year timelines, making it rational to “squeeze every last penny and then use philanthropy as reputation laundering.”

While ESG can “make differences at the edges,” Fancy said, “the real change has to come from political reform and stronger regulation.”

Taxpayer money flowing to private deep-sea mining companies

DW also analyzed investment data compiled by a Washington-based nonprofit, the Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC). The analysis found that taxpayer money from countries that officially support a precautionary pause on seabed mining was invested in companies linked to the industry.

Retirement savings are also on the hook. The Triton IV private-equity fund draws money from public pension funds across Europe and Canada, even as the governments behind it publicly oppose deep-sea mining. The fund managed subsea firms DeepOcean and Adepth Minerals until spring 2025 before selling the group to a new Triton-managed investment entity.

Triton disputed the characterization, saying that DeepOcean is not a seabed-mining company and that its investment in Adepth Minerals is limited, regulated and not central to its strategy.

For Whitmore, accountability is the most effective way to push for change — especially for pension funds. “They invest on behalf of the public for the future,” he said, adding that they must therefore take the potential environmental risks of deep-sea mining seriously.

“It is important for pension funds to join the growing number of financiers and insurers who are excluding deep-sea mining,” he continued. So far, no pension funds have made such a pledge.

Some governments are drawing firmer lines, though. Norway, a country with several companies positioning themselves to mine the deep sea, has agreed not to issue mining licenses in its national waters until at least 2029. At the same time, 40 countries now support moratoriums or precautionary pauses on mining in international waters amid uncertainty about how it could affect marine life.

Most deep-sea species haven’t yet been discovered

“The deep sea is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet,” said marine biologist Diva Amon, who has led deep-sea research expeditions around the world. Far below the surface of the Pacific, Amon has seen sharks glowing in perpetual darkness and corals that are thousands of years old. But many deep-ocean species remain largely unknown to humans.

“About 90% of deep-sea species still lack formal names,” Amon said, adding that removing polymetallic nodules — potato-sized rocks containing many of the critical metals targeted by mining companies — could cause irreversible damage on million-year timescales.

Peter Thomson, UN Special Envoy for the Ocean, called for a 10-year moratorium on deep-sea mining to allow science to catch up and protect the “common heritage of humankind.” The UN’s finance initiative has also said there is “no foreseeable way” that financing the practice can align with the sustainable use of the ocean.

Early evidence from trial operations has reinforced those warnings. A recent study funded by leading deep-sea mining firm The Metals Company (TMC) found that test mining in the Pacific reduced seafloor abundance and biodiversity by more than a third.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/the-hidden-money-behind-deep-sea-mining/a-75723552

Rallies against the Trump administration’s hardline immigration tactics were also reported in other cities, such as Los Angeles. It comes as the US Justice Department opened a probe into the killing of Alex Pretti.

Thousands of protesters rallied in Minneapolis and other parts of the United States on Friday against the hardline immigration tactics used by US President Donald Trump’s administration.

Last month, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection launched Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul in an attempt to detain undocumented immigrants in the metropolitan area.

Some 3,000 federal agents have been deployed to Minneapolis amid the operation, five times the number of local police officers in the city.

What happened during the demonstrations?

The killing of two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal agents during the operation this month has sparked national and international indignation and ramped up calls for the Trump administration to end its raids in the Twin Cities as well as broader calls to reform and defund ICE.

The demonstrators in Minneapolis carried posters amid freezing temperatures with slogans such as “ICE OUT NOW!” Others held images of Renee Good and called for Trump and US Vice President JD Vance to be impeached.

Rock star Bruce Springsteen also performed his new single “Streets of Minneapolis” in the city to show solidarity with protesters at a benefit concert hosted by Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello.

The protests were part of an event called the “National Shutdown,” which called for a “nationwide day of no school, no work and no shopping.”

In addition, demonstrations were also reported in US cities, including Los Angeles. US media also reported that students walked out of high schools in states such as Indiana, Wisconsin and Maine.

DOJ opens civil rights probe into Alex Pretti killing

The demonstrations come as the US Department of Justice has opened a civil rights probe into the killing of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti by US Border Patrol agents.

“We’re looking at everything that would shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks leading up to what happened,” US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said of the investigation.

The decision to open an investigation has raised questions about whether the federal government can accurately probe a killing by its own agents. Moreover, the federal government has not opened an investigation into the killing of Nicole Good, who was shot dead by an ICE agent.

US Senate passes DHS stopgap as Democrats urge ICE reform

The killings of US citizens — and the deaths of six non-US nationals while held in ICE custody — and reports of unconstitutional activity by ICE and Border Patrol triggered demands from federal Democratic lawmakers for reform, and abolition, of ICE.

The US Senate on Friday voted to fund most of the government through the end of September, dodging the worst impacts of a government shutdown. However, the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for ICE and Border Patrol, will only be funded for two more weeks.

This stopgap measure gives legislators time to discuss possible ICE reforms, such as a ban on face masks and an end to warrantless roving patrols.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/minneapolis-thousands-rally-against-trump-immigration-blitz/a-75736782

IRAN has been caught red-handed covering up bombed nuclear sites, new satellite images reveal.

The terror regime has slapped roofs over bombed nuclear buildings at Natanz and Isfahan to hide work from spy satellites.

The covert clean-up was spotted by Planet Labs PBC and marks the first visible movement at Iran’s nuclear sites since last summer.

That followed a brutal 12-day war in which Israel smashed the facilities before America piled in with bunker-busting bombs and Tomahawk missiles.

Experts say the rushed construction is not rebuilding, but a desperate effort by the mullahs to dig through the wreckage and see what deadly nuclear material survived the onslaught.

Iran has offered no explanation for the secret building work and continues to bar UN nuclear inspectors – meaning satellites are now the only way to track the regime’s dangerous moves.

Security experts say the roofs are designed to let Iran quietly salvage enriched uranium or sensitive equipment without Israel or the United States seeing what survived the strikes.

The Natanz site – Iran’s main uranium enrichment hub – had been producing material just a short step from weapons-grade before it was blasted, with some of that deadly stockpile believed to have been onsite when the bombs fell.

Isfahan, meanwhile, was a key link in the nuclear supply chain, producing uranium gas fed into centrifuges – making it a prime target in the effort to cripple Tehran’s path to the bomb.

It comes as multiple mystery explosions ripped through Iran killing at least five people – after Donald Trump threatened to blitz the Ayatollah’s regime.

Dramatic footage shows plumes of smoke billowing from the site of one of the deadly blasts which also left 14 people injured.

The explosions come after Trump threatened to launch airstrikes against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei over thousands of protester deaths and Tehran’s nuclear program.

Iran has made no suggestion the United States military is behind them with Israeli officials deny any involvement.

Six blasts were reported by Iranian sources amid rumours that the commander of the rogue islamist nation’s naval forces had been killed in a suspected drone strike.

But there was confusion last night as Iran denied reports that its military sites were under attack and claimed at least one of the explosions was a gas blast.

Four people are understood to have died from the gas explosion in the city of Ahvaz on the Iraqi border.

Local authorities said: “Following a gas explosion in a four-unit building in Kianshahr, four members of a family, including the father, mother, and their two children, lost their lives.”

A second blast at a tower block killed a four-year-old girl in the southern city of Bandar Abbas – where 14 people were also injured, local media reported.

The port is home to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy headquarters.

Semi-official news agency Tasnim called claims its commander was targeted “completely false”.

Meanwhile rumours swept Iran – where an internet blackout remains in place – that Brigadier General Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the IRGC Navy, has been assassinated.

But state media denied Tangsiri had been targeted.

The feared Revolutionary Guard’s spokesman last night blamed the reports of attacks as “terror alarms” being stoked by Israeli enemies.

The IRGC’S navy said: “No drone attack occurred on naval headquarters in Hormozgan province, specifically in Bandar Abbas city, and none of the buildings belonging to this force were damaged.”

The blast occurred in an eight-storey building, with shocking pictures from the scene showing severe damage to the lower floors.

Several wounded civilians were evacuated from the scene, according to the official IRNA news agency, and cars and a shop were also reportedly damaged.

Some Iranian outlets have attributed the blasts to “gas explosions”.

Other explosions have been reported in Karaj, Tabriz, Nowshahr, Hashtgerd and Qeshm.

But more explosions were reported in the cities of Qom, Parand, Qasr Shirin, Robat Karim and Ahvaz – where eye witnesses claimed to have seen a flying drone.

Israel – whose forces decimated the military command of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during last June’s Twelve Day War – denied any involvement in military action.

US military chiefs – whose massive force spearheaded by the USS Abraham Lincoln is gathering in the Gulf – stayed silent.

Previous reports of a blast in Shahr-e Jadid-e Parand were denied by a local governor, who claimed that widespread smoke across the city was a result of “a fire in dried reed beds along the banks of the Shur River”.

The US has bolstered its military presence in the region as tensions continue to escalate.

Trump took to Truth Social to deliver an ominous threat to the regime and announce that a “massive Armada is heading to Iran“.

He wrote: “It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose.

“It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela.

“Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties.

“Time is running out, it is truly of the essence! As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran.

“The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK will back Trump’s efforts to neutralise Iran’s nuclear program.

US “sniffer planes” recently touched down in Britain before the prime minister appeared to endorse military action against Tehran.

“The goal or the aim here is that Iran shouldn’t be able to develop nuclear weapons, and that is hugely important,” he said.

But Starmer refused to comment on whether the UK would support US strikes: “I am saying we support the goal and we are talking to allies about how we get to that goal.”

Country-wide protests rocked Iran over the new year before the mullah’s regime hit back with a deadly crackdown perpetrated amid a sweeping internet blackout.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15869426/iran-explosions-kill-four-after-trump-threat/

A SMILING selfie shows the moment before a skier was mauled by a snow leopard and left with blood pouring from her face.

The tourist spotted the dangerous predator while skiing off-piste and rushed over to get a cute snap with the wild beast.

Seconds later, the big cat pounced and left the woman with serious injuries.

Harrowing footage shows the leopard calmly sitting next to its motionless victim just moments after the brutal attack.

The tourist was on her way back to her hotel in the resort town of Koktokay, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, when she spotted the rare cat in a wooded area nearby.

A group of passersby rocked up moments later to get a closer look at the beautiful but deadly animal.

The woman then decided to approach, phone in hand, looking to get a picture.

She was able to get a foreboding selfie with the beast, before it suddenly lunged at her.

The leopard mauled at her face and even bit down on her skull with its sharp jaws, according to witnesses.

Onlookers were left fearing the woman could have been killed as horrifying footage showed her lifeless on the ground.

But fortunately the predator was unable to penetrate her thick ski helmet.

A brave ski instructor eventually chased away the cat by frantically waving his poles.

Shocked bystanders were then able to rush over to the woman and drag her to safety.

There has never been a recorded human death due to a snow leopard attack.

The woman’s purple ski suit was now stained a crimson red with her hands covering up her bloodied face as she was rushed to hospital.

Doctors at Fuyun County People’s Hospital miraculously confirmed the victim’s condition was stable and not life-threatening.

Authorities said that snow leopard activity had been repeatedly detected in the area in the days before the attack.

Several safety warnings had been repeatedly directed at tourists in the areas, they added.

The warning stated: “Recently, snow leopard activity has been detected in Gem Valley, Keketuohai.

“Snow leopards are large predators with strong aggressive tendencies. When passing through this area, please move quickly and do not linger.

“Do not get out of your vehicle or approach to take photos, and never walk alone in the surrounding area.”

Local authorities said rescue measures were launched immediately after the mauling.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15869923/woman-selfie-snow-leopard-mauled-blood/

PAEDO Jeffrey Epstein tried to drag the late Queen into disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s Oscar bid for The King’s Speech.

The late financier’s circle wanted Elizabeth II to endorse the Colin Firth-starring 2010 film about her own father King George VI’s battle to overcome his crippling stammer, new files show.

Epstein’s associates “slipped” a DVD of the film to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in the hope she’d approve it ahead of the 2011 Academy Awards, reports The Daily Telegraph.

Evidence of the manipulation attempt is among the tranche of files released by the United States department of Justice (DoJ).

The files show Buckingham Palace appeared resistant to any such attempt to officially endorse the film.

The bombshell files also include photos of the former Duke of York, 65, crouched on all fours over a woman lying flat on the floor.

The King’s Speech film – directed by Tom Hooper – takes place at the time of the King ascending to the throne following the abdication of his brother.

An email sent to Epstein on behalf of Peggy Siegal, a Hollywood publicist, on November 3 2010 stated: “As per our phone conversation, Prince Andrew will be in the states Nov 29-Dec 5.

“We will get a print of The King’s Speech from Harvey Weinstein and have you host a very private, small, no press screening for Prince Andrew.

“Tell Prince Andrew the film, and Colin Firth who portrays his grandfather, is going to win the Oscar. Xoxo, Peggy.”

On November 5 2010, Ms Siegal wrote to Epstein: “Tom Hooper told me Colin Firth was going to show it to Prince Charles and the palace said NO … Tom Hooper told me the palace said they will never know if the royals every [sic] see the film…they said this on “The Queen” until it won all these awards… The Kings Speech is going to WIN THE OSCAR!!!”

Then, three weeks before the Oscars ceremony on February 27 2011, Ms Siegal wrote to Epstein again, saying: “Please, please do not forget to ask the Duke of York if the Queen saw ‘The King’s Speech’. It almost doesn’t matter because The Weinstein Company press release said she did!”

The Hollywood Reporter stated on February 4 that the then-Queen had watched the film and given her approval, claiming she’d found it “moving and enjoyable”.

This prompted Ms Siegel to email Epstein stating: “Now the Queen herself jumps into the race the day the ballots go out and suddenly the film is the internet darling.”

Weinstein then released a statement saying: “On behalf of the director Tom Hooper; the producers, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin; Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter and our entire ensemble cast: we are deeply honoured and humbled by Her Majesty’s appreciation of the film.

“It was a labour of love for all of us and this is high praise, indeed.”

David Seidler, the film’s screenwriter, said: “To learn Her Majesty has seen the film, and was moved, in turn moves and humbles me greatly … this story has been written and filmed with a great deal of love, admiration, and respect for Her Majesty’s father. That Her Majesty has responded favourably to this is wonderfully gratifying.”

Ms Siegal then emailed Epstein again on February 12, saying: “[sic] As much as want to take credit for slipping Prince Andrew a dvd of TKS at Jeffrey Epstein’s … I found out Tom Hooper had sent dvds to a few secretaries of the Queen in Buckingham Palace in October and the Royal family has been hip to this film from day one….and her recent ‘MOVED’ review is priceless.”

NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN EPSTEIN FILES

It comes as grim new images show him staring at the camera as he is crouched over an unknown female while she lies on the floor with her arms apart.

The US Justice Department has released millions of never-before-seen files related to Jeffrey Epstein amid mounting interest into the paedo financier.

Two other snaps show the barefoot ex-Duke of York wearing a white polo and jeans, touching the unknown woman’s stomach.

The female appears to be awake in both photos, with her arm seen raised in one of the disturbing images.

Another man, whose identity is unknown, lounges in a chair behind the disgraced prince with his feet kicked up on a table.

Other chilling shots of Andrew have emerged as the DOJ continues releasing millions of files related to Epstein.

The latest batch of docs heap fresh shame on the disgraced royal who has already been stripped of his titles and will soon be evicted from his palatial mansion because of his connections to Epstein.

Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims who died by suicide in April, claimed the convicted sex offender forced her to have sex with Andrew on three separate occasions, including when she was just 17.

Andrew has always denied the allegations.

Separate files released on Friday also showed that Epstein arranged for a “beautiful, trustworthy” 26-year-old Russian woman to meet Andrew.

The convicted sex offender emailed the ex-prince in 2010, a year after his release from jail for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Andrew asked Epstein if he was “glad to be free” after his house arrest ended — then told of his “delight” at his offer of a young Russian woman.

Andrew, now 65, stayed with Epstein at his New York townhouse two months after receiving news of the Russian woman, and the pair were infamously photographed in Central Park that December.

On August 11, 2010, Epstein told Andrew: “I have a friend who i think you might enjoy having dinner with„ her name is (REDACTED) she will be london 20-24”.

Epstein said she was called “Irina” in another message.

Andrew replied that he would be “delighted to see her” and asked Epstein to give her his contact details. He then creepily asks the paedophile: “Will she be bringing a message from you?”

Epstein described the woman, telling Andrew in another message: “she 26, russian, clevere (sic) beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email.”

The father of two pinged him back: “That was quick! How are you? Good to be free?”.

He then pompously signed off “HRH Prince Andrew KG” — which stands for Knight of the Garter.

Epstein replied: “Great to be free of many things.”

Andrew then whined about “opportunities” he is missing out on and promised to visit Epstein soon.

He wrote: “So many opportunities that I am frustratingly not allowed to participate in. And so many that are obvious but can’t get anyone to fire on. Must come and see you sometime soon.”

The exchange came days after Epstein’s year of house arrest had ended, following his sentence for procuring for prostitution a girl below the age of 18.

He had served 13 months in jail after signing a plea agreement with the US government in 2009.

Further details of Andrew’s 2010 visit to New York also emerged in the three million documents and photographs released by the US Department of Justice on Friday.

During his infamous Newsnight interview in 2019, Andrew claimed he had visited Epstein “with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together”.

Newly released documents also showed that Andrew invited Epstein to Buckingham Palace, one month after the convict was released from house arrest.

Andrew promised Epstein “lots of privacy” after he had asked for “private time”.

As part of the email chain, Epstein said: “Already in London, what time would you like me and [blank]… we will also need/have private time.”

Andrew responded later that day: “I am just departing Scotland should be down by 18:00. I’ll ring you when I get down if you can give me a number to ring.

“Alternatively we could have dinner at Buckingham Palace and lots of privacy.”

More than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images are included in the latest batch – which comes six weeks after a deadline mandated in a law signed by Donald Trump.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/royals/15869962/epstein-queen-elizabeth-harvey-weinstein/

If you haven’t heard of gay ice hockey TV drama “Heated Rivalry” and its two lead stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie yet … then get your skates on.

What started as a word-of-mouth hit in the U.S. and Canada in December 2025 has spread to become a global phenomenon. Its stars have rocketed from unknowns to cultural icons in the space of weeks, appearing on stage at the Golden Globes, sashaying down the Milan catwalks to, this week, carrying the torch for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

Based on the 2019 novel by Rachel Reid, the story traces the decade-long secret relationship between Canadian Shane Hollander (Williams) and Russian Ilya Rozanov (Storrie), mixing slow-building yearning with explicit sexual scenes.

And as it launches across Europe, it’s proving a surprise hit in Russia, even though homosexuality is illegal there and the show will never get an official release.

Journalist and author Mikhail Zygar was born in what was then the Soviet Union, like Rozanov, and spent his childhood as a closeted gay man in Russia. He said coming out was completely impossible and he thinks the show is inspiring, not just among the LGBTQ+ community, but all Russians, as “an attempt to normalize the discourse.”

“It shows that it is OK. That people can fall in love and it’s so beautiful. And the popularity of this TV show definitely may change some perception from the broader audience,” he said.

Western sanctions on official streaming platforms mean it’s hard for Russians to watch Western TV, but they find ways on illegal platforms and, despite the anti-gay laws that would potentially mean punishment for those who share the content, they are voting with their keyboards.

On the Russian streaming and film database platform Kinopoisk (similar to IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes in the U.S.) “Heated Rivalry” has an 8.6 rating, the highest TV show ranking of all time according to Russian viewers, overtaking shows like “Breaking Bad” and “Game of Thrones.”

But official acceptance of shows like “Heated Rivalry” seems a long way off.

Little hope for LGBTQ+ people in Russia

The LGBTQ+ community in Russia has been under legal and public pressure for over a decade, but especially since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has argued that the war is a proxy battle with the West, which he says aims to destroy Russia and its “traditional family values” by pushing for LGBTQ+ rights.

Any depiction of gay and transgender people that paints them in a positive or even neutral light is banned. Gender-affirming medical care and changing one’s gender in official documents are prohibited. With the Supreme Court’s ruling in November 2023, which outlawed what the government called “the international LGBT movement” as extremist, anyone involved with the LGBTQ+ community could be imprisoned for up to six years.

“It’s really hard to believe in some kind of happy ending, as we see in the show, in Russia’s reality today,” Zygar says.

“Russia continues its brutal, aggressive war against Ukraine. There is no perspective of the end of this war. There is no perspective for a lot of LGBTQ+ people who live in Russia and a lot of people, a lot them have the only possibility to leave the country.”

The head of the Sorok Sorokov center in Moscow, a conservative organization aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church, told The Associated Press that he was shocked by the gay sexual content of the show.

“I found out that these scenes are presented almost in every episode and I was horrified why and how this video ended up on our Russian (streaming) platforms,” Georgy Soldatov said.

He said he had lodged a petition with the Prosecutor General’s Office against those who posted the content, which he described as “the propaganda of untraditional sexual relationship,” a classification that forces print, TV and movie censorship of LGBTQ+ storylines.

In one example, two Russian streaming services cut a transgender character from the 1990s drama series “Twin Peaks.” In another, a streaming service cut several scenes from the drama series “The Sopranos” that depicted to a gay character. Instances of dialogue that has been redubbed to remove references to LGBTQ+ relations or people have been regularly reported by the Russian media.

American sales surge

Last year, Russian authorities launched a criminal probe against the managers of a Moscow publishing house on extremism charges over books depicting LGBTQ+ relations. They raided the homes of a number of staff and detained them. Most of detainees were released, but three people were put under house arrest in a case that reportedly sent shock waves throughout the book industry.

In contrast, in the U.S., LGBTQ+ romance sales have surged.

According to Brenna Connor, analyst for Circana (which tracks 85% of print retail sales in the U.S.), “In the five weeks ending Jan. 10, 2026, LGBTQ+ romance sales surged more than 100% in unit sales compared to the same period the previous year, with ’Heated Rivalry’ leading the growth.”

Source : https://apnews.com/article/heated-rivalry-tv-russia-gay-ice-hockey-f788b1dce58063e3797922402c9f7f3c

The US and Israel are denying involvement in the mysterious blasts that killed six and wounded more than a dozen others across Iran Saturday.

US officials said the explosion in the Iranian port city Bandar Abbas was not related to any military activity in the region, CNN reported – even though a massive US naval “armada” is set to arrive in the Persian Gulf as tensions with Tehran mount.

The Israeli government also refuted claims they had launched a targeted drone strike on an Iranian military target, the outlet reported.

One child died and 14 others were injured in a blast that rocked a residential building in Bandar Abbas on Saturday, with state media initially blaming the blast on a gas leak while continuing to probe.

Across the Strait of Hormuz, a second blast was heard in the southwestern Khuzestan province where five people were killed in a separate gas explosion, according to The Jerusalem Post.

There were also unconfirmed reports of explosions in other parts of the country.

Iranian state media pushed back against viral social media reports on Saturday that Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps naval officers fell victim to targeted drone attacks.

The mysterious explosions come as US Central Command issued a stark warning to Iran as the repressive regime prepares to conduct live-fire war games in the Strait on Sunday.

“Any unsafe and unprofessional behavior near US forces, regional partners, or commercial vessels increases risks of collision, escalation, and destabilization,” CENTCOM wrote on X Friday.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/01/31/world-news/us-israel-deny-involvement-in-mysterious-blasts-that-killed-6-wounded-over-dozen-across-iran/

Chilling unheard audio recordings of Michael Jackson expressing his deepest “intimate” thoughts on children will be revealed in a new TV docuseries.

The superstar can be heard discussing his innermost feelings on his infatuation with kids.

In one eerie moment, Jackson confides that without children being close to him he would take his own life.

“If you told me right now . . . Michael, you could never see another child…I would kill myself,” he says.

Alarmingly, Jacko also confessed, “Kids end up falling in love with my personality. Sometimes it gets me into trouble.”

The breathtaking recordings also present a new take on how close Jackson felt to cancer survivor child pal Gavin Arvizo — who later accused him of sexual abuse in a 2005 criminal trial.

Unseen footage shows Jackson, who admitted he sharing his bed with kids, going on picnics with Arvizo alone on the grounds of Neverland.

Jackson was cleared on all 14 charges, including four counts of molesting a child, four counts of getting a child drunk so that he could molest him, and of secretly conspiring to hold the boy and his family captive at his California ranch. He was also charged with supplying alcohol to the boy, now 15.

UK production company Wonderhood Studios secured the tapes for a new Channel 4 series called “The Trial,” which airs next week.

The four-part bombshell series focuses on the events leading up to MJ’s 2005 trial.

One insider, who has heard the recordings, said: “There is something extremely unusual and eerie about Michael Jackson’s infatuation with children – especially those who are not his own.”

“To hear his voice discuss children in this manner, given he had been accused on molestation, raises many questions about his mental health, mindset and sadly, intentions.”

“This is Michael at his most open giving us an insight into how he was in love with children . . . infatuated with wanting to be around them.

“He sees nothing wrong in bringing kids to his home and his bed, without parental supervision, justifying those actions by saying he is a just a friend looking to help. He even went further — expressing how most of the spoiled children fell in love with him.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/01/31/entertainment/michael-jackson-infatuation-with-kids-revealed-in-unearthed-recordings/

“Sanford and Son” star Grady Demond Wilson has died at the age of 79.

The actor, best known for playing Lamont Sanford, the son of Fred Sanford, in the smash-hit 1970s sitcom, died at his Palm Springs home on Friday following complications related to cancer.

Wilson’s son, Demond, confirmed the news to TMZ, saying: “I loved him. He was a great man.”

He is survived by his wife Cicely Johnson and their six children.

Wilson was the last surviving cast member from “Sanford and Son,” which aired on NBC.

The show, which ran for six seasons from 1972 to 1977, followed Fred G. Sanford (Redd Foxx), a junk dealer, and his son, Lamont (Wilson), who ran “Sanford and Son Salvage” in Los Angeles.

Foxx died in 1991 at age 68 after suffering a heart attack on the set of his CBS sitcom “The Royal Family.”

“Sanford and Son” also starred Whitman Mayo, who died in 2001 at age 70, Don Bexley, who passed in 1997 at 8, and LaWanda Page, who died in 2002 at 81.

Most recently, Nathaniel Taylor passed away at age 80 in 2019 and Lynn Hamilton died at age 95 in 2025.

Wilson, who was born in Georgia in 1946, grew up in New York City and studied tap dancing and ballet. He served in the US Army from 1966 until 1968, and was stationed in Vietnam, where he was wounded.

He subsequently returned to New York City and appeared in several Broadway shows before moving out to Los Angeles.

His star turn on “Sanford and Son” began a short time later.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/01/31/entertainment/sanford-and-son-star-grady-demond-wilson-dead-at-79-actor-played-lead-role-in-beloved-groundbreaking-70s-sitcom/

The separatist Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack as decades-long insurgency continues.

At least 92 militants were killed on Saturday (Jan 31) battling Pakistan’s security forces in multiple cities across the southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistan’s military said.

The military said in a statement that 15 security personnel were also killed during clearance operations, while militants targeted civilians in several areas, killing at least 18 people, including women and children.

The attacks were carried out a day after Pakistan’s military said it killed 41 militants in separate raids in Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan and has faced a decades-long separatist insurgency.

The banned separatist group Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attacks, saying it had launched them simultaneously across the province. The BLA said it had killed 84 Pakistani security personnel, and that the ongoing operation had continued for 15 hours.

The military’s media wing, ISPR, said the attacks were carried out by Indian-sponsored militants and that security forces had thwarted attempts to seize control of any city or strategic installation.

“Intelligence reports have unequivocally confirmed that the attacks were orchestrated and directed by terrorist ringleaders operating from outside Pakistan, who were in direct communication with the terrorists throughout the incident,” the statement said.

It said the attacks were launched across Quetta, Mastung, Noshki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, Tump, Gwadar and Pasni.

Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attacks and praised security forces for repelling them, saying in a statement they had killed dozens of militants.

Security officials said armed men launched attacks in several urban areas, including the provincial capital Quetta and the port city of Gwadar, prompting operations by the army, police and counterterrorism units.

Hospitals were placed on emergency footing in some districts, officials said.

MIGRANT WORKERS TARGETED IN GWADAR

In Gwadar, militants attacked a camp accommodating migrant workers, killing 11 people, Atta-ur-Rehman, a senior police officer, said. Those killed included five men, three women and three children.

Security forces killed six militants in Gwadar after responding to the attack, he said.

Officials said the situation was critical in Noshki, a district of Balochistan, after militants abducted the area’s top civil administrator. He said in a social media video that he was in the custody of the militants. Reuters could not independently verify the video.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/pakistan-says-92-militants-killed-after-attacks-in-balochistan-5898626

Over 500 people have been killed under the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza health officials.

Israel pounded Gaza on Saturday (Jan 31) with some of its most intense airstrikes since the October ceasefire, killing more than 30 people including three girls from one family, in attacks on houses, tents and a police station, Palestinian health officials said.

The Israeli military said it was responding to a breach of the ceasefire the previous day, in which its troops had identified eight gunmen emerging from a tunnel in Rafah, an area in southern Gaza controlled by Israeli forces under the truce.

It had targeted commanders, weapons caches and manufacturing sites belonging to Palestinian militant group Hamas and its ally, Islamic Jihad, the military said.

Hamas, which retains control of just under half of Gaza where nearly all its more than 2 million residents live mainly in makeshift tents and damaged buildings, said Israel had violated the truce. It did not say whether any of its members or sites were struck in Saturday’s attacks.

On Sunday, Israel is due to reopen the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war.

The war began after Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israeli officials have said the war could resume if Hamas does not lay down its weapons.

FIGHTERS STILL IN TUNNELS

Israeli warplanes bombed the Sheikh Radwan police station west of Gaza City, killing 13 people, including five officers, police in Gaza said. Rescue teams were searching for more casualties at the site, said the Hamas-run police.

Other airstrikes hit at least two houses in Gaza City, in northern-central Gaza, and a tent encampment sheltering displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis further south, local officials said.

Video footage from Gaza City showed charred, blackened and destroyed walls at an apartment in a multi-storey building, and debris scattered inside it and outside on the street.

Samer al-Atbash said the bodies of his three small nieces had been found in the street.

“They say ‘ceasefire’ and all. What did those children do? What did we do?” he said.

The Gaza civil defence rescue service put Saturday’s death toll at 32.

Israel said that in Friday’s encounter with fighters in Rafah its soldiers killed three and arrested a fourth, described as a Hamas commander. Hamas did not comment on the incident.

Dozens of its fighters have been trapped in tunnels under Rafah since the ceasefire and some have since been killed in clashes with Israeli forces.

HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE KILLED SINCE CEASEFIRE

Violence has repeatedly shaken the ceasefire. Israeli fire has killed over 500 people, most of them civilians according to Gaza health officials, and Palestinian militants have killed four Israeli soldiers, according to Israeli authorities.

The two sides have traded blame over truce violations, even as Washington presses them to proceed to the next phases of the ceasefire deal, meant to end the conflict for good.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/israeli-strikes-gaza-kill-more-30-palestinian-health-officials-say-5898541

They can’t guarantee future health, but they can tell you the trajectory you’re on.

Take a minute to consider the last decade of your life. What type of physical shape do you hope to be in? And what are the activities you want to be able to continue doing?

While there’s no crystal ball to predict your future health, there are a few basic tests you can give yourself to gauge your current strength, power, cardiovascular fitness and balance – all of which will influence your physical abilities going forward. These kinds of tests have been associated with longevity and independent living. They’re also proxies for activities that many people want to be able to do in old age, like getting down on the floor to play with grandchildren or t ravellingand exploring a new city by foot.

It’s never too early to begin training for your later years, said Stuart Phillips, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Ontario. People naturally lose strength and muscle mass with age, so you want your starting point to be as good as possible. Getting a head start on training is “money in the bank,” Dr Phillips said.

It’s also never too late to improve your physical abilities, he added: “We’ve got data showing that nonagenarians, so people in their 10th decade of life, or in their 90s, can make gains in strength and function with just a little bit of even light activity.”

Try these four tests to determine where you currently stand. If you don’t perform as well as you might have hoped, don’t worry: A few strength, conditioning and balance exercises, done regularly, can help you improve your score on each one.

1. SITTING-RISING TEST

The goal with this assessment is to go from standing to sitting on the floor, and back up again, using the least amount of support as possible. The test is scored on a 10-point scale – five points for sitting down and five points for standing up – and you lose a point for every hand, knee or other body part you use to help yourself. Subtract a half point if you’re unsteady or lose your balance.

Adults in their 30s and 40s should aim for a perfect 10, said Dr Claudio Gil Araujo, the dean of research and education at the Exercise Medicine Clinic in Brazil, who developed the test. Anyone over 60 who gets an 8 is “in very good shape,” he said.

The test evaluates strength, power, balance and flexibility. Dr Araujo has also shown it’s a predictor of mortality. A recent study of his looked at more than 4,000 adults age 46 to 75 and found that, over the course of 12 years, the people who scored 4 or below on the sitting-rising test had death rates nearly four times higher than those who scored a 10. He said that was primarily because people with low scores were at a higher risk for falls.

2. WALKING SPEED ASSESSMENT

How fast someone walks at their normal gait is “a very important indicator of functional ability and vitality,” said Jennifer Brach, a professor of health and rehabilitation sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. “It is predictive of future decline, it’s predictive of mortality, nursing home placement, disability, a whole host of different things,” she said.

To assess your walking speed, measure out four metres on a straight, flat surface, and time how long it takes you to cover the distance. (Remember, you’re walking at your normal speed, not as fast as you can.) People of all ages should aim for a gait of at least 1.2 metres per second, a little over three seconds total.

Dr Brach recommended people retest themselves every few months. “If the value changes, that can be a warning sign,” she said. That’s because while walking feels like a simple task, it requires proper functioning of the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, vestibular (balance), sensory and nervous systems. A slower gait could indicate that there’s a problem in any one of those systems that may need to be investigated and addressed.

3. GRIP STRENGTH TEST

Grip strength is also related to mortality. While that connection may seem far-fetched, experts say a grip strength test serves as a helpful indicator for how active a person is in their daily life.

“When you’re using your hands more, it’s probably because you’re doing things more,” said Cathy Ciolek, the president of the American Physical Therapy Association Geriatrics. “You’re carrying groceries, you’re opening the car door, you’re picking up a grandchild.” All of those things work your hands, she said, and the more you do them, the better your grip strength.

Grip strength is also important for maintaining independence with household tasks like cooking. (Think about pulling a heavy dish out of the oven.)

A doctor or physical therapist typically assesses grip strength using a special device called a dynamometer. To test yourself at home, try walking for 60 seconds while holding a heavy weight in each hand (also known as a farmer’s carry), suggested Dr Nima Afshar, a physician at the concierge medical practice Private Medical. Start with lighter weights and work your way up to heavier ones over time. If you experience hand or body pain, stop.

There aren’t age-related norms for the farmer’s carry like there are with a dynamometre. But Dr Afshar says a 45-year-old man should aim to carry two 60-pound dumbbells, a 65-year-old two 40-pound dumbbells and an 85-year-old two 25-pounders. For a woman at those ages, goal weights are 40 pounds, 25 pounds and 15 pounds in each hand.

4. SINGLE-LEG STAND

Just as strength naturally declines with age, so does balance. And that raises the risk for falls – a major cause of injury and death in older adults.

Testing one’s balance is as simple as standing on one leg. Adults should aim for a minimum of 10 seconds on at least one side. For an added challenge, Dr Afshar recommended attempting the test with your eyes closed.

Source : https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/wellness/aging-tests-longevity-577256

The United States and Russia could embark on an unrestrained nuclear arms race for the first time since the Cold War, unless they reach an eleventh-hour deal before their last remaining arms control treaty expires in less than a week.
The New START treaty is set to end on February 5. Without it, there would be no constraints on long-range nuclear arsenals for the first time since Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed two historic agreements in 1972 on the first-ever trip by a U.S. president to Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed the two sides should stick to existing missile and warhead limits for one more year to buy time to work out what comes next, but U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to formally respond.
Trump said this month that “if it expires, it expires”, and that the treaty should be replaced with a better one.
Some U.S. politicians argue Trump should reject Putin’s offer, freeing Washington to grow its arsenal to counter a rapid nuclear build-up by a third power: China.
Trump says he wants to pursue “denuclearisation” with both Russia and China. But Beijing says it is unreasonable to expect it to join disarmament talks with two countries whose arsenals are still far larger than its own.

WHY DO NUCLEAR TREATIES MATTER?

Since the darkest Cold War days when the United States and the Soviet Union threatened each other with “mutually assured destruction” in the event of nuclear war, both have seen arms limitation treaties as a way to prevent either a lethal misunderstanding or an economically ruinous arms race.
The treaties not only set numerical limits on missiles and warheads, they also require the sides to share information – a critical channel to “try to understand where the other side is coming from and what their concerns and drivers are”, said Darya Dolzikova at the RUSI think-tank in London.
With no new treaty, each would be forced to act according to worst-case assumptions about the weapons the other is producing, testing and deploying, said Nikolai Sokov, a former Soviet and Russian arms negotiator.
“It’s a self-sustaining kind of process. And of course, if you’ve got an unregulated arms race, things will get quite destabilising,” he said.

NEW TREATY NO SIMPLE TASK

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia and the United States have repeatedly replaced and updated the Cold War-era treaties that limited the so-called strategic weapons they point at each other’s cities and bases.
The most recent, New START, was signed in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, a Putin ally who was then serving as Russian president for four years.
It caps the number of deployed strategic warheads at 1,550 on each side, with no more than 700 systems to deliver them from land, sea or air, by intercontinental ballistic missile, submarine-launched missile or heavy bomber.
Replacing it with a new treaty would be no simple task. Russia has developed new nuclear-capable systems – the Burevestnik cruise missile, the hypersonic Oreshnik and the Poseidon torpedo – that fall outside New START’s framework. And Trump has announced plans for a space-based “Golden Dome” missile defence system that Moscow sees as an attempt to shift the strategic balance.

Meanwhile, China’s arsenal is growing, unchecked by agreements between Washington and Moscow. Beijing now has an estimated 600 warheads and the Pentagon estimates it will have more than 1,000 by 2030.
A bipartisan Congressional commission in 2023 said the United States was now facing an “existential challenge” from not one but two nuclear peers, and needed to be prepared for simultaneous wars with Russia and China.
Its recommendations included preparing to bring out of storage some or all of the strategic nuclear warheads removed under New START and kept in a reserve stockpile.
That could involve restoring warheads removed from Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-fired Trident D5s, and returning to nuclear roles some 30 B-52 strategic bomber planes converted to conventional missions.
“The warheads are there. The missiles are there. You’re not buying anything new,” said a former senior U.S. official involved in nuclear weapons policy who requested anonymity.
The former official expected only “modest” increases in warhead reloads should Trump order those options.
But Kingston Reif, a former Pentagon official now at the RAND research organization, told a recent webinar that at the high end the United States could “roughly double” its deployed warheads from the New START limit, while Russia would be in a position to add around 800. Both sides would take at least the best part of a year to make significant changes, he said.

U.S. Agency for International Development staffers in early 2024 drafted a warning to senior officials in Joe Biden’s administration: Northern Gaza had turned into an “Apocalyptic Wasteland” with dire shortages of food and medical aid.
Three months after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and Israel’s incursion into the Gaza Strip, the internal message laid out in gruesome detail scenes observed by United Nations staff who visited the area on a two-part humanitarian fact-finding mission in January and February.

The staff reported seeing a human femur and other bones on the roads, dead bodies abandoned in cars and “catastrophic human needs, particularly for food and safe drinking water.”
But the U.S. ambassador to Jerusalem, Jack Lew, and his deputy, Stephanie Hallett, blocked the cable from wider distribution within the United States government because they believed it lacked balance, according to interviews with four former officials and documents seen by Reuters.
Reuters is the first to report on the cable and why it was suppressed.
Hallett and Lew did not respond to requests for comment.

AN OFFICIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE REALITY IN GAZA

The February 2024 cable was one of five sent in the first part of that year documenting the rapidly deteriorating health, food and sanitary conditions and breakdown of social order for Palestinians living in Gaza resulting from Israel’s military campaign, six former U.S. officials told Reuters.

Reuters saw one of those cables. The other four, also blocked by Lew and Hallett because of their concerns about balance, were described by four former officials.
Three former U.S. officials said that the descriptions were unusually graphic and would have commanded the attention of senior U.S. officials had the message been widely circulated within Joe Biden’s administration.
It would have also deepened scrutiny of a National Security Memorandum, issued by Biden that month, which conditioned the supply of U.S. intelligence and weapons on Israel’s compliance with international law, they said.
“While cables weren’t the only means of providing humanitarian information … they would have represented an acknowledgement by the ambassador of the reality of the situation in Gaza,” said Andrew Hall, then a crisis operations specialist for USAID.

The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem oversaw the language and distribution of most of the cables about Gaza, including those from other embassies in the region.
One former senior official said Lew and Hallett often told USAID leadership that the cables included information that had been widely reported in the media.
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and representatives for former President Joe Biden did not respond to requests for comment about the fact that the cables never reached upper leadership of the U.S. government.
The Gaza war started with the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,250 people. The death toll in Gaza now stands at over 71,000, according to Palestinian Health Ministry data.
With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by his side, President Donald Trump announced his Gaza peace plan in the Oval Office last September, but the fighting has not stopped. Some 481 people have been killed since the ceasefire, according to Palestinian health ministry data.
The Biden administration’s backing for Israel during the war deeply divided the Democratic Party and remains an unresolved issue for its political candidates.
More than 80% of Democrats believe that Israel’s military response in Gaza has been excessive and that the United States should help people in the enclave who are facing starvation, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll last August.

HUMANITARIAN EXPERTISE “SIDELINED”

As the cables were being drafted in early 2024, the White House and other senior U.S. officials were broadly aware of the worsening humanitarian situation in northern Gaza from National Security Council reporting, four former officials said. And humanitarian organizations were warning of famine risks.
“There are a lot of innocent people who are starving, a lot of innocent people who are in trouble and dying, and it’s got to stop,” Biden told reporters at the White House in February 2024, describing Israel’s response in Gaza as “over the top.”
In January 2024, the embassy did approve the wider distribution of a cable about food insecurity throughout Gaza, and the information made it into the president’s daily briefing – a compilation by the intelligence community of the most important national security information and analysis.
The cable, which was described to Reuters, looked at the risk of famine in northern Gaza and the potential for severe food insecurity in the rest of the strip because of a lack of food deliveries. It was one of the first detailed reports from USAID into the rapidly deteriorating situation inside Gaza, including growing food insecurity in the south of the enclave.
That cable caught the attention of several senior White House officials, including deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, who told colleagues he was surprised by how quickly the food situation had deteriorated, according to two of the former U.S. officials.
Finer did not respond to a request for comment.
But senior U.S. officials were not receiving regular first-hand accounts because of restricted access to the area during an intense battle between Israel and Hamas, six former U.S. officials said.
“Simply put, humanitarian expertise was repeatedly sidelined, blocked, ignored,” a former member of USAID’s Middle East disaster response team said.

USAID CABLES SEEN AS TOO SENSITIVE

Until the USAID was reduced to a skeleton staff inside the State Department by the Trump administration, U.S. officials relied heavily on the agency’s reporting in situations where diplomatic presence and human intelligence were scarce.
Because USAID has had no staff inside Gaza since 2019, much of that reporting drew on information provided by U.N. agencies – including UNRWA, the Palestinian refugee agency – and international aid organizations funded by the U.S. government.
That dependence on third parties contributed to some Biden officials’ skepticism of USAID reporting, three former U.S. officials told Reuters.
Biden’s Middle East envoy Brett McGurk and his aides often asked in meetings if the USAID had verified the information and why it diverged, sometimes drastically, from Israel’s version of events, the three former officials said. McGurk declined to comment.
In several instances, the former officials said White House officials pushed back on USAID analyses that suggested civilians were starving in Gaza.
The skepticism about the U.S. government’s humanitarian reporting stirred tensions inside the National Security Council and angered USAID officials working on the Gaza portfolio.
“The question was always like ‘where are all the skinny kids?’” one of the former officials said.
The two former officials said Hallett sometimes asked for cables to be reframed or edited. She questioned the necessity of one cable, which focused on health, arguing that much of the information was in the public domain.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/early-warning-apocalyptic-wasteland-gaza-blocked-by-us-envoys-israel-2026-01-30/

Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Federal Reserve, has earned over $1 million since 2020 as a member of the board of e-commerce company Coupang (CPNG.N), now ​at the center of trade tensions between the U.S. and South Korea.
Warsh has ‌served on the board of the Seattle-based company since October 2019, earning nearly $325,000 in total compensation each year since 2022.

The company has been under investigation by South Korean regulators after a mass data leak, but some U.S. investors have asked the Trump administration to scrutinize the probe, which they say discriminates against ‌an American company.

Vice President JD Vance and South Korean Prime Minister Kim ​Min-seok discussed the issue last week, days before Trump announced a sharp increase in U.S. duties on South Korean autos and other imports to 25% from 15%, saying Seoul was not living up ‍to commitments under a trade deal reached last year.
South Korean officials are in Washington this week to discuss the trade deal, but have failed to resolve the dispute.
Warsh, 55, is a former Fed governor who currently lectures at ⁠Stanford University.
The Federal Reserve Act bars members of the Fed’s Board of Governors from other ‍employment, stating “members of the Board shall devote their entire time to the business of the Board.”

The White House had ‌no ‌immediate comment on whether Warsh would be required to divest any holdings, or when that could occur. Warsh did not respond immediately to questions about his intentions. The Fed also did not respond immediately.
The Federal Reserve’s rules ban any member from holding positions or stock in any bank, ⁠banking institution, or trust ⁠company. They are generally ​ineligible to work for a member bank for two years after serving unless they completed a full term.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/trumps-fed-pick-warsh-serves-board-firm-center-us-south-korea-trade-spat-2026-01-30/

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Minneapolis and students across the United States staged walkouts on Friday to demand the withdrawal of federal immigration agents from Minnesota following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens.
Students and teachers abandoned classes from California to New York on a national day of protest, which came amid mixed messages from the Trump administration about whether it would de-escalate Operation Metro Surge.

Under a national immigration crackdown, President Donald Trump has sent 3,000 federal officers to the Minneapolis area who are patrolling the streets in tactical gear, a force five times the size of the Minneapolis Police Department.
Protesting the surge and the tactics used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, several thousand people gathered in downtown Minneapolis in sub-freezing temperatures, including families with small kids, elderly couples and young activists.
Katia Kagan, wearing a “No ICE” sweatshirt and holding a sign demanding the agency leave the city, said she was the daughter of Russian Jews who immigrated to America seeking safety and a better life.

“I’m out here because I’m going to fight for the American dream that my parents came here for,” Kagan said.
Kim, a 65-year-old meditation coach who asked that her last name not be used, called the surge a “full-on fascist attack of our federal government on citizens.”
In a Minneapolis neighborhood near the sites where Alex Pretti and Renee Good, two U.S. citizens, were fatally shot this month by federal immigration agents, about 50 teachers and staff members from local schools turned out to march.
Rock star Bruce Springsteen lent his voice to the protest, taking the stage at a fundraiser for Good and Pretti in downtown Minneapolis and playing his new song “Streets of Minneapolis.”
Protests stretched well beyond Minnesota as organizers forecast 250 demonstrations across 46 states and in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington under the slogan, “No work. No school. No shopping. Stop funding ICE.”

Trump in turn offered a vote of confidence for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees ICE. Critics have called for her resignation but Trump said on social media that Noem “has done a really GREAT JOB!”, asserting that “The Border disaster that I inherited is fixed.”

LOCAL FBI CHIEF FORCED OUT

Meanwhile, events in Minneapolis reverberated through the federal government.
The acting head of the Minneapolis FBI field office, Jarrad Smith, was removed from his post, according to two sources familiar with the move. Smith was reassigned to FBI headquarters in Washington, according to one of the sources.
The Minneapolis field office has been involved in the federal surge as well as investigations into the Pretti shooting and a church protest that led to charges against former CNN anchor Don Lemon.
The FBI arrested Lemon on Friday and the Justice Department charged him with violating federal law during a protest inside a St. Paul, Minnesota, church earlier this month in what his lawyer called an attack on press freedom.
After pleading not guilty, Lemon told reporters, “I will not be silenced. I look forward to my day in court.”
The New York Times, citing an internal ICE memo it reviewed, reported on Friday that federal agents were told this week they have broader power to arrest people without a warrant, expanding the ability of lower-level ICE agents to carry out sweeps rounding up suspected undocumented immigrants they encounter.
Backlash against the administration’s immigration policy also threatened to spark a partial U.S. government shutdown as Democrats in Congress opposed funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.

PUBLIC OPINION SHIFTS

Weeks of viral videos showing the aggressive tactics of heavily armed and masked agents on the streets of Minneapolis have driven public approval of Trump’s immigration policy to the lowest level of his second term, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.
As uproar over the ICE operation grew, Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, was dispatched to Minneapolis, saying his officers would return to more targeted operations, rather than the broad street sweeps that have led to clashes with protesters.
Echoing protesters’ sentiments, Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz on Friday questioned whether that would happen and said more drastic changes were needed.
“The only way to ensure the safety of the people of Minnesota is for the federal government to draw down their forces and end this campaign of brutality,” Walz said on X.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/nationwide-protests-walkouts-planned-over-fatal-ice-shootings-minneapolis-2026-01-30/

Millions of new files relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been released by the US Department of Justice, the largest number of documents shared by the government since a law mandated their release last year.

Three million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos were posted publicly on Friday.

The release came six weeks after the department missed a deadline signed into law by US President Donald Trump that mandated all Epstein-related documents be shared with the public.

“Today’s release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people and compliance,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

The files include details about Jeffrey Epstein’s time in prison – including a psychological report – and his death while incarcerated, along with investigative records on Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate who was convicted of helping him traffic underaged girls.

They also include emails between Epstein and high-profile figures.

Many of the emails and documents go back more than a decade, showcasing Epstein’s relationships amid his legal troubles. He was convicted in 2008 in Florida for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl after coming to a controversial plea agreement with prosecutors.

He died in August 2019 while in jail on charges in a sprawling sex trafficking case.

The United Nations is at risk of “imminent financial collapse” due to member states not paying their fees, the body’s head has warned.

António Guterres said the UN faced a financial crisis which was “deepening, threatening programme delivery”, and that money could run out by July.

He wrote in a letter to all 193 member states that they had to honour their mandatory payments or overhaul the organisation’s financial rules to avoid collapse.

It comes after the UN’s largest contributor, the US, refused to contribute to its regular and peacekeeping budgets, and withdrew from several agencies it called a “waste of taxpayer dollars”. Several other members are in arrears or are simply refusing to pay.

Though the UN General Assembly did approve a partial change to its financial system in late 2025, the organisation still faces a massive cash crisis compounded by a rule that means it is refunding money it never received.

At its headquarters in Geneva, signs warning of the situation have been put up everywhere. In an almost desperate attempt to save cash, the escalators are regularly turned off and the heating turned down.

Guterres wrote in his letter that the UN had faced financial crises in the past but that the current situation was “categorically different”.

“Decisions not to honour assessed contributions that finance a significant share of the approved regular budget have now been formally announced,” the secretary general said, without naming specific members.

He said the “integrity of the entire system” depended on states adhering to their obligation under the UN charter to pay their “assessed contributions” – adding that 77% of the total owed had been paid in 2025, leaving a record amount unpaid.

Guterres said a rule that the UN must return unspent money on particular programmes to members if it could not implement a budget created a “double blow” in which it was “expected to give back cash that does not exist”.

“I cannot overstate the urgency of the situation we now face. We cannot execute budgets with uncollected funds, nor return funds we never received.”

As a result, the UN is now returning millions of dollars it never actually had.

The letter reads: “Just this month, as part of the 2026 assessment, we were compelled to return $227m [£165m] – funds we have not collected.”

“The bottom line is clear,” Guterres wrote. “Either all member states honour their obligations to pay in full and on time – or member states must fundamentally overhaul our financial rules to prevent an imminent financial collapse.”

UN agencies rarely get all the money they ask for to tackle humanitarian crises, but the past 12 months have been particularly difficult.

The US is the UN’s largest contributor, but President Donald Trump has said it was not fulfilling its “great potential” and has criticised it for failing to support US-led peace efforts.

The US did not pay its contribution to the UN’s regular budget in 2025 and offered only 30% of its expected funding to UN peacekeeping operations.

Then in January, Trump withdrew it from dozens of international organisations, including 31 UN agencies, to “end American taxpayer funding and involvement in entities that advance globalist agendas over US priorities”.

In late December, the US pledged $2bn (£1.5bn) in funding for UN humanitarian programmes – warning the international organisation must “adapt or die” – a fraction of the $17bn it spent in 2022.

Other countries, such as the UK and Germany, have also announced significant reductions in foreign aid, which will inevitably impact the UN’s work.

Guterres had warned earlier that same month that the UN faced its most fragile financial position in years – again citing unpaid fees – having said in October that it faced a “race to bankruptcy”.

Trump has separately been accused by critics of seeking to replace some functions of the UN with his Board of Peace to oversee regeneration efforts in Gaza.

The US president has said its work would happen “in conjunction with the United Nations” – but when previously asked by a Fox TV journalist whether the board would take the UN’s place, he replied: “Well, it might.”

The US officially left the UN’s World Health Organization last week. It had refused to pay its 2024 and 2025 dues despite, WHO lawyers say, being legally obliged to do so.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr579mdv4m7o

Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez announced a general amnesty bill that could see the release of hundreds of political prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists.

Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, called on Friday for the country to implement a “new judicial system” and proposed an “amnesty law” that would lead to the release of hundreds of political prisoners and turn an infamous detention center into a sports and social venue.

“May this law serve to heal the wounds left by the political confrontation, violence, and extremism,” she said in an event at the Supreme Court of Justice. “May it serve to restore justice in our country and restore peaceful coexistence among Venezuelans.”

Though the interim Venezuelan government did not release the text of the bill, leaving unclear the specific criteria that will be used to determine who qualifies for amnesty, Rodriguez said it would cover cases from after 1999 but would exclude those imprisoned for killings, ⁠serious abuses of human rights and drug trafficking.

Opposition says amnesty must include all civil society

The US-supported opposition in Venezuela has long sought the release of many political leaders. Venezuela-based prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal has estimated that 711 people are in detention for their political activities.

“A general amnesty is welcome as long as its elements and conditions include all of civil society, without discrimination, that it does not become a cloak of impunity, and that it contributes to dismantling the repressive apparatus of political persecution,” Alfredo Romero, president of Foro Penal, said on social media.

Foro Penal has recorded 302 releases since January 8, when National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez announced that the government would free a significant number of prisoners.

“We recall that these people were arbitrarily imprisoned for exercising rights protected by international human rights instruments, the National Constitution, and Venezuelan laws,” the Provea human rights group said in a statement. “The announcement of an amnesty should not be conceived, under any circumstances, as a pardon or act of clemency on the part of the State.”

Opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado said that the amnesty proposal came only after Rodriguez was pushed by Washington.

“This is not a voluntary gesture by the regime, but a response to pressure from the United States government. And I hope that the prisoners will soon be able to be with their families,” Machado posted on social media.

From site of abuse and repression to public park?

Relatives of prisoners at the Helicoide detention center have held vigils and camped overnight outside the prison in recent weeks, demanding their relatives be freed. A 2022 UN report claimed Venezuela’s state security agency tortured detainees at the prison, which was originally designed to be a mall.

Located in the capital, Caracas, Helicoide has long been denounced as the site of prisoner abuse and government repression and could be converted into a recreational center if Rodriguez’s bill is enacted.

Government officials deny holding political prisoners and say those jailed have committed crimes. Officials also claimed more than 600 people had been released from prison, but have not been clear about the timeline and appear to be including releases from ​previous years.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/venezuela-interim-president-proposes-amnesty-bill/a-75737147

Amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to avert a wider conflict in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states and Israel are prioritizing their own interests as regional tensions between the US and Iran continue to rise.

Throughout this past week, the uncertainty over potential US military action against Iran continued to shape strategic steps across the region.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both close US allies who also maintain ties with Tehran, said they won’t allow their airspace be used for any attack, regardless of the origin.

Egypt’s foreign minister Badr Abdelatty — whose country has thawed ties with Iran but is yet to reach a full diplomatic level — spoke to his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi as well as to US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff to “work toward achieving calm, in order to avoid the region slipping into new cycles of instability.”

Meanwhile, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and some 10 US guided missile destroyers, capable of launching attacks from the sea, arrived in the region, the shipping tracking site MarineTraffic noted.

The Iranian state-owned news media organization Press TV announced that with the beginning of next week, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard naval forces will start ⁠live-fire ‍exercises in the same waters, the Strait of Hormuz, which links Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates ⁠with the Gulf of Oman and ‌the ‌Arabian Sea.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations meanwhile posted on X that “Iran stands ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and interests — BUT IF PUSHED, IT WILL DEFEND ITSELF AND RESPOND LIKE NEVER BEFORE!”

In line with that, Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, worte on X that a “‘limited strike’ is an illusion.”

He stated that “any military action by the United States — from any origin and at any level — would be considered an act of war and the response would be immediate, all out, and unprecedented, targeting the heart of Tel Aviv and all those supporting the aggressor.”

For Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London-based think tank Chatham House, the latest decisions by US President Donald Trump indicate that economic relief and reintegration remain possible, “but only after Iran accepts permanent and verifiable constraints on its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes alongside shifts in its regional behaviour,” she wrote in an op-ed on the think tank’s website.

Israel has not yet built its defenses back up

Tensions between the US and Iran have been mounting since Tehran’s brutal crackdown on protesters beginning in December 2025. According to the latest death tally by the US-based Human Rights Activists in Iran, 6,479 deaths have been confirmed, including 6,092 protesters and 118 children (as of Friday night, January 30). Also, more than 42,450 people have been arrested, the NGO said.

According to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the country’s arch enemies, the United States and Israel, are responsible for the unrest.

For Israel, a potential US strike risks an Iranian counterstrike on its territory, Pauline Raabe, a political scientist at the Berlin-based Middle East Minds think tank, points out.

“Against the background of the upcoming elections in Israel, the Israeli government supports the current call for moderation,” she told DW.

Following the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the ensuing two-year war in Gaza, and the 12-day-war in June 2025 between Israel and Iran, during which the US carried out strikes on nuclear targets across Iran, Israel is yet to rebuild the full scope of its defense mechanisms, Raabe added.

Mairav Zonszein, senior analyst on Israel with the International Crisis Group, an independent organization working to prevent wars, confirms this.

“Missile interceptors have not been replenished enough,” Zonszein said.

Despite this, she doesn’t believe that Israel could tell Trump to not strike Iran.

“And yet, there are different factors as to why I think right now such a strike would not be ideal for Israel,” she told DW.

For years, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been sounding the alarm over the threat of Iran’s nuclear weapons.

“But Israeli officials would be happy with a deal that resembles the Libyan model,” which involved Libya abolishing its nuclear program, Zonszein said.

Also, in her view, it is no secret that Israel supports a regime change in Tehran.

“But for now, Israel is just making sure that it’s prepared for whatever Trump will decide,” she said.

Mounting concerns in the Gulf states

The political strategy of the other regional neighbors in the Gulf is meanwhile driven by different interests, Eckart Woertz, director of the German Institute of International and Security Affairs (GIGA) in Hamburg, told DW earlier this month.

“The Gulf states have a vested interest in maintaining stability in the region even by means of authoritarian structures,” he said, adding that the political elite of the Gulf states apparently prefers to rely on the familiar old regime rather than getting involved with a new, potentially unknown faction.

Pauline Raabe in turn believes that the Gulf states will continue to exert maximal diplomatic pressure on both sides as they fear that violence could spiral out of control as a result of an attack.

“It could mean that they themselves could become targets of Iranian attacks,” Raabe said, noting that the US bases in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain could be among the first targets of possible Iranian airstrikes. “This worries the Gulf states as they would have war in their own backyard.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/us-iran-tensions-arab-states-and-israel-navigate-strategic-tightrope/a-75732540

The price of silver has just reached an all-time high of more than $120 per ounce. Although gold has eclipsed the white metal as a store of value, DW explores why silver is regaining global relevance.

What happened to the price of silver in 2025?

Silver has experienced a remarkable bull market, more than quadrupling in value from around $30 (€24.54) per ounce at the start of the year to an all-time high of $120.44 per ounce (28 grams) on Thursday (January 29).

At the beginning of last year, the metal traded on COMEX — the commodity division of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) — near $30 in January and hovered between $37 and $40 through the summer before breaking decisively higher.

Silver’s 2025 gains represent a dramatic turnaround for the precious metal, long regarded as the poorer cousin of gold, whose price typically outpaces silver during bull markets.

Although some investors are warning of a potential short-term price correction, sentiment around silver remains bullish for the year.

Before 2025, silver had spent much of the past decade in the $15 to $25 range, with occasional spikes above $30 during periods of investor enthusiasm. But it struggled to sustain upward momentum.

Even in previous peaks in 1980 and 2011, silver topped out near $49 per ounce, far below gold’s surges above $1,900.

This year’s breakout was partly fueled by a falling US dollar and expectations of US Federal Reserve rate cuts, which make precious metals more attractive as safe‑haven assets.

But far bigger factors are pushing the rally higher, including tightening global supply as production struggles to keep pace with demand.

What challenges are facing silver production?

Latin America, which produces more than half of the world’s silver, is facing declining output as mines age and reserves dwindle.

Mexico, responsible for 25% of the world’s supply, has seen double‑digit output drops in recent years.

One of the country’s largest mines, San Julian, in northern Chihuahua state, is approaching end‑of‑life by 2027. The mine is one of operator Fresnillo’s biggest operations. Its ore grades are falling and reserves are being depleted.

Meanwhile, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, which together supply nearly a third of global silver, are struggling with declining ore grades that make extraction costlier and less efficient.

These countries also face political instability and tougher mining regulations that have discouraged fresh investment in their mining sectors.

Without new discoveries or supportive regulations, production from Latin America is expected to stagnate or decline by the end of the decade, according to analysts at the London-based GlobalData.

The silver market has, meanwhile, remained in a structural deficit for the fifth consecutive year, the industry association The Silver Institute wrote at the end of last year, as demand exceeded supply by around 95 million ounces in 2025.

Why is there a growing demand for silver?

Silver demand is rising not only because investors view it as a store of value, but also because it has become essential to modern technology and clean energy.

Its unique properties, especially unmatched electrical and thermal conductivity, make silver indispensable in fast‑growing global industries.

Solar panels, for example, rely on silver paste to conduct electricity. As governments push renewable energy targets, demand from the photovoltaic sector is set to climb sharply.

Electric vehicles (EVs) also require up to two-thirds more silver than combustion-engine automobiles. The metal is used in batteries, wiring and charging infrastructure, embedding the metal into the future of green transport.

Silver is now playing an increasingly critical role in the digital economy. Artificial intelligence (AI) chips and data centers depend on silver for efficient circuitry, where speed and reliability are paramount.

The precious metal’s ability to handle massive electrical loads ensures clean signals and stable performance at scale, while high thermal conductivity helps clear the extreme heat generated by AI workloads.

While silver’s use in coins and bars is in decline, other traditional uses, such as jewelry, as well as electronics, medical devices and consumer goods, remain strong.

The Silver Institute projects that global industrial demand for silver is expected to grow steadily over the next five years.

Oxford Economics has calculated that silver demand in the auto sector will grow annually by 3.4% between now and 2031 and that the precious metal will benefit from a 65% projected increase in US data center buildouts over the same period.

What was silver’s historical role as money?

For millennia, silver has been trusted as money and a store of value. Ancient civilizations used it in trade because it was rare, durable and easy to divide.

Silver’s importance grew even more when European colonizers discovered vast deposits in Latin America, helping it to become the metal of daily transactions.

Spanish pieces of eight — silver coins worth eight reales, Spain’s old currency before the peseta and euro — became the world’s first global trade currency, circulating from the Americas to Asia and Europe.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/silver-why-the-price-of-poor-mans-gold-has-hit-a-record/a-75086411

The 25-year-old Iranian fashion designer hoped that mass protests nearly four years ago — the ones that erupted after a young woman was arrested and died in custody for not wearing the hijab properly — would improve civil rights in the Islamic Republic.

Not much changed, though. Being on those streets, she felt, may have been for nothing. But it didn’t deter her.

In early January, she protested again. The sea of people across Tehran’s busy streets lifted her spirits. This time, the spark was inflation and the plummeting value of the Iranian rial — though chants soon targeted the country’s theocratic leaders.

The crowd was larger, more diverse, she said. Protests in Iran erupt every few years. But this momentum felt unprecedented, she said.

The response by security forces would be, too.

Activists estimate that over 6,000 people, mostly protesters, were killed in the bloodiest crackdown on dissent since the Islamic Republic was created in 1979. They worry the number will increase as information trickles out.

The Associated Press spoke with six Iranians, each on condition of anonymity through secure channels as security forces continued to crack down on dissenters after the protests. They said they demonstrated and witnessed state violence against protesters. Four of them took risks to circumvent an internet shutdown to share what they saw, while two spoke from abroad.

They described a rare sense of hope among protesters, a consensus that the current status quo was no longer sustainable. The younger, more defiant generation was there, they said, but so were older residents, people from well-to-do families, even some children. All said they expected the state to respond aggressively but were horrified by the extent of the brutal crackdown.

“When we went out, I couldn’t say I wasn’t stressed, but there was no way I could stay at home,” the designer said. “I felt that if I stayed home — if anyone stayed home — out of fear, nothing would move forward.”

No group of interviews — no matter how illuminating — can reflect the experiences of an entire population or even a segment of it. They’re not representative of the large country of over 85 million people and its diverse ethnic and religious makeup. But these Iranians offer a rare glimpse of life in the Islamic Republic at a pivotal moment in its history.

Iran was battered by Israeli and U.S. jets during a 12-day war in June and has been under the grip of Western-led sanctions, compounding economic problems. People say the government has not responded to their concerns of economic mismanagement and interference in their personal lives. They want rights, they say. Dignity.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said several thousand have been killed — a rare admission that indicates the scale of the movement and the government’s response. Officials and state media repeatedly refer to demonstrators as “terrorists,” showing images of buildings and state property they say protesters have burned or damaged. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to questions from AP about these witnesses’ recollections. Iran’s U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, has previously said security forces “firmly and responsibly” confronted protesters, whom he called “violent separatists.”

The fashion designer: ‘Everyone was afraid’

During the peak of the protests, the fashion designer said, people poured into the streets of Tehran. She described the events of Jan. 8, a turning point in the mood and crackdown on demonstrations.

“When I was outside in the evening, the city was still and empty,” the fashion designer said. Then came a call to protest from Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince. By 8 p.m., she said, she was in a sea of thousands — a crowd larger and more diverse than she’d ever seen.

“Everyone was afraid,” she said, but “they kept saying, ‘No, don’t leave. This time, we can’t leave it. We must not leave until they are over.” She and two friends who protested with her spoke to the AP using a Starlink satellite dish because of the internet blackout, devices now being seized by authorities there.

They marched up Shariati Street, a commercial road that connects some of northern Tehran’s most bustling neighborhoods to one of the country’s busiest bazaars. But shops were closed. The three said they sprayed graffiti and yelled anti-government chants at the top of their lungs.

They described teenagers and elderly people joining Iran’s regular dissenting voices in chants of defiance and anger. Some chants called for the death of Khamenei — a cry that can bring the death penalty.

Then came the security forces.

Anti-riot police and members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force arrived, the three friends said, blocking the road and lobbing tear gas and firing pellet guns into the crowd. Protesters panicked and scrambled as the stench of tear gas swept across the crowd.

The group told AP that many pushed forward, throwing rocks at the security forces. Some younger people, veterans of previous protests, donned scarves or masks to protect themselves and hide their identities, expecting a violent pushback.

The protesters built momentum. Some security forces that had arrived on motorcycles appeared to have retreated. But, the fashion designer said, the forces returned, charging at protesters. She knew she and her friends had to run.

They dashed into alleys and side streets, away from the chaos. Residents cheering on protesters had thrown rags and antiseptics from their windows as security forces fired pellets at the crowd.

Soon, tear gas canisters fell into the alley. The fashion designer remembered lessons from other protests: “I thought I’d kick it back,” she said, to protect the wounded. But as she did, she said, security forces were firing paintballs and pellets. She described being pierced in the hand and leg.

Fortunately, she said, her mask softened the blow of the paintball that hit the side of her face.

The doctor: ‘This had never happened before at this scale’

When protests reached her part of the country, the doctor said, she wasn’t surprised. But the extent was a different story.

“This had never happened before at this scale,” said the doctor in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city and home to an important Shiite shrine. She spoke to AP while visiting family abroad.

Days before a hospital night shift, the physician said, she had attended protests in the northeastern city, hearing gunfire from a distance and feeling tear gas burn her eyes. She saw graffiti on walls and buildings afire, even mosques believed to be used by government forces as rally points.

Once she clocked in at the hospital, Iranian security forces had escalated their response.

“I was not afraid for myself,” the doctor said. “I was afraid for others.”

She didn’t work in the emergency room but tried to see what was going on as ambulances and protesters delivered bodies. Colleagues told her 150 bodies were brought in that night. As she tried to move in closer, she managed a glimpse at some of them, she said: a boy and a young woman lying on stretchers, bearing gunshot wounds.

Security agents in the hospital, both in uniform and plainclothes, took over the command of the hospital emergency room, the doctor said. Doctors protested, she said of the colleagues’ account, but they were told to stop speaking or asking questions.

“They were standing over their (ER workers) heads with a gun, telling them not to touch (the wounded),” the doctor recalled of the experience relayed by one colleague. It was “as if they wanted those injured people to die on their own.”

Momentum ebbed, and Iran remains isolated

Khamenei told the nation that the protesters were either collaborators working for American or Israeli intelligence agencies or misguided members of the public trying to sabotage the country. Authorities held a counterdemonstration showing people loyal to the country’s theocratic leadership.

Crackdowns continued. Momentum ebbed. Iran remains cut off from the world. For some, rage and grief over the violence have grown.

“What I fear is that these events will be treated as something ordinary by the world, that people will simply move on and no one will pay attention,” the doctor said. “The fact that the voices of so many of those who were killed never reaches anyone is truly the most painful thing for me.”

She described observing a family arrive at the hospital to retrieve the body of a relative— a young woman. Agents refused to hand over her body, the doctor said, unless the family gave them her national identification and let them identify her as a Basij volunteer and government supporter. An argument started, and her family was arrested, the doctor said, and the woman’s body was taken to the cemetery with the others.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-tehran-crackdown-demonstrations-khamenei-d43414787f764ae83c608c5f19563cbb

The Scarborough Shoal is in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, but China also claims it as part of its territory.

China conducted naval and air patrols around the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Saturday (Jan 31), the China Southern Theater Command said.

The shoal is in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, but China also claims it as part of its territory.

The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China has stepped up combat readiness patrols in the area in January, “resolutely countering the infringement provocations of individual countries within the region,” the post said.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/china-conducts-naval-air-patrols-around-disputed-south-china-sea-scarboroughshoal-5897821

President Donald Trump’s administration will add some 65,000 H-2B seasonal guest worker visas through September 30, a Federal Register notice said, stating the visas would be available to employers at risk of severe financial hardship due to a lack of US labour, Reuters reported.

The move roughly doubled the 66,000 visas available each year to businesses such as construction, hospitality, landscaping and seafood processing, in a recognition that US employers in those industries could be struggling to find workers.

A temporary rule making the additional H-2B visas available will be formally published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, the notice said.

Trump, a Republican, launched a wide-ranging immigration crackdown after returning to the White House in 2025, portraying immigrants without legal status as criminals and a drain on their communities. His administration also clamped down on forms of legal immigration, with broad travel bans and reviews of refugee and asylum cases.

The number of available visas also was expanded under former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Trump during periods of his 2017-2021 presidency.

Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/trump-administration-to-add-65000-h-2b-guest-worker-visas-this-year/articleshow/127812576.cms

Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi met the country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and later posted that a decision on the “ICC matter” will be taken by Friday or Monday (February 2)

The suspense surrounding the development is reaching a crescendo. Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi met the country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and later posted that a decision on the “ICC matter” will be taken by Friday or Monday (February 2). Bangladesh has already been replaced by Scotland after the former’s refusal to play its matches in India. If Pakistan also withdraws, there will be a big gap for the ICC to fill.

In these circumstances, Uganda has offered its candidature if “a T20 World Cup seat opens.”

“Dear @ICC, If a T20 World Cup seat opens, Uganda is ready – packed and padded. Passports warm (not ice). No bakers leaving ovens or ships U-turning. Heat, noise, pressure? We’ll bring the bold kit,” Cricket Uganda posted on X.

Uganda’s hilarious post was in direct reference to what Iceland Cricket had posted a while back. They first offered to replace Pakistan and then “withdrew” as well. “It is with a heavy heart that we now announce our unavailability to replace Pakistan in the upcoming T20 World Cup,” they wrote, before adding: “Our loss is likely Uganda’s gain. We wish them well.”

Amid the “threat,” the Pakistan Cricket Board has already scheduled its T20 World Cup squad to depart for Colombo early on February 2, virtually ruling out any possibility of boycotting either the tournament or the marquee clash against India on February 15, sources close to the board told news agency PTI.

“The PCB has already made travel arrangements for the World Cup squad to leave early morning on February 2 for Colombo,” the source said.

The source added that the PCB had shown its full support to the Bangladesh Cricket Board over their “security concerns” about playing in India, and could not do anything further without damaging its own position within the ICC.

It is expected that the PCB will confirm its participation on Friday. There has been speculation in sections of the media that Pakistan could pull out of the tournament or refuse to play India. But an insider dismissed such reports as rumours.

Source : https://sports.ndtv.com/t20-world-cup-2026/passports-warm-uganda-offers-icc-to-replace-pakistan-in-t20-world-cup-after-iceland-withdraw-proposal-10914713?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories

Catherine O’Hara’s “Schitt’s Creek” co-stars are heartbroken over the Hollywood icon’s sudden death at age 71.

“What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years,” Dan Levy, who created the show and played O’Hara’s son David, wrote on Instagram Friday alongside two photos of himself with the actress.

“Having spent over fifty years collaborating with my Dad, Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family,” he said. “It’s hard to imagine a world without her in it. I will cherish every funny memory I was fortunate enough to make with her.”

He added that his heart went out to O’Hara’s husband of 33 years, Bo Welch, sons, Matthew, 31, and Luke, 29, and the rest of her family.

Dan’s dad and O’Hara’s “Schitt’s Creek” husband, Eugene Levy, provided a statement to Page Six, writing, “Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today. I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for over fifty years.”

He continued, “From our beginnings on the Second City stage, to SCTV, to the movies we did with Chris Guest, to our six glorious years on Schitt’s Creek, I cherished our working relationship, but most of all our friendship. And I will miss her. My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke, and the entire O’Hara family.”

Jennifer Robertson, who played Jocelyn Schitt on the sitcom, also told Page Six, “I am deeply saddened to hear we have lost Catherine. Being in Catherine O’Hara’s orbit was a beautiful, magical gift. She was an absolute star who never understood why people made such a fuss about her. Her passing is a loss for everyone who knew and loved her. My deepest condolences to Bo, her sons and the O’Hara family.”

Dan’s sister Sarah Levy, who played the Café Tropical waitress in the show, posted a photo of O’Hara in character via Instagram, and captioned it with the following: “This one cuts deep. What an honour it has been to know and work with and love Catherine O’Hara. Cheers to all that you brought to this world – you will be so, so missed.”

Co-stars from the actress’ other legendary works like “Beetlejuice” and “Home Alone” also mourned the loss of O’Hara in the time since her passing.

O’Hara starred in “Schitt’s Creek” for all six seasons from 2015 to 2020. The sitcom followed a wealthy couple, Johnny (Eugene Levy) and Moira (O’Hara), and their two kids, Alexis (Annie Murphy) and David (Dan), who lose all their money and are forced to live out of a motel in a small town.

In 2020, the beloved project swept the Emmys and in 2021, all of the cast once again went home winners at the Golden Globes.

Over the years there have been rumblings of a “Schitt’s Creek” movie or reboot happening.

O’Hara was asked about the possibility of having the Roses reunite on screen in 2024, to which she told People, “I would love to [do it]. We did a bit of a tour after we finished the show, and it was so much fun.”

“I’d love to just be with them all again,” she added. “Doing a movie would be wonderful. Yeah, I hope it happens.”

Dan previously spoke about getting the gang back together in 2022.

“My hope is that one day we can all get together. I see these people all the time. We’re in constant contact with each other,” he told People at the time.

“So the love is there. The desire to work together is there, and the desire to tell more stories is there.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/01/30/entertainment/schitts-creek-cast-reacts-to-catherine-oharas-death/

India’s chief economic adviser proposed age-based limits on access to social media platforms he said were “predatory” in their approach to keeping users online, signalling a potential blow to Meta and YouTube in their largest user market.
Such a shift would pull India in line with a growing global trend, after Australia became the first nation last year to ban social media for children younger than 16.

On Monday, France’s National Assembly backed legislation to ban children under 15 from social media and Britain, Denmark and Greece are studying the issue.
The adviser, V. Anantha Nageswaran, recommended in India’s annual economic survey that families promote screen-time limits, device-free hours and shared offline activities.
“Policies on age-based access limits may be considered, as younger users are more vulnerable to compulsive use and harmful content,” he wrote in the survey, which was published on Thursday.
“Platforms should be made responsible for enforcing age verification and age-appropriate defaults.”

INDIA A HUGE MARKET FOR SOCIAL MEDIA FIRMS

The recommendations are not binding, but are reflected in policy discussions in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Past recommendations have prompted tax reforms, easing rules on Chinese investment and stronger digital infrastructure.
India, the world’s No. 2 smartphone market with 750 million devices and a billion internet users, is a key growth market for social media apps, and does not set a minimum age for access.
Research firm DataReportal says YouTube has 500 million users in India, Facebook 403 million, while Instagram has 481 million.
Facebook operator Meta (META.O), YouTube-parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O), and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Meta has previously said it backs laws for parental oversight while adding: “Governments considering bans should be careful not to push teens toward less safe, unregulated sites.”
New Delhi has repeatedly clashed with social media companies like Meta and X over the years over content moderation, local data storage, user safety and not complying with content takedown orders promptly.
In a press briefing, Nageswaran on Thursday called the platforms “predatory” in their approach to maximise user engagement and time spent by users, adding that “such algorithms are particularly targeted at youngsters between the ages of 15 and 24.”
Cheap telecom data plans have boosted use of social media apps in recent years, with 75% of young smartphone users on the apps, the survey report said.
“Digital addiction negatively affects academic performance and workplace productivity due to distractions, ‘sleep debt’, and reduced focus,” Nageswaran added.

‘CHILDREN SLIPPING INTO RELENTLESS USAGE’

The recommendation follows growing efforts among Indian states to rein in screen time for young people.

The coastal state of Goa and the southern state of Andhra Pradesh have said they are studying Australia’s regulatory framework, with an eye to similar bans for children.
“Trust in social media is breaking down,” Nara Lokesh, the infotech minister in Andhra Pradesh, wrote on X on Thursday, saying the state would study legal frameworks for age-appropriate access.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-should-consider-age-based-limits-social-media-access-economic-adviser-says-2026-01-29/

SpaceX is exploring deals with other companies helmed by serial entrepreneur Elon Musk, leaving investors working through permutations between space, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence to analyze which combination makes the most sense.
The rocket maker is in discussions to merge with xAI ahead of a blockbuster public offering ​planned for this year, Reuters reported on Thursday. The combination would bring Musk’s rockets, Starlink satellites, X social media platform and Grok chatbot under one roof, according to a person briefed on the matter and ‌two regulatory filings.

Reuters could not determine the deal’s value, timing or primary rationale.
SpaceX is also considering a merger with Musk’s electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA.O), Bloomberg reported.
“I think it’s highly likely that (xAI) ends up with one of the two parties,” said Tesla shareholder Gene Munster, who is managing partner at xAI investor Deepwater Asset Management.
Musk, the world’s richest man, is CEO of SpaceX and artificial intelligence company xAI, which controls X. He also runs Tesla, tunnel company The Boring Co and neurotechnology firm Neuralink.
“What’s important for Elon is to have a massive vision that’s way out there that he’s early on,” Munster said. A compelling prospect would be Tesla taking xAI which would improve the EV maker’s robot and self-driving car plans, he said.

Predictions hub Polymarket late on Thursday put the chance of a SpaceX-xAI merger by mid-year at ‌48% and Tesla-xAI merger at 16%.
Musk, SpaceX, xAI and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. Tesla’s share price rose 3% in after-hours trade.
SpaceX plans to go public some time ​this year with a valuation likely above $1 trillion, Reuters and other media reported. It is the world’s most-valuable privately held company – at $800 billion in a recent private share sale. xAI was valued at $230 billion in November, the Wall Street Journal reported. Tesla’s market capitalization is $1.4 trillion.
For SpaceX, a massive deal may complicate its IPO but add momentum to efforts to launch data centers into orbit, a key goal in the escalating AI race against the likes of OpenAI, Meta Platforms (META.O), and Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google.

Some Tesla shareholders ‍have long advocated bringing Musk’s companies together. Bloomberg reported that investors have been pushing the idea of joining SpaceX and Tesla.
“Musk has too many separate companies,” said Dennis Dick, chief market strategist at Stock Trader Network. “A major risk thesis for Tesla is that Musk is spreading himself out too much. As a Tesla shareholder, I applaud further consolidation.”
Under a SpaceX-xAI merger, xAI shares would be exchanged for SpaceX shares. Two entities have been established in Nevada to facilitate, said the person briefed on the matter, requesting anonymity because discussions are confidential.
Filings showed those entities were set up on ⁠January 21 but did not detail their purpose or role in any deal. One lists SpaceX and its chief financial officer, Bret Johnsen, as managing members. The other lists Johnsen as sole officer.

Johnsen did not respond to a request for comment.
Some xAI ‍executives could be given the option to receive cash instead of SpaceX stock as part of the deal, said the person briefed on the matter. No final agreement has been signed and the deal timing and structure remain fluid, the person said.

DATA CENTERS IN SPACE

Space-based AI processing, ‌powered by solar ‌energy, is aimed at cutting the cost of generating the computing power that runs and trains AI models such as xAI’s Grok. Billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has announced a high-capacity backbone network of thousands of satellites, while Google is researching space-based data centers under Project Suncatcher.
Speaking in Davos, Switzerland, last week, Musk – whose timing projections are rarely realized – said “the lowest cost place to put AI will be in space. And that will be true within two years, maybe three at the latest.”
Building data centers in space is a risky proposition considering AI is evolving rapidly and unpredictably. Analysts and executives have questioned whether envisioned cuts in energy consumption are worth the cost of tailoring systems for space.
Folding in xAI could also boost SpaceX’s prospects for contracts at the Pentagon, which ⁠has sought to ramp up AI adoption in military networks, said ⁠Caleb Henry of space research and advisory Quilty Analytics.
U.S. ​Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this month visited SpaceX’s Starbase development site in Texas where he said xAI’s language model and chat platform Grok will be integrated into military networks as part of an “AI acceleration strategy” aimed at speeding up military decision-making and planning.
xAI has a contract worth as much as $200 million to provide Grok products to the Pentagon. Through xAI, Musk is building out a supercomputer for AI training in Memphis, Tennessee, called Colossus.
Starlink and national security variant Starshield already rely heavily on AI, such as for automated satellite maneuvers in orbit. Starshield, under a ‍contract with a U.S. intelligence agency, is building a network of hundreds of classified satellites equipped with sensors that are widely expected to use AI to help track moving targets on Earth.

LATEST MERGER BETWEEN MUSK COMPANIES

Musk already has been combining businesses. In 2016, he used Tesla stock to buy solar-energy company SolarCity. Last year, he folded X into xAI in a share swap that gave the AI startup access to the microblog’s data and distribution.
xAI also received a $2 billion investment commitment from SpaceX as part a $5 billion equity fundraising, the Wall Street Journal reported last year.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/musks-spacex-merger-talks-with-xai-ahead-planned-ipo-source-says-2026-01-29/

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he planned to speak with Iran, even as the U.S. dispatched another warship to the Middle East and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the military would be ready to carry out whatever the president decided.
Speaking to reporters, Trump did not elaborate on the nature or timing of any dialogue or say who from Washington would lead the negotiations.

“I am planning on it, yeah,” Trump said when asked about possible discussions with Tehran. “We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn’t have to use them.”

U.S. officials say Trump is reviewing his options but has not decided whether to strike Iran. U.S.-Iranian tensions have soared in recent weeks after a bloody crackdown on protests across Iran by its clerical authorities.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene if Iran continued to kill protesters, but the countrywide demonstrations over economic privations and political repression have since abated.
He has said the United States would act if Tehran resumed its nuclear program after air strikes in June by Israeli and U.S. forces on key nuclear installations.
With a large U.S. military force gathered in the region, Hegseth was asked earlier in the day by Trump at a cabinet meeting to comment on the situation in Iran.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/hegseth-tells-trump-pentagon-is-prepared-iran-2026-01-29/

Gold prices fell as much as 8% on Friday to briefly dip below the $5,000 per ounce mark, as the dollar firmed following President Donald Trump’s announcement of his choice for Federal Reserve chair, even as bullion was set for its strongest monthly gain since 1982.
Spot gold dropped 5.8% to $5,081.52 per ounce at 09:37 a.m. ET (1437 GMT), after retreating to an intraday low of $4,957.53 earlier. U.S. gold futures for February delivery slipped 4.1% to $5,079.60.

The selloff, described by analysts as profit-taking, also pressured other precious metals.
The triggers behind the sell-off could be a combination of factors, ranging from the Fed Chair announcement to broader macro flows, said Suki Cooper, global head, commodities research at Standard Chartered Bank.
Whether we look at the dollar or expectations for real yields, a combination of these drivers has helped trigger profit-taking, she added.
Trump named former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh as his choice to succeed Jerome Powell as Fed chair in May, placing a frequent critic of the central bank in a key leadership role.

Gold hit a record peak of $5,594.82 on Thursday and remains on track for a more than 17% rise this month, marking its sixth consecutive monthly increase.
The U.S. dollar index (.DXY), gained 0.4%, rebounding from a four-year low earlier this week and making greenback-priced gold more expensive for overseas buyers.
Meanwhile, Joe Cavatoni, Senior Market Strategist, Americas, and Head of Public Policy, US, World Gold Council said, “in an environment shaped by policy uncertainty, rising debt burdens and geopolitical risk, gold is increasingly being viewed as a strategic portfolio allocation rather than a short-term trade.”
Gold premiums in India hit decade-highs on investment demand, while China saw gains on jewellery and investment interest.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-slips-firmer-dollar-set-best-month-since-1980-2026-01-30/

President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, touched down in Minneapolis and has pledged changes, but no stop to ICE operations in the city. Trump himself recently hinted at a desire to de-escalate.

The EU is probing Elon Musk’s Grok AI after its deepfake feature generated millions of sexualized images of women and children. Brussels is putting its toughest tech laws to one of their biggest test yet.

“I was involuntarily undressed by Elon Musk’s Grok on X.” Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch said in a recent video on the platform. She is one of countless victims of a feature on X’s AI chatbot, Grok, that allows users to digitally strip women and children of their clothing. In less than two weeks, Grok generated three million sexualized images, including tens of thousands that appear to depict children.

Now, the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has launched an investigation into Grok under the Digital Services Act, or DSA. The Commission said it would “assess whether the company [X] properly assessed and mitigated risks associated with the deployment of Grok’s functionalities into X in the EU.”

The investigation could set an important precedent in confronting US tech firms and protecting citizens from privacy violations. “If they can go up against Musk, that is huge,” Joanna Bryson, professor of ethics and technology at the Hertie School university in Berlin, told DW. “It tells everybody the EU is serious.”

EU has the laws to protect from AI harm

But how much power does the EU have? Under its laws, the bloc can regulate digital services much like physical products. Just as unsafe toys or appliances can be banned from the European market, online platforms that break EU rules can be forced to change — or be shut out entirely.

“The DSA is arguably the most powerful platform regulation in the world,” said Philipp Hacker, professor of law and ethics at the Viadrina University in Frankfurt an der Oder. Rather than targeting specific technologies, it addresses broad categories such as “systemic risks,” giving the European Commission flexibility to respond to new harms as AI evolves. Grok’s undressing function did not exist when the DSA entered into force in 2022.

The EU has two main enforcement tools. It can fine X up to 6% of its global annual turnover, a measure it already used in December, when it fined the platform €120 million ($143 million) for breaching DSA transparency rules. In cases of repeated violations, the Commission can also block the platform entirely within the EU. For now, a fine is seen as the more likely next step.

The EU’s leverage is strengthened by its market size. As one of the world’s largest consumer markets, it wields significant influence over global tech firms.

EU reportedly delayed start of Grok investigation

Still, experts question whether the Commission will push hard enough to set a lasting precedent. “We have a lot of provisions protecting fundamental rights. The problem is there enforcement, making sure they are not disregarded,” says Marco Bassini, assistant professor of Fundamental Rights and Articifical Intelligence at Tilburg University.

At a time of strained EU-US relations, Brussels has been cautious about fully deploying its regulatory power against American tech companies. According to reporting by the German newspaper Handelsblatt, the launch of the Grok investigation was delayed by the office of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen amid a tariff dispute between the EU and the US over Greenland. In the past, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick linked tariff reductions to weakening EU tech regulation.

“I think a big mistake was made,” Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Alexandra Geese told DW. “There was a lot of fear about the reaction from the US administration.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/the-eu-takes-on-musks-ai-that-undresses-women-can-it-protect-its-citizens/a-75709719

Jacques Tilly’s carnival floats mocking Vladimir Putin have landed him before a Moscow court. As the trial drags on, the Dusseldorf-based satirist has denounced the charges as an assault on freedom of expression.

Russian President Vladimir Putin bathes in the blood of Ukraine, while US President Donald Trump tears up the climate protection agreement like an angry child: These Düsseldorf carnival floats made by German artist and float builder Jacques Tilly are meant to provoke. They’ve now also provoked the Russian state, which has taken him to court — a first for the famed artist.

A trial against Tilly is now underway in Moscow. It was scheduled to continue this past Wednesday in the defendant’s absence, but after a brief opening session, it was postponed for the second time until February 26.

At earlier hearings in December, the court-appointed defense attorney arrived late; this time, prosecution witnesses failed to appear. Representatives of the German Embassy are expected to attend the upcoming hearings in Moscow, but they will not have the right to speak.

“With everything that is happening in the world right now, I find it downright ridiculous that a carnival float builder, of all people, is being put on trial. It’s like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut,” Tilly said in an interview with DW.

Tilly’s oversized figures ride on the carnival floats of Düsseldorf’s Rose Monday parades, which take place the Monday before Ash Wednesday, and have become world famous. Whether it’s the church or the state, climate catastrophe or right-wing extremists, Tilly doesn’t shy away from any topic.

“There were many threats of legal action, including last year when I built a float featuringAlice Weidel, the chairwoman of Alternative for Germany [a partially right-wing extremist party: Eds.], in a witch’s house. She holds a gingerbread swastika under the noses of young voters. There were 20 threats of legal action, but no charges were brought.”

What does the charge mean?

In Germany, freedom of expression is a fundamental right, enshrined in law — this includes political satire, provided it doesn’t violate other laws.

“Satire is actually mockery spiced with humor; criticism wrapped in humor,” says Tilly, “and Putin can’t stand criticism. Anyone who thinks differently ends up in court and, in the worst case, in some kind of prison camp.” He suspects that this could also happen to him.

The criminal complaint filed by the Russian government represents a new level of escalation for Tilly. He is accused of defaming Russian state institutions, including the military and President Putin.

Tilly’s 2023 carnival float, in which the Russian leader is depicted bathing in Ukrainian blood (headline photo), is said to have triggered the proceedings. “They say I defamed the Russian military and act out of self-interest.” The same accusations are often leveled against critics of the regime in Russia.

Putin flexes his muscles

Why exactly the charges against Tilly were not brought until December 2025 remains a mystery. To date, Tilly has neither received an indictment nor spoken to the court-appointed defense attorney. If the court finds him guilty, the artist could face a fine as well as imprisonment in a penal camp.

Putin’s long arm reaches beyond Russia, says Tilly: “The consequence is that I am simply no longer allowed to enter certain countries because they have extradition agreements with Russia, such as India or Serbia, Egypt and Indonesia, too.” The German Foreign Office has explicitly advised him against traveling to these countries.

Does Russia aim to set an example?

It’s tradition in German carnivals to mock the authorities with satirical floats: Hierarchies are reversed, and people are allowed to openly mock the authorities, a concept known as the “fool’s liberty” or “Narrenfreiheit” in German.

Centuries ago, the court jester was tasked with telling the rulers at princely and royal courts the bare truth about their actions, openly saying what others dared not say.

“And that’s still the fool’s job today,” says Tilly, adding, “Of course, I didn’t make any false claims — I mocked the supreme warlord Putin, just as I do with Donald Trump, Iran’s mullahs, and [Turkey’s] Recep Tayyip Erdogan. That’s simply my job.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/trial-against-german-carnival-satirist-tilly-underway-in-russia/a-75714838

A former Israeli hostage who was held for nearly 500 days in Gaza says the return of the body of the final hostage this week means all the released captives can “now breathe and start our lives again”.

Thirty-year-old Sasha Troufanov, an Amazon electronics engineer, was taken hostage on 7 October 2023 by Palestinian Islamic Jihad gunmen. His fiancée Sapir Cohen, mother and grandmother were also kidnapped and taken to Gaza. The women were released after more than 50 days as hostages. He was freed a year ago, after 498 days in captivity.

In his first international interview, Troufanov, on a visit to London, told BBC News that with the return on Monday of Ran Gvili’s body meaning all the hostages were back “it felt wonderful. We waited so long for this to happen.

“I was carrying this burden ever since I came back. It was like a weight on my shoulders that kept me from coming back to my life. Although we were released, we didn’t really come out of Gaza because our friends and brothers were still there.”

But the moment was bittersweet for him as Monday was also the birthday of his father Vitaly. Troufanov only discovered his father had been murdered on 7 October on the day he was released in February 2025 and realised his dad wasn’t there to meet him.

Troufanov and Cohen had been visiting his family on Kibbutz Nir Oz near the border with Gaza when Palestinian gunmen stormed their homes. Cohen rolled herself up in blanket and hid under the bed but they were both captured. Troufanov was punched and also stabbed in the shoulder.

“I saw the terrorist with so much anger and hate in his face, holding his knife trying to stab me even more.”

As the attackers tried to take Troufanov off the kibbutz he managed to momentarily escape but when he gave up running they still shot him twice in each leg.

“I just felt the rush of pain going through my brain and I fell to the ground then one of the terrorists hit me with the rifle from the back of my head and split it open.”

When he arrived to Gaza, he says he was then beaten by civilians and thought “this is the moment you’re going to die”.

While in Gaza, Troufanov received almost no medical treatment. He was taken once to a family home and once to a hospital where his broken leg was wrapped first with a wooden broom and then with part of a metal grill.

Unlike many other hostages, he was held almost entirely in isolation. For only two of the 498 days in captivity did Troufanov see another hostage.

At the start he was held above ground, for more than six weeks locked in a cage and given barely enough food to survive. Here, he says he experienced sexual harassment where one guard repeatedly tried to encourage him to do a sexual act on himself. He also says a hidden camera filmed him when he was allowed a shower once a week.

“I noticed it and I took the shower trying to avoid my private parts towards this angle, but I had to do it because I needed to shower.”

Taken underground to the tunnels, Troufanov says he was left for months alone, his captors only bringing food then leaving him in a silent, cramped, humid space so dark he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face.

“I remember feeling that I am buried underneath the ground while I am still alive. I was losing it. I was having a hard time to find hope in this place. Many times I lost hope completely. I said to myself: ‘This is the last place you will see alive.'”

It is the first time since 2014 that there are no Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Two hundred and fifty-one people were taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 other people were killed.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 71,660 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Since the ceasefire began on 10 October 2025, at least 492 Palestinians have been killed, the health ministry says, as well as four Israeli soldiers.

Now all the hostages, those alive and those who were killed, have returned to Israel the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza can commence. The key Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza is set to open on an ongoing basis for the first time since May 2024, as required under the plan.

It also envisages the full demilitarisation of Gaza, including the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian groups; a technocratic Palestinian government; and the reconstruction of Gaza.

Sasha Troufanov believes that these measures aren’t enough to ensure an attack like the one on 7 October won’t happen again.

“Rebuilding Gaza, after what happened in the war, is understandable. But first of all we need to make sure that the people of Gaza will stop trying to hurt Israel. The terrorists were telling me: ‘We will do this again and again.’

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8rm20gm364o

No-one should be surprised that China has swiftly executed the 11 members of a organised crime family from north-eastern Myanmar who were sentenced to death in September.

China executes more people than anywhere else in the world, according to human rights groups – the exact figure is a state secret. Officials are often executed for corruption. The accusations made against the Ming family were far more serious.

The Ming, Bau, Wei and Liu clans have dominated the remote border town of Laukkaing in Myanmar’s impoverished Shan state, since 2009.

They rose to power after General Min Aung Hlaing, the current coup leader in Myanmar, led a military operation to drive out the MNDAA, the ethnic insurgent army which had dominated Laukkaing and the area around it since the 1980s.

The four families, as they became known, took over and began shifting from the old dependence on opium and methamphetamine production to a new economy based on casinos and, eventually, online fraud.

They remained close to the Myanmar military; in December 2021, after seizing power in his coup, Min Aung Hlaing feted Liu Zhengxiang, patriarch of the Liu clan, in the capital Nay Pyi Taw and awarded him an honorary title for “extraordinary contributions to state development”.

His Fully Light conglomerate had lucrative businesses all over Myanmar. Other members of the four families were candidates for the military-backed party the USDP.

The scam compounds they ran in Laukkaing, though, were brutal, much more so than scam complexes in other parts of Asia. Torture was routine.

Tens of thousands of mainly Chinese workers were lured there with promises of well-paid jobs, only to find themselves imprisoned in the compounds. They were forced to run elaborate “pig-butchering” scams, where most of the victims were also Chinese. Complaints from the victims, and by the families of those trapped in the compounds multiplied on social media.

The most notorious compound in Laukkaing was called Crouching Tiger Villa, run by the Ming family. In October 2023, during what is believed to have been an escape attempt, the guards killed several Chinese nationals. The Chinese authorities felt compelled to take action.

With China’s apparent blessing the MNDAA and its allies attacked and recaptured Laukkaing, as part of their offensive against the Myanmar army in the ongoing civil war. The MNDAA vowed to stamp out the scam business completely.

They detained the heads of the four families and handed more than 60 of their relatives and associates to the Chinese police. Ming Xuechang, the family patriarch, or warlord, killed himself after being captured, authorities said.

During interrogations by the Chinese police one of the family members is reported to have admitted killing someone chosen at random just to demonstrate his strength.

These details have been publicised by China to justify its tough treatment of the families. Five of the Bau family are also awaiting execution, while the trials of the Wei and Liu families have not yet concluded.

The four families are ethnic Chinese, and had close ties to the authorities on the Chinese side of the border in Yunnan. Their abuses were too close to home for China, and the action against the scam business in Laukkaing has been the most decisive yet.

China has also prevailed on Thailand and Cambodia to extradite two Chinese business figures accused of running scam empires, She Zhijiang, who built an entire city in Myanmar’s war-torn Karen State, and Chen Zhi, who amassed wealth and power with his Prince Group conglomerate in Cambodia. The Chinese government has also brought tens of thousands of its citizens who were working in scam compounds back to China to face trial.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6wegndnjlo

Teddi Mellencamp is setting the record straight on her cancer battle.

The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum, 44, insisted that her cancer has not returned despite her dad, John Mellencamp, saying she was “really sick” and “suffering.”

“It’s not f—ing fun,” John said of his daughter’s journey in his Jan. 14 appearance on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “She’s got cancer in the brain, and she’s suffering right now.”

On Wednesday’s episode of her and Tamra Judge’s “Two Ts in a Pod” podcast, however, Teddi said, “You know, I think when he said the words ‘suffering,’ he meant like, how I’m mentally doing versus how I’m physically doing.”

“Instantly people thought, ‘Oh my God, cancer’s back,’” Judge, 58, said.

“No, there’s still no trace of cancer. But I’m still considered stage four and I’m still in immunotherapy, so essentially nothing’s changed other than I still — I don’t feel great … I would hope that I would be feeling better by now, but I really don’t,” Teddi clarified.

The Bravoleb went on to explain that she’s since started going to therapy to address the part of her “suffering” that stemmed from not having “properly” processed “all of the things that happened when I had surgery, like from my divorce [from her estranged husband Edwin Arroyave] to all of a sudden being in emergency surgery, to you know, not being able to see my kids when I was recovering.”

“I think all of those things are starting to finally hit me now. I started doing therapy, and so it’s taken its toll on me,” she added.

As she continues her immunotherapy, Teddi shared that she’s struggling with being able to “touch and move.”

“I can see that I’m slower than I was before, and that’s really frustrating to me. Like I want to be back to the way I used to be,” she reflected.

“I was really fighting for my life … now that the storm has calmed a little, now I’m starting to develop fear where I didn’t have fear before. Like I have fear to do a lot of things,” she shared, before admitting she’s scared “that cancer is going to come back.”

The reality TV star came forward with her stage 2 melanoma diagnosis in October 2022. She underwent more than a dozen surgeries to address the disease — including an emergency procedure in 2025 to remove several tumors in her brain.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/01/29/celebrity-news/teddi-mellencamp-reveals-truth-about-cancer-battle-after-dad-john-said-shes-really-sick/

India’s data centre investments are set to top US$100 billion by 2027, even as water, power and environmental concerns slow expansion elsewhere. In part two of CNA’s series on India’s AI push, we look at what’s driving the boom – and the lessons ahead.

Even as water and power concerns weigh on data centre expansions in parts of the world, India is flooring the accelerator.

Investments in India’s data centre market alone are projected to top US$100 billion by 2027, according to CBRE Group, as the country emerges as a key global destination for AI infrastructure.

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, announced plans for a 1-gigawatt (GW) AI data centre in September last year, followed by major AI-related investment announcements from technology giants Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta in the last quarter of 2025.

Domestic conglomerates such as Reliance, Adani and the Tata Group are also joining the rush for data centres, which are centralised facilities that house servers and digital infrastructure, powering everything from AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude to cloud services, video streaming and e-commerce platforms.

This momentum may be unsurprising given India’s rapidly growing AI user base and its status as home to the world’s second-largest developer community.

What is more striking, however, is the timing – coming as other parts of the world reassess data centre expansion amid mounting resource and environmental constraints.

Places including Chile, Mexico, Scotland and the United States have seen local opposition and protests over such projects, in some cases forcing them to shut down or relocate.

This is because large data centres require vast amounts of freshwater for cooling, in addition to their enormous power needs.

In the region, Malaysia’s Johor state in November asked companies to suspend the expansion of water-cooled data centre projects “until mid-2027”, while Singapore previously imposed a three-year moratorium from 2019 to 2022.

India, by contrast, is pressing ahead.

As of October 2025, India had 153 data centres – up about 10 per cent over the past three years – with a combined capacity of 1.7GW. That capacity is expected to grow fivefold to 8GW by 2030, according to a Jefferies report.

But in a country where many cities already face severe water shortages, critics warn the boom could place additional strain on local communities, raising questions over how India will balance rapid AI infrastructure growth with environmental and social costs.

INDIA OFFERS INCENTIVES WHILE OTHERS PULL BACK 

India has around one billion internet users, according to government figures, more than 700 million of whom use AI in some form.

It is also the second-largest user base for generative AI products from OpenAI and Anthropic, behind the US – one reason OpenAI has set up an office in India, with Anthropic planning to do so this year.

“The arrival of players like Anthropic and OpenAI signals that India is now viewed as a strategic growth market, not just a back office,” Shweta Rajpal Kohli, president and CEO of the Startup Policy Forum, told CNA.

She attributed this shift to the “aggressive incentives” rolled out by the central government, as well as by states such as Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, to attract data infrastructure – offers she described as “difficult to refuse”.

Last September, India’s central government proposed tax exemptions for data centres for up to 20 years, alongside power subsidies and other incentives.

State governments are also offering heavily subsidised land near technology parks, at discounts of up to 50 per cent, as well as capital incentives, and additional tax breaks to sweeten the deal.

These measures are particularly attractive at a time when AI data centre projects are facing tighter restrictions in other countries due to their water and energy demands.

Protests in the US have blocked or delayed data centre projects worth an estimated US$64 billion, according to Data Center Watch, a project run by AI security company 10a Labs.

One such case is a proposed 1GW Google data centre in Franklin Township, Indiana, which was brought to a halt in September, just weeks before Google announced its investment in India.

So why is India actively courting AI data centres, even as other countries grow more cautious?

One reason lies in the country’s data protection policy and localisation strategy. As part of its AI mission, the government is advocating for the processing and storage of data generated by Indian users within the country.

According to a local report, India generates around 20 per cent of the world’s data, yet hosts just 3 per cent of global data centre capacity.

Geopolitical risk management is another factor, said Faisal Kawoosa, chief analyst at technology research firm TechARC.

The Trump administration has imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Indian goods – among the highest worldwide – and tightened H-1B visa applications, limiting opportunities for Indian talent to work in the US.

AI data centre investments, therefore, represent a strategic win for India, said experts.

They are “sticky investments” for US tech giants, as they involve heavy, long-term infrastructure commitments that are difficult to exit, said Kawoosa.

Unlike offices, which can be shut down quickly if geopolitical pressures mount, large-scale AI data centres require substantial capital investment and physical infrastructure, making them far harder to relocate or abandon, he added.

THE WINNERS AND LOSERS OF INDIA’S DATA CENTRE BOOM

India’s semiconductor industry, which the government has been trying to scale up, is one of the biggest beneficiaries of AI data centre investments.

While high-end chips will continue to be imported from companies such as Nvidia and AMD, data centres are expected to generate substantial local demand for lower-cost, mature semiconductors.

“It means more compute power, more storage, and, crucially, greater impetus for Indian tech companies to rethink how chips integrate across the entire hardware stack,” said Shashwath TR, co-founder and CEO of Indian semiconductor firm Mindgrove Technologies.

“This goes beyond advanced chips to all the surrounding infrastructure, from power and thermal management to networking and other specialised uses.”

To capture this opportunity, AI companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Anthropic are courting Indian customers with free or heavily discounted subscription plans – aiming to scale first, and monetise later.

Industry players believe that with India’s large pool of software developers, this could spur a wave of new AI-powered apps and services, similar to how Android became the foundation for a vast array of smartphone applications worldwide.

There is also a practical reason for this expansion. AI firms need data centres close to where data is generated to train models and process large volumes of user information, which explains why many US tech companies are investing in domestic infrastructure.

However, analysts caution that serious questions remain about the environmental and humanitarian costs of this growth.

India already faces acute water stress and constraints on energy supply.

Water use by data centres in the country is expected to more than double, from 150 billion litres in 2025 to 358 billion litres by 2030, according to insights from Mordor Intelligence.

Coastal cities such as Mumbai and Chennai are considered attractive locations due to their proximity to subsea cables and existing data centre clusters.

Yet both cities are already prone to water shortages and struggle to meet the needs of residents and businesses.

Electricity constraints pose a similar risk.

India’s data centre electricity demand is expected to grow by almost fivefold by 2030 from 2024 levels, according to an S&P Global report.

These developments could increase reliance on fossil fuels, particularly coal, which already accounts for nearly 50 per cent of India’s electricity generation.

“The Indian government seems to be in discussions over this and working with these Big Tech players to figure out a plan,” said analyst Kawoosa.

CAN INDIA BUILD A GREENER DATA CENTRE MODEL?

As countries elsewhere grapple with the environmental, water and energy costs of rapid data centre expansion, the question is whether India can learn from their experiences and chart a more sustainable path.

Singapore previously imposed a three-year suspension on new data centres, lifting the moratorium in 2022 as it shifted its focus towards more sustainable projects.

In Malaysia’s Johor state, companies were asked to suspend the expansion of water-cooled data centre projects “until mid-2027”, as authorities grapple with drought and mounting pressure on water supplies.

Kohli of the Startup Policy Forum said Malaysia’s decision underscores the risks of expanding too quickly without coordinated infrastructure planning.

“The lesson isn’t to slow down,” she said, “but to plan and execute smartly”.

She added that Indian authorities are already moving in this direction: “A national data centre policy is under discussion, and states such as Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have embedded green and sustainability norms early.”

“With the right coordination across power, water, zoning and governance, India can set a global benchmark for scaling digital infrastructure responsibly and durably,” said Kohli.

She also pointed to innovation emerging from within India’s tech ecosystem.

“Indian startups, such as Vigyan Labs, are already developing intelligent energy optimisation solutions, paving the way for low-carbon digital infrastructure and greener data centres.”

Water management, however, remains a major challenge. While the use of non-potable water is expected to become standard for data centre cooling, it may not be sufficient to meet growing demand.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/india-ai-data-centre-water-power-environment-5894041

Despite being a regular investor, Ms Lim was duped by scammers into using a fake investment app that was downloaded from the Apple App Store.

A nightmare began for Ms Lim* (not her real name) in August last year, when she was added to a WhatsApp group.

What ensued was an elaborate investment scam which saw the healthcare worker lose about S$400,000 (US$316,200) in less than three months.

“I never thought I’d become the victim,” she told reporters on Thursday (Jan 29).

“Perhaps it’s because we live in such a safe country, a country with such a high degree of the rule of law. How would it be possible for scammers to operate in such a country?”

Ms Lim, who is in her 50s, was no stranger to investing, having done so over the years. She has invested in various products, including bonds, unit trusts, stocks and properties.

“In my family, I was the one who set the financial goals,” she said.

THE SCAM

About the same time as when she reached out to a reputable trading platform, Ms Lim was added to a WhatsApp group named “Lion Capital Circle”.

There were 80 members in the group, and they all had numbers with the Singapore country code +65.

“(Everything was communicated in) English. This was to give victims the impression that they were Singaporeans, and this was in a Singaporean setting,” said Ms Lim.

A person would send daily investment advice on what stocks to buy and sell, and investors would share screenshots of the trades they made and the profits they earned.

One of the rules was that members should keep things secret from others outside the group.

“Apart from talking about stocks, they would discuss current affairs about the US economy,” said Ms Lim. “You would not have felt that you were being cheated, but rather that you were in an investment course.”

To add a veneer of legitimacy, the scammers claimed to have an office in Singapore and said they were working together with an investment company in Hong Kong.

“They gave us the link to check with the company to verify that the company is real,” said Ms Lim.

“It was not only Singapore stocks. They also introduced stocks from Taiwan, from Malaysia. That’s why for (investors) it looked very professional.”

Ms Lim was convinced by the scammers to create a trading account after downloading an application from the Apple App Store.

“The platform looked even more … easy to operate (than other platforms),” she said.

She was then asked to transfer money via a QR code to YouTrip to start the “investment”, and she did so with an initial outlay of S$3,000.

“They would ask you to buy (stocks) and you sell them at a certain time. And then you could see the profit (on the app). Everything was under the guidance of the scammer,” Ms Lim said.

What made things seem more legitimate was that she was able to withdraw small sums from the amount that she had deposited.

“It was just a kind of test, to try and test if the app was functioning, if it was believable,” she said.

“VERY PAINFUL EXPERIENCE”

Over the next few weeks, the scammers built rapport with Ms Lim.

They sent private messages to her daily, checking in on how she was doing. In the main group, investment advice continued to be doled out.

The “profits” from investments built up as Ms Lim began to transfer larger sums.

Eventually, she was convinced by the scammers to make two cash deposits of S$25,000 and S$90,000.

After discussing with her husband, who was also convinced by the legitimacy of the request, Ms Lim withdrew the money from the bank, telling them it was for family matters.

“Somebody mentioned in the group that it is not easy these days to withdraw (large amounts of) money from the bank, given that they would ask questions,” Ms Lim said. “The scammers told them what to say to withdraw the money.”

Cash in hand, she met the scammers on two separate occasions, with a different man collecting the money.

Ms Lim recalled asking one of them whether it was legal to collect the amount in cash.

“His response was: ‘Who dares to do illegal things in Singapore?’,” she added.

By then, Ms Lim had made about 60 transactions totalling about S$400,000 – years of savings. She believed that this amount had ballooned into an investment worth over S$1 million.

But when she wanted to withdraw some of that money, the gig was up.

“I wanted to withdraw certain amounts to get back my capital. And they said: ‘You need to pay tax for this amount and so you cannot withdraw it’.”

The scammers wanted S$150,000, an amount that Ms Lim could not afford.

“I just felt helpless because I had no money to give to them,” she said.

In November last year, she made a police report.

In a press release on Dec 9, the police said that since October 2025, there had been at least 20 reported cases of investment scams involving fake investment applications, with total losses amounting to at least S$1.7 million.

“The police would like to remind the public to be careful when making investments, especially when being told to download apps to create trading accounts,” said police inspector Norashikin Hussein.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/scam-victim-healthcare-worker-lost-savings-5893726

THOUSANDS of commuters have been left high and dry with ferry service suspended between a deadly winter storm and a possible bomb cyclone.

America’s largest city has called off service for its ferry system after Winter Storm Fern, which has killed over 60 people, left two rivers almost completely frozen over.

Massive ice blocks in New York City’s East River and Hudson River forced NYC Ferry – and its bar service – to shut down service Tuesday, and freezing temperatures dipping into the single digits Fahrenheit have kept operations crippled.

“NYC Ferry service remains suspended across all routes due to continued ice in the East and Hudson Rivers and across New York Harbor,” a spokesperson for NYC Ferry said in a statement to The U.S. Sun.

“The safety of all crew, passengers, and vessels is of the utmost importance, and NYC Ferry crew continues to monitor evolving waterway conditions and prepare the fleet to ensure service can resume once conditions improve.”

Images showed ice floes, or large detached chunks of floating sea ice, in partially frozen parts of the East River and Hudson River surrounding Manhattan.

“It’s kind of ridiculous that you don’t notice this in the app when somebody clicks on schedules,” one ferry rider complained on Wednesday to NYC Ferry on X.

“Thanks for making me walk in the wrong direction for nine minutes in the freezing cold.”

NYC Ferry on Tuesday afternoon, hours before halting service, had posted that there was “significant, continuing ice build-up” and that heavy ice creates unpredictable landing conditions.

Ferry riders have been forced to instead take subways, buses, or drive to their destinations.

However, some New Yorkers apparently managed to get on a boat.

On Thursday, an X user commented on NYC Ferry’s service suspension announcement, saying, “Are you sure? Cause im literally on the ferry going to (Governors) island as we speak… Thats crazy. How did i get to governors island then?”

NYC Ferry replied that Governors Island operates its own ferry, which is running.

The NYC Ferry shutdown came two days after Winter Storm Fern pummeled the city with 11 to 14 inches of snow and caused thousands of flights in the area to be canceled or delayed.

WINTER WEATHER CONTINUES

The decision also comes ahead of another winter weather system that could strengthen into a bomb cyclone this weekend and send temperatures plunging even more.

The system’s intensity and track are still uncertain, but it could become a bomb cyclone if atmospheric pressure dips rapidly.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/travel/15862092/new-york-city-ferry-commuters-suspended-rivers-frozen/

RIHANNA is ready to return to the studio and produce her first album in a decade, a source close to the superstar singer has told The U.S. Sun.

Since the release of ANTI in 2016, the busy mom has been prioritizing her family and business ventures.

She now has three children with partner A$AP Rocky – three year-old RZA, Riot Rose, 2, and little Rocki Irish who arrived last September – while throwing herself headfirst into her wildly successful companies.

In 2017, Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty, a cosmetics brand, and more recently expanded her portfolio with Savage X Fenty, a lingerie and lifestyle business.

Both have been enormously successful.

Fenty Beauty was a commercial hit from day one: within its first month, the brand made about $72 million in sales and quickly sold out of key products like foundation.

By the end of 2018, annual revenue approached $570 million, and, according to Forbes, the entire operation is worth roughly $2.8 billion, with Rihanna owning about half.

Savage X Fenty also quickly became a smash-hit, achieving an approximate $1 billion valuation in early funding rounds.

The 37 year-old superstar has overseen huge revenue growth, while rolling out expanded VIP membership.

With both businesses thriving, the singer is now looking to reenergize her stellar music career, which has already seen her sell 250 million records worldwide.

A source says that although Rihanna and Rocky “truly love” raising their kids together and haven’t ruled out expanding their family, now is the time for music to return.

The insider claims Rihanna will spend less time on the road and more hours in the studio, working on what would be her ninth album.

“Rihanna is eager to return to music,” the source said. “She’s been writing a lot lately and truly misses the studio, the fans, the crowds, and performing live. While she’s incredibly happy being a mother, she’s ready to reconnect with her artistic life.”

Rihanna is also exploring other creative paths.

The U.S. Sun understands she wants to pursue acting—she has appeared in five films over the years, but nothing since Ocean’s 8 in 2018 — and work on various art projects, especially in her native Barbados.

“Ri wants to highlight her roots, her Caribbean pride, and speak on issues close to her heart, including equality, the fight against racism, and women’s empowerment,” the source added.

FAMILY BACKING

A$AP Rocky, 36, is reportedly “fully supportive” of Rihanna’s return to music.

The rapper recently released his four studio album, Don’t Be Dumb, ending his own musical hiatus of eight years.

It went straight to no1 on the Billboard 200, ensuring its his biggest success for years.

“He knows how much she’s missed performing and is ready to support her just as she’s supported him,” the source said.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/15861071/rihanna-new-music-plans-album-baby/

The United States is handing over to Venezuela a tanker that it seized this month, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
The United States has been carrying out a months-long effort to seize oil tankers linked to Venezuela – carrying out seven apprehensions since late last year.

The officials, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity, identified the vessel being handed over to Venezuelan authorities as the Panama-flagged supertanker M/T Sophia. They did not say why the tanker was returned.

The U.S. Coast Guard, which leads interdiction and seizure operations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Venezuelan communications ministry, which handles all press queries for the government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Sophia was carrying oil when it was interdicted on January 7 by the Coast Guard and U.S. military forces. At the time, the administration said the Sophia, which is under sanctions, was a “stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker.”

One of the sources did not know if the Sophia still had oil on board.
Trump has focused his foreign policy in Latin America on Venezuela, initially aiming to push Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power. After failing to find a diplomatic solution, Trump ordered U.S. forces to fly into the country to grab him and his wife in a daring overnight raid on January 3.

Since then, Trump has said the U.S. plans to control Venezuela’s oil resources indefinitely as it seeks to rebuild the country’s dilapidated oil industry in a $100 billion plan.
Earlier this months, the Sophia and another seized tanker were seen near Puerto Rico.
Along with most tankers under Western sanctions or part of the so-called shadow fleet, many of the Venezuela-linked tankers seized were built over 20 years ago and pose hazards to shipping because they lack safety certification and adequate insurance, experts said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-handing-over-seized-tanker-venezuela-officials-say-2026-01-28/

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran on Wednesday to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons or the next U.S. attack would be far worse. Tehran responded with a threat to strike back against the United States, Israel and those who support them.
“Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!” Trump wrote on social media.

An initial U.S. government review of the fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti by immigration agents in Minneapolis made no mention of him brandishing a firearm, despite initial statements by Trump officials highlighting the weapon.
A preliminary review by U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Pretti, 37, was shot by two federal officers, a Border Patrol agent and a customs officer, after he refused to move out of the street following an order from a customs officer.

In the hours after Pretti was killed on Saturday, top Trump administration officials portrayed the ICU nurse as an aggressor, assertions that were quickly contradicted by video from the scene.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said he “approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun,” but did not mention that the weapon was holstered. White House aide Stephen Miller – the driver of Trump’s immigration agenda – called Pretti a “domestic terrorist” and “would-be assassin” without presenting evidence to support the claims.
The killing of Pretti, an ICU nurse at a hospital for veterans, sparked a national uproar and led Trump to adopt a more conciliatory tone this week.

The CBP review, conducted by the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility and shared with lawmakers on Tuesday, is standard protocol and shared with members of Congress to promote transparency, CBP spokesperson Hilton Beckham said.
Beckham said the notifications “provide an initial outline of an event that took place and do not convey any definitive conclusion or investigative findings.”

Details in the preliminary review reinforced the disconnect between how Trump officials portrayed the shooting and the video evidence.
The review said that a customs officer tried to move Pretti and a woman out of the street, but that they “did not move.” The officer then fired pepper spray at Pretti and the woman, it said.
CBP customs officers normally work at ports of entry screening passengers and goods entering the U.S., but some have been detailed to work on immigration enforcement by the Trump administration as part of its crackdown. The identities of the agents and officers at the scene and whether they had any experience with crowd control in urban environments have not been made public.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-review-alex-pretti-killing-does-not-mention-him-brandishing-firearm-2026-01-28/