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Israel conducting 'gradual de facto annexation' of West Bank: UN official
A top UN official warned Wednesday that steps by Israel to tighten control of areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority amount to "gradual de facto annexation." Since last week, Israel has approved a series of initiatives backed by far-right ministers to consolidate control over the West Bank where the Palestinians exercise limited autonomy under past deals. "We are witnessing the gradual de facto annexation of the West Bank, as unilateral Israeli steps steadily transform
Feb. 19, 2026 -
Zuckerberg denies Instagram targets kids
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday repeatedly said during a landmark trial over youth social media addiction that the Facebook and Instagram operator does not allow kids under 13 on its platforms, despite being confronted with evidence suggesting they were a key demographic. Mark Lanier, a lawyer for the woman suing Instagram and Google's YouTube for harming her mental health when she was a child, pressed Zuckerberg over his statement to Congress in 2024 that users under 13 are not
Feb. 19, 2026 -
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around globe
The number of days when the weather gets hot, dry and windy — ideal to spark extreme wildfires — has nearly tripled in the past 45 years across the globe, with the trend increasing even higher in the Americas, a new study shows. And more than half of that increase is caused by human-caused climate change, researchers calculated. What this means is that as the world warms, more places across the globe are prone to go up in flames at the same time because of increasingly synchronous fire weather,
Feb. 19, 2026 -
Police assess if flights trafficked Epstein victims
LONDON (AFP) -- UK police said Tuesday they were "assessing" information in the Epstein files that women were trafficked by plane into Britain, as pressure grows to probe ex-prince Andrew's links to the flights. "We are assessing the information that has emerged in relation to private flights into and out of Stansted Airport following the publication of the US DoJ Epstein files," Essex police said. The short statement, referring to the late convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the Depar
Feb. 18, 2026 -
Zelenskyy says Trump exerting undue pressure
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said US President Donald Trump was exerting undue pressure on him in trying to secure a resolution to the nearly four-year-old war pitting Kyiv against Moscow. Zelenskyy, in an interview with US website Axios published Tuesday, also said any plan requiring Ukraine to give up territory that Russia had not captured in the eastern Donbas region would be rejected by Ukrainians if put to a referendum. Axios quoted Zelenskyy as saying it was "not fair" that T
Feb. 18, 2026 -
Iran temporarily closed Strait of Hormuz
GENEVA (AP) — Iran announced the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday for live fire drills in a rare show of force as its negotiators held another round of indirect talks with the US over the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program. It was the first time Iran has announced the closure of the key international waterway, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil passes, since the US began threatening Iran and rushing military assets to the region. It was not immediately clear if
Feb. 18, 2026 -
Prayers, festivities usher in Lunar New Year with robots
BEIJING (AP) — Traditional prayers, fireworks and fairs marked the Lunar New Year Tuesday — alongside 21st-century humanoid robots. The activities ushered in the Year of the Horse, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, succeeding the Year of the Snake. Thousands of people in Beijing jammed into the former Temple of Earth to buy snacks, toys and trinkets from stalls. Sun Jing, who brought her parents to the capital for the holiday, said the atmosphere was as lively as in her childhood. "I have
Feb. 18, 2026 -
Peru Congress ousts President Jeri
Peru's Congress on Tuesday ousted President Jose Jeri just four months into his term over a scandal involving undisclosed meetings with a Chinese businessperson, extending a cycle of political upheaval that has gripped the Andean nation for much of the past decade. There were 75 lawmakers who voted in favor of removing Jeri, while 24 voted against and three abstained. Legislators will now elect a new head of Congress who will also assume Peru's presidency, becoming the country's eighth preside
Feb. 18, 2026 -
Rev. Jesse Jackson dies at 84
CHICAGO (AP) — The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after the revered leader's assassination, died Tuesday. He was 84. As a young organizer in Chicago, Jackson was called to meet with King at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, shortly before King was killed, and he publicly positioned himself thereafter as King's successor. Santita Jackson confirmed that her father, who had
Feb. 18, 2026 -
Nvidia to sell Meta millions of chips in multiyear deal
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -- Nvidia on Tuesday said it has signed a multiyear deal to sell Meta Platforms millions of its current and future artificial intelligence chips, including central processing units that compete with products from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. Nvidia did not disclose a value for the deal, but said it includes its current Blackwell chips as well as its forthcoming Rubin AI chips. It also includes standalone installations of its Grace and Vera central processors. Nvidia
Feb. 18, 2026 -
Trump says Japan to invest in energy, industrial projects in US
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- US President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday announced three projects valued at $36 billion to be financed by Japan, including an oil export facility in Texas, an industrial diamonds plant in Georgia and a natural gas power plant in Ohio. The projects are the first investments under Japan's $550 billion US investment pledge as part of a trade deal that cut Trump's tariffs on Japanese imports to 15 percent, Trump said on Truth Social. He gave few details about th
Feb. 18, 2026 -
Iran open to compromises to reach nuclear deal with US, minister tells BBC
Iran is ready to consider compromises to reach a nuclear deal with the United States if Washington is willing to discuss lifting sanctions, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC in an interview published on Sunday. Iran has said it is prepared to discuss curbs on its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions, but has repeatedly ruled out linking the issue to other questions including missiles. Takht-Ravanchi confirmed that a second round of nuclear ta
Feb. 15, 2026 -
Vietnam licenses Musk's satellite internet firm Starlink
Vietnam has granted a licence to Elon Musk's Starlink to operate its satellite internet services in the communist country, a government agency said. The radio frequency regulator said local unit Starlink Services Vietnam Co. can initially deploy four gateway stations and a maximum of 600,000 terminal devices in Vietnam. The licensing requires Starlink to ensure "no interference with existing radio communication networks", the Radio Frequency Management authority announced on Saturday. The Starli
Feb. 15, 2026 -
Trump, Netanyahu agreed US should press Iran to cut oil sales to China, Axios reports
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed at a White House meeting on Wednesday that the US would work to reduce Iran's oil exports to China, Axios reported, citing two US officials briefed on the issue. "We agreed that we will go full force with maximum pressure against Iran, for example, regarding Iranian oil sales to China," Axios reported on Saturday, quoting a senior US official. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for
Feb. 15, 2026 -
Trump says Iran regime change could be 'best thing' as second carrier heads to Middle East
WASHINGTON / FORT BRAGG, North Carolina -- US President Donald Trump on Friday embraced potential regime change in Iran and declared that "tremendous power" will soon be in the Middle East, as the Pentagon sent a second aircraft carrier to the region. Trump's military moves and tough talk comes even as Washington and Tehran seek to revive diplomacy over Tehran's long-running nuclear dispute with the West. A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner
Feb. 14, 2026