Iniaes

In the Middle East

Vice President JD Vance says the U.S. conflict with Iran is not a war, though he also says he cannot say when it will end. He expressed skepticism about Iran’s claim that a U.S. strike hit a wedding party and killed four civilians.

South Korea is considering a military deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, potentially including a warship, after pressure from the Trump administration to contribute to regional security.

In central Africa

Modelling warns that Ebola is spreading into new areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, even as infections appear to be declining in the outbreak’s original center in Ituri. Official figures list more than 6,100 infections and 3,000 deaths. The Bundibugyo strain driving the outbreak has no approved vaccine, and cases are rising in Haut-Uélé.

In Europe

German officials say Russia was behind a failed drone attack at a German airport, where two explosive drones struck or came close to aircraft but did not detonate. The allegation follows reported sabotage plots across Europe, including alleged plans involving cargo planes, rail lines and warehouses.

In the eastern Mediterranean, the confirmed death toll from a ferry sinking off Cyprus has risen to 12. Turkish military ships and aircraft are searching for 16 people still missing.

In U.S. news

Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, a 41-year-old Texas father of six, died in ICE custody a day after his family says he was detained outside his Richardson home while preparing to take his children to school. His brother is now helping care for the children.

President Trump has named Adam Telle acting Army secretary after Dan Driscoll stepped down, with reports describing tension between Driscoll and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The White House gave no reason for Driscoll’s departure.

In U.S. election law

Donald Trump is urging the Supreme Court to restrict mail voting as ballots are already being sent to voters ahead of the midterm election. A federal judge said complying with a related ruling was “practically impossible,” while a whistleblower warned that millions of ballots could go undelivered, adding to the legal uncertainty around voting access.

In UK politics

Two senior Reform UK figures, head of policy James Orr and Nigel Farage aide Dan Jukes, have stepped down while the party investigates allegations that polling was paid for by an overseas company. The claims, aired by Channel 4 News, raise potential questions over political donation rules. Reform UK says its investigation is under way.

In Ireland

A 12-year-old boy has died after the car he was travelling in was struck by a train at a level crossing near Ballyhaunis in County Mayo. The driver, a man in his late 40s, was taken to hospital with injuries not thought to be life-threatening. Gardaí have begun a forensic investigation, and the rail line and road were closed.

In Ukraine

Ukraine’s finance minister, Serhiy Marchenko, says the country faces its most severe budget strain since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022, with a difficult winter ahead. He is calling for frozen Russian assets to be placed under a new custodianship arrangement.

Russia has intensified air strikes on Kyiv, disrupting daily life across the capital. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he hopes to receive Donald Trump’s envoys in Kyiv in the coming days as efforts to end the war resume.

In business

Volkswagen’s board has approved plans to cut another 50,000 jobs by 2030. Across Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Skoda, the company’s planned workforce reduction would reach 100,000 posts.

In Nepal

Rescue crews have pulled two people alive from a tunnel nine days after a glacier collapse triggered catastrophic flooding in Nepal. More than 1,200 people have been reported dead, and hundreds may still be trapped as search operations continue.

In the Middle East

Iran has struck U.S. military targets in the region as Washington investigates a deadly attack on a wedding. Oil prices climbed after Iran continued restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a passage used for roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments. Disrupting that route can quickly turn a regional confrontation into a global economic problem.

In Russia

Russian investigators say a serviceman was hospitalized after a shooting in Engels. Russian Telegram channels identified him as Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich, commander of a heavy bomber division accused of planning the July 2024 missile strike on Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt children’s hospital. Authorities have not confirmed his identity or identified a shooter.

In U.S. elections

Missouri’s Supreme Court unanimously blocked Republican-favored congressional districts from being used in November’s midterm election, ruling that the map never legally took effect despite being used in a recent primary. President Trump criticized the decision. Missouri voters will decide whether the districts can be used in future elections.

In Maryland, the state Supreme Court allowed a Democratic-backed redistricting amendment onto the November ballot. It would let lawmakers draw legislative and congressional districts without the state’s current strict compactness requirements.

In Britain

Former GP practice manager Helena Paiva received a three-year suspended sentence after admitting she stole £517,260 from a Southwark NHS surgery between 2023 and 2025. Prosecutors said she altered bookkeeping entries to route funds to her own account. About £7,000 has been recovered, and a proceeds-of-crime hearing is scheduled for February.

In Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has told Russians to be prepared for anything, coupling that warning with promises of retaliatory strikes against Ukraine and a rejection of negotiations. The remarks followed Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, while Moscow continued aerial attacks on Ukraine and renewed threats tied to British military support.

In Venezuela

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez has agreed to give the United States control of roughly one-fifth of Venezuela’s oil reserves, according to the supplied details. In a country with the world’s largest reserves, the agreement is being seen by many Venezuelans as a serious concession of national sovereignty.

In business and technology

Volkswagen plans to cut another 50,000 jobs as it confronts tougher Chinese competition, high energy costs, and the costly transition to electric vehicles. The scale of the cuts underscores the pressure on Europe’s established carmakers.

Nvidia has agreed to buy AI platform Hugging Face for $12.9 billion. Hugging Face is widely used by developers and researchers to find, share, test, and deploy AI models and tools, with more than 200,000 companies using its platform.

On climate

The United Nations says the world has missed its chance to avoid exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming. Its focus is now on limiting the damage, reducing the risks of further warming, and finding a path to bring temperatures back below that threshold.

In U.S. news

The Third Circuit has rejected a rehearing in Philadelphia’s effort to preserve the President’s House slavery exhibit. The city sued after the Trump administration directed the National Park Service to remove panels about nine people enslaved at the site.

Gloria Steinem has died at 92. Over more than five decades, the journalist and activist became one of the most prominent figures in the modern women’s movement, challenging entrenched ideas about gender and power and helping bring the fight for women’s equality into the American mainstream.

In tech and manufacturing

A new 100% U.S. tariff on Chinese drones has taken effect, dividing the domestic drone industry. The measure targets Chinese-made aircraft, but U.S. manufacturers still depend on Chinese components, leaving companies to absorb higher costs or rebuild supply chains that are not easily replaced.

In U.S. foreign policy

The House has passed legislation that would bar colleges from boycotting Israel or preventing students from taking part in exchange programs there. The bill now faces its next test in the Senate.

Donald Trump has suggested that U.S. support for Britain over the Falkland Islands could depend on London’s stance on Iran. Washington recognizes Britain’s administration of the islands while remaining neutral on the competing sovereignty claims, a distinction now being treated more like a negotiating chip.

The U.S. has imposed financial sanctions on a grandson of former Cuban President Raúl Castro and on Cuba’s state-owned foreign trade bank.

In Congress

A bipartisan House group has introduced a bill to cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 a month for privately insured patients. Similar efforts have repeatedly stalled amid Republican resistance to government-set pricing.

Congressional cuts to public-media funding could force rural radio stations off the air, reducing local news coverage and weakening networks used to deliver tornado and other emergency alerts.

In Serbia

Ratko Mladić, serving a life sentence after a U.N. court convicted him of atrocities during the Bosnian War, was reportedly given military honors in Serbia. The ceremony honored a figure convicted of some of that conflict’s gravest crimes.

In Iran

Sadegh Saeedinia, manager of the Saeedinia café chain, has been jailed and had his assets seized after being convicted of propaganda against national security. The case stems from Instagram posts supporting January’s protests and calls for his staff to strike, making it one of the harshest known punishments imposed on a private business owner linked to the unrest.

In tech and security

A hacker group has published roughly 550 gigabytes of data it says it stole from Manchester Airports Group, potentially affecting 8.8 million people. The group says it entered the systems using exposed administrative keys after the company declined to pay a ransom. Manchester Airports Group has not confirmed the claim in the supplied report.

In U.S. federal policy

A federal judge is considering whether to extend a block on a proposed Postal Service rule affecting mail ballots, pursued under an executive order from President Trump. Separately, Customs and Border Protection is extending a pause on some border-wall construction through the end of the month, including work near Texas’s Big Bend National Park.

Two leaders of small-business support groups are also suing the Trump administration over hundreds of millions of dollars appropriated by Congress for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, arguing the money is being unlawfully withheld.

In Britain’s courts

Four Palestine Action activists are seeking permission to appeal prison sentences imposed over a 2024 raid on an Elbit Systems site near Bristol that caused an estimated £1.2 million in damage. Their sentences were deemed to have a terrorist connection, affecting release rules and imposing long-term notification requirements. Their solicitor argues that classification was legally mistaken.

On the Epstein inquiry

Billionaire investor Leon Black has refused a House Oversight Committee subpoena for a deposition tied to its Jeffrey Epstein investigation, then sued the committee. The dispute centers on nondisclosure agreements and adds another court fight to Congress’s effort to compel testimony.

UK affairs

Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham held his first bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at Downing Street, discussing small-boat crossings, defence, Ukraine and closer UK-EU relations.

The Home Office will let skilled-worker visa holders identified as modern-slavery victims change employers without losing their immigration status. The change is aimed at workers, including care staff and chefs, leaving exploitative sponsors.

U.S. industry

President Trump has imposed tariffs of up to 100% on drones, particularly Chinese-made models, citing national-security concerns. DJI holds more than 70% of the global market, and its drones are used by U.S. police and emergency agencies, including for wildfire monitoring and missing-person searches. Washington wants a domestic drone industry, though it remains well behind China.

The administration is also seeking nearly $30 billion in equity stakes, warrants and related arrangements across mining, technology, energy and defence companies. Its holdings include a golden share in U.S. Steel and a 10% stake in Intel, a notably hands-on federal role outside a financial crisis or wartime mobilisation.

Nepal

Officials say roughly 46 workers trapped in an underground chamber at the Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant may still be alive, more than a week after flash floods struck. At least 639 workers remain missing from hydropower sites along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers.

Gaza

A lawyer for Gaza doctor Abu Safia says he continues to face abuse in Israeli custody, where he has been held for nearly two years.

In Europe

Finland is staging what it calls Europe’s largest civil-defence exercise since World War II, as officials warn of suspected Russian sabotage and disruption across the continent. The drill reflects a wider shift from treating civil resilience as a contingency plan to treating it as basic national infrastructure.

In Munich, German police arrested two people after a small fire at a construction site that investigators believe may have been an attempted attack on a defence company.

In Pakistan

Punjab province has authorized terrorism trials in which an unnamed official can require judges, prosecutors and witnesses to remain anonymous. The measure has no expiry date, raising questions about whether defendants can meaningfully test the evidence against them.

In the United States

A Chinese man died within hours of entering ICE custody in Saipan. The agency has not said whether he received the medical screening it says detainees should receive within 12 hours of intake.

In downtown Minneapolis, a gunman killed two people and wounded three police officers inside the Shoreline Plaza apartment tower before dying. The shooting shut down a busy part of the city during rush hour.

In the Indo-Pacific

The United States and Australia have agreed to accelerate defence cooperation and expand the U.S. military presence in Australia, citing China’s rapid military buildup.

In music

Grammy-winning jazz singer Cassandra Wilson has died at 70. Across four decades, her low, distinctive voice and genre-blending work reshaped the boundaries between jazz, blues and folk.

In Washington

President Trump signed a stopgap funding bill, temporarily preventing a government shutdown. The deal postpones the fight over long-term appropriations, leaving Congress headed toward another deadline-driven showdown later this year.

At the White House, advisers are weighing a midterm strategy built around Trump himself after polling found weak Republican enthusiasm for races where he is not on the ballot. With narrow congressional majorities in play, the administration appears ready to make the midterms a referendum on the president.

In the Middle East

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has extended U.S. military deployments across the Middle East into 2027, six months after the U.S. campaign against Iran began. The posture includes 19 warships, air-defense units, fighter squadrons, and paratroopers. The prolonged commitment is placing pressure on service members and families and building a maintenance backlog that could take years to clear.

In Spain

Tens of thousands of people protested across Spain over the government’s response to the migrant crisis in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on North Africa’s coast. The demonstrations underscore political pressure on Madrid over migration policy and conditions at the border.

In Malta

A Maltese tycoon has been acquitted in the final prosecution tied to the 2017 murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Her killing exposed allegations of corruption at the highest levels of Maltese public life, and the acquittal closes the last case brought against an alleged participant in the murder.

In Minneapolis

A shooting in Minneapolis killed two people and wounded several others, including three police officers, police said. The suspected gunman also died. Authorities have not released further details about what led to the shooting.

In Antarctica

Researchers at Durham University have used European Space Agency radar satellites to monitor emperor penguin colonies through the Antarctic winter, when months of darkness limit ordinary satellite observation. The method tracked colonies from 2017 through 2024 and could help researchers assess how endangered penguins are responding to shrinking breeding-season sea ice.

In the Middle East

The United States launched further strikes on Iran after Tehran attacked American bases and U.S. allies across the Gulf. Iran's health minister said earlier U.S. strikes along the southern coast killed at least 18 people. President Trump said the renewed campaign would not last long, while threatening heavier attacks if the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz is not resolved.

The conflict is also affecting energy use beyond the region. China's carbon dioxide emissions fell 1 percent as oil consumption dropped, alongside continued growth in electric vehicles and public transport. Analysts say the decline could point to a more lasting weakening of Chinese oil demand.

In public safety

One person was killed and six were injured in a shooting in downtown Minneapolis, according to hospital officials.

In Pennsylvania, Upper Pottsgrove Police Corporal Sean Farrell has retired after being charged with voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Glenwood Earl Pysher IV. Farrell had been suspended without pay. Township officials say they are cooperating with prosecutors and reviewing police policy, training, and field responses.

In children's care

Private equity firms now own or partly own 11 of England's 20 largest fostering and children's-home providers, according to the think tank Common Wealth. Its report says the four biggest independent fostering agencies, responsible for nearly a quarter of placements, have paid shareholders more than £200 million in taxpayer-funded interest payments since 2020. The findings are adding to calls to limit profit-making in children's care.

In New York schools

New York City will pause student-facing generative AI programs for roughly 600,000 elementary and middle school students for a year while it reviews their use. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said AI chatbots will be banned across all grades, while high school students may use approved tools under supervision and receive AI-literacy instruction twice a year.