Five European countries and the UK say traces of epibatidine, a rare neurotoxin associated with South American poison dart frogs, were detected in samples from Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and were highly likely to have caused his death in a Siberian penal colony two years ago. The UK Foreign Office and allied governments said … Read more
UN investigators say more than 6,000 people were killed during a late-October offensive by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on el-Fasher in North Darfur. The U.N. Human Rights Office reported that the RSF and allied Arab militias overran the city after an 18‑month siege and carried out mass killings, sexual violence and abductions over a … Read more
Lead: XRP has fallen roughly 25% so far in 2026, raising fresh questions about whether the token can recover to previous levels or will slide further. The decline has coincided with a broader rotation of capital into AI-related assets and away from high-volatility crypto plays. Ripple’s payments integrations give XRP real-world use cases, but macro … Read more
Lead At the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas urged Europe to take a lead role in its own defense while continuing to rely on NATO’s trans‑Atlantic framework. She warned that Russia presents a strategic threat beyond the Donbas, citing cyberattacks, satellite disruption, undersea‑cable sabotage, energy coercion and a nuclear … Read more
North Korea announced the completion of a new housing district in Pyongyang on 16 February 2026 intended for the families of North Korean soldiers killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. State media published images of leader Kim Jong-un walking the new Saeppyol Street in the Hawasong district and visiting several of the homes … Read more
In 2002 James Van Der Beek took a sharp, deliberate detour from his Dawson’s Creek persona by playing Sean Bateman in The Rules of Attraction, a chaotic adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s novel. The film opened to mixed reviews and underperformed commercially, yet it offered Van Der Beek a rare chance to subvert his image … Read more
Lead On 15 February 2026 at the Munich Security Conference, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas rejected US assertions that Europe faces ‘civilisational erasure’, calling such lines of argument ‘fashionable euro-bashing’. Her remarks came amid tense transatlantic exchanges at the three-day gathering, where Ukraine, NATO burden-sharing and migration loomed large. Kallas also warned the US … Read more
Lead: On Feb. 15, 2026, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. argued that a 67-year-old regulatory exemption known as GRAS has allowed food companies to introduce thousands of minimally reviewed ingredients into the U.S. food supply, contributing to a diet in which ultraprocessed items make up roughly half of what Americans eat … Read more
Lead On 16 February 2026 a short-lived Pentagon posting that briefly listed some of China’s largest technology firms as aiding the military prompted an immediate market reaction in Hong Kong, with Alibaba shares falling more than 3%. The update appeared on the U.S. Federal Register and included Alibaba, BYD and Baidu, and two memory-chip makers, … Read more
Philadelphia health officials on Monday alerted travelers after a confirmed measles case passed through Terminal E at Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday, February 12, 2026, between 1:35 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health asked anyone who was in the area during that window to check their vaccination status and monitor for … Read more
Lead On Sunday, March 2026, the Film Independent Spirit Awards were held at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, where Train Dreams emerged as the night’s biggest winner, taking best feature along with director and cinematography honors. The ceremony recognized independent film and television across gender-neutral acting categories and international entries from 18 countries. Other … Read more
Lead The Seattle Seahawks have hired Brian Fleury, the San Francisco 49ers’ run-game coordinator and tight ends coach, as their next offensive coordinator, according to multiple reports confirmed Sunday. Head coach Mike Macdonald had emphasized a desire for continuity when replacing Klint Kubiak but ultimately chose an external candidate with deep ties to the Kyle … Read more
Iran told negotiators and the press this week that potential energy, mining and aircraft contracts are being discussed alongside nuclear terms, as Geneva talks between Tehran and Washington resumed in mid-February 2026. Diplomats on both sides framed the negotiations as a test of whether sanctions relief can be traded for verifiable curbs on Iran’s nuclear … Read more
Feb 16, 2026 Lead: Episode 5 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, titled “In the Name of the Mother,” aired on Feb 16, 2026 and centers on a brutal Trial of Seven that reshapes the season’s stakes. The installment intercuts present combat with a substantive flashback that reveals Dunk’s formative losses and moral code. … Read more
Lead Wunmi Mosaku — nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress for Sinners — told The Sunday Times she has been unable to celebrate the nomination because of the recent killings of two U.S. citizens, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, by federal agents in Minnesota and the reported kidnapping of a five-year-old boy. … Read more
