Politics
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged before a Senate committee that he visited Jeffrey Epstein’s private island, prompting congressional scrutiny and calls for his resignation.
Norway planned an independent commission to probe elite ties to Jeffrey Epstein after investigations targeted a former prime minister and two senior diplomats.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky will announce on 24 February plans for spring presidential elections and a referendum on a peace deal, the Financial Times reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Washington and met President Donald Trump on Wednesday to press for a tougher U.S. stance limiting Iran’s missiles and proxy support.
The Milan‑Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics featured medal decisions in biathlon, ice dance, ski freestyle and luge across Milan and Cortina on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
Acting ICE director Todd Lyons testified before Congress, defended Trump administration deportation raids after two deadly operations, and rejected Democratic demands to rescind a memo allowing forced home entries.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz dismissed President Emmanuel Macron's proposal for joint Eurobonds to finance strategic investments, saying it distracted from Europe's productivity problem.
At an EU industry summit in Antwerp, European leaders split over protective measures against Chinese competition, with France urging sweeping safeguards while Germany resisted amid U.S. uncertainty.
Despite massive Russian airstrikes on Odesa and Kharkiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky was reported to plan a proposal for elections and a referendum in February as Western allies bolstered deterrence.
President Donald Trump threatened to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, demanding compensation, and Canada's Mark Carney said he had reassured him.
Unsealed documents showed the DOJ probe of Fulton County’s 2020 election began with a referral from Trump White House adviser Kurt Olsen and relied on debunked claims.
The Trump administration imposed an oil blockade on Cuba, triggering acute fuel and electricity shortages that paralyzed daily life and stranded businesses, tourists and exporters.
/s3/static.nrc.nl/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/10194831/100226VER_2031495592_Cuba.jpg)
Emmanuel Macron urged renewed high-level talks with Russia, and Kaja Kallas said she would present member states a list of demands to condition any peace deal.
President Donald Trump said he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier and additional warships to the Middle East to increase pressure on Iran amid tense talks.
White House press secretary Leavitt said on Tuesday that President Trump had proposed renaming New York’s Penn Station after himself, contradicting the president’s earlier statements.
Israel revoked key elements of Palestinian self‑rule in the West Bank, allowing settlers to buy private Palestinian land and transferring several Palestinian Authority functions to Israeli control.
Pro-Palestinian protesters in Sydney staged a second consecutive night of demonstrations against police tactics and Australia's invitation to Israel's president, organisers and authorities said.
A Russian strike killed four people, including three young children, in Bohodukhiv in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Norway’s chief of defence, Gen. Eirik Kristoffersen, said he could not exclude a Russian invasion of Norway’s Arctic regions to protect nearby Russian nuclear assets.
Spain's government on Tuesday incorporated a universal 200-euro-per-month childcare benefit into its 2030 Sustainable Development Strategy, but officials said how or when it would be implemented remained unclear.
The United States handed command of several NATO commands and bases to European allies, shifting conventional war‑planning responsibility toward Europe and reflecting a Trump-era push.
Seamus Culleton, an Irishman married to a U.S. citizen and longtime resident, was detained by ICE in Texas and faced deportation after a court ruled against him.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer secured public backing from his cabinet in London after a government crisis triggered by Peter Mandelson’s US ambassador appointment and new Epstein-linked allegations.
Vox demanded sweeping policy changes from the PP and threatened to withhold support for forming governments in Extremadura and Aragón unless Feijóo’s party met its conditions.
Ahead of Oman talks, Iran’s regime invoked resistance against the U.S., many Iranians expressed deep anger, and U.S. Vice President Vance vowed support, raising escalation risks.
:format(jpeg):fill(f8f8f8,true)/s3/static.nrc.nl/taxonomy/e9195f4-Roelants%252C%2520Carolien%25201280%2520x%2520768.png)
Vice President JD Vance posted then deleted a message on X recognizing the Armenian genocide during his visit to Armenia, and his office said the post was an error.
Britain said it would double its troop presence in Norway to 2,000 over three years, citing growing concern about Russia’s military threat in the Arctic.
Portugal’s interior minister, Maria Lúcia Amaral, resigned after heavy criticism over her handling of late-January storms that killed five people, with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro temporarily taking over.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt while his helicopter traveled to Córdoba, saying it could not land because his security feared it would be shot.
Russian authorities throttled Telegram across Russia, saying the messenger failed to remove banned content, and users reported widespread connection problems.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conducted a midnight reshuffle in Turkey, replacing the interior and justice ministers hours before meeting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè was investigated by Milan prosecutors for alleged bankruptcy linked to the Bioera collapse, prompting opposition to call her continued tenure untenable.
Thousands of anti-government demonstrators clashed with police in central Tirana, throwing projectiles as officers used water cannons, after protesters accused Edi Rama's government of corruption.
The European Parliament approved a "wine package" to support and protect EU wine producers, defining "alcohol‑free" as under 0.05% ABV, but the Council must still approve it.
Greek authorities arrested Colonel Christos Flessas, a 54-year-old air force officer, on suspicion of spying for China and detained him pending trial after he appeared before an Athens military judge.
Warsaw dismissed Moscow's accusations that Poland was behind an attack on a Russian general as disinformation, saying the claims were unfounded and politically motivated.
Russian forces struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure, cutting power to over 95,000 people in Odesa and hitting Kyiv, prompting Kyiv to begin burying power lines to protect the grid.
AfD members in Saxony-Anhalt sent a warning letter to national leaders, saying internal scandals and power struggles threatened the party and deepened splits over Trump.
Venezuelan authorities placed opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa under house arrest at his son's home in Maracaibo after he was re-detained shortly following his release.
The European Parliament approved agricultural safeguards for the EU–Mercosur deal, allowing suspension of preferential access and temporary tariffs to shield European farmers from price pressure by South American imports.
The European Parliament voted to allow deportations to non‑EU "safe third countries" and approved an EU‑wide list of safe origin states, prompting criticism from rights groups.
