03 World

LA county mayor’s campaign advisor convicted of spying for China, sentenced to 4 years in prison | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com

pgnewser February 18, 2026 0

Blurb:

The DOJ said Yaoning Sun had acted as an illegal agent “while serving as the campaign advisor for a political candidate who was elected to the city council of a Southern California city.”

A man with ties to the mayor of a Los Angeles County city has been sentenced to four years in prison for “acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China.”

The Department of Justice announced on February 10 that 65-year-old Yaoning “Mike” Sun, of Chino Hills, California had been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, saying that Sun had acted as an illegal agent “while serving as the campaign advisor for a political candidate who was elected to the city council of a Southern California city.”

EU Parliament condemns Turkey for expelling Christian missionaries as ‘security threats’– www.lifesitenews.com

pgnewser February 18, 2026 0

Blurb:

(LifeSiteNews) — The European Parliament has voted in favor of a resolution condemning Turkey’s expulsion of Christian missionaries.

On February 12, the EU legislative body adopted the text by 502 votes in favor, two against, and 59 abstentions, demonstrating broad cross-party consensus on the issue.

The resolution said Turkey is expelling Christians missionaries under an opaque “national security” pretext. It urged the government to uphold freedom of religion and allow the expelled Christians to return to the country.

Lagarde to Step Down Early to Ensure Globalist ECB Successor: Report– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser February 18, 2026 0

Blurb:

Arch globalist Christine Lagarde is reportedly planning to leave her post at the helm of the European Central Bank before the end of her term next year in a bid to lock in liberal leadership long after French President Emmanuel Macron leaves office.

The anti-Trump former French finance minister has served as president of the European Central Bank since 2019. While her eight-year term is set to expire in October next year, the Financial Times, citing a “person familiar with her thinking”, reported that Lagarde is considering stepping down before then to allow French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to select her successor.

Vatican rejects President Trump Board of Peace initiative for Gaza recovery– www.foxnews.com

pgnewser February 18, 2026 0

Blurb:

The Vatican will not join President Donald Trump’s newly formed Board of Peace, its top diplomatic official said Tuesday, signaling reluctance from the Holy See to take part in the post-war initiative.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Holy See “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States,” the Vatican’s official news outlet reported.

Vatican Rejects Trump’s Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ Invite, Calls for United Nations to Take Over– slaynews.com

pgnewser February 18, 2026 0

Blurb:

The Vatican has rejected an invitation to participate in President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” which was recently formed to rebuild war-ravaged Gaza.

The Holy See’s top diplomatic official confirmed the rejection on Tuesday.

The refusal to join the international effort signals hesitation from the Catholic Church’s leadership toward the post-war initiative.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Holy See “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States,” according to the Vatican’s official news outlet.

Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz, Conducts Military Exercises With China, Russia– gellerreport.com

pgnewser February 18, 2026 1

Blurb:

 

After reports of Iranian missile fire in the most strategically important shipping lane in the Persian Gulf, Tehran announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed to all maritime traffic for several hours due to a “Smart Control” exercise conducted by the naval arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…. At the same time, Russia, China and Iran deployed naval vessels to the Strait of Hormuz for joint maneuvers, Russian presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev said Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether the Russian and Chinese ships had already joined the ongoing Iranian drill or were expected to participate in the coming days (Israel Hayom).

Russia launches 400 drones and 29 missiles at Ukraine hours before peace talks in Geneva – Europe live | Europe– www.theguardian.com

pgnewser February 17, 2026 0

Blurb:

EU confirms hopes to adopt new sanctions against Russia by 24 February

The European Commission is just giving its daily midday press briefing, and it has confirmed plans to adopt the new, 20th, round of sanctions against Russia by 24 February, the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion on Ukraine.

Foreign affairs spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said:

“We keep on working on measures to deprive Russia of the funds, goods and technologies sustaining its war against Ukraine.

This indeed includes the 20th package that you have mentioned, and indeed we aim to adopt it … by 24 February, as the High Representative [Kaja Kallas] mentioned at the last foreign affairs council. Member states are discussing it.”

Ukraine’s Zelensky Says He Met with Democrat Senators to Discuss ‘Pressure’ on Russia– slaynews.com

pgnewser February 17, 2026 0

Blurb:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that he met with Democrat senators to discuss plans for ramping up “pressure” on Russia.

Zelensky confirmed that he met with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

The meeting highlights the continued efforts from Democrats to influence Ukrainian leadership as the war with Russia drags on.

In a video included in a post on X, Blumenthal can be heard greeting Zelensky and expressing interest in further cooperation.

ANTIFA MURDERS: 23-Year-Old Conservative Student Killed In Antifa Beating at Women’s Demonstration in Lyon France– gellerreport.com

pgnewser February 17, 2026 0

Blurb:

 

A 23-year-old French student named Quentin died after being severely beaten by Antifa in Sciences Po in Lyon. He had been volunteering as security for Collectif Némésis, a conservative women’s group protesting a lecture by far-left MEP Rima Hassan.

The video is horrific. Nobody came to his rescue. No one. He was swarmed by a leftist mob who stomped him to death while cheering.

Iran fires missiles into Strait of Hormuz during military naval drills– www.foxnews.com

pgnewser February 17, 2026 0

Blurb:

Iran fired live missiles into the Strait of Hormuz during naval drills Tuesday and signaled it is prepared to close the strategic waterway if ordered by senior leadership, according to Iranian state-affiliated media.

The drills come as President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are meeting senior Iranian officials in Geneva for a second round of nuclear talks.

Trump says Board of Peace will unveil $5B in Gaza reconstruction pledges – National– globalnews.ca

pgnewser February 17, 2026 0

Blurb:

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that members of his newly created Board of Peace have pledged $5 billion toward rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza and will commit thousands of personnel to international stabilization and police forces for the territory.

The pledges will be formally announced when board members gather in Washington on Thursday for their first meeting, he said.

“The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History, and it is my honor to serve as its Chairman,” Trump said in a social media posting announcing the pledges.

Trump Cranks Up Pressure On Iran With Second Aircraft Carrier Deployment– dailycaller.com

pgnewser February 17, 2026 0

Blurb:

In the latest escalation of America’s pressure campaign against Iran, the Pentagon has ordered the deployment of the Navy’s most powerful aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, from the Caribbean to the Middle East.

The move will bring two of the 11 U.S. carrier strike groups into Middle Eastern waters. The Ford, the largest and most advanced carrier in the world, is expected to join USS Abraham Lincoln and a growing number of guided-missile destroyers, fighter jets, and surveillance aircraft already in the region.

UK leader Starmer averts a leadership challenge for now but remains damaged by Epstein fallout– abcnews.go.com

pgnewser February 12, 2026 0

Blurb:

After indirect fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files sparked a dramatic day of crisis that threatened to topple him, the U.K. prime minister was saved by a pugnacious fightback and hesitation among his rivals inside the governing Labour Party about the consequences of a leadership coup.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said Tuesday that Labour lawmakers had “looked over the precipice … and they didn’t like what they saw.”

“And they thought the right thing was to unite behind Keir,” Miliband told the BBC.

He might have added: For now.

Canada Horror: Woman Euthanized Without Her Consent– www.lifenews.com

pgnewser February 11, 2026 0

Blurb:

… For instance, take Zoraya ter Beek, a 29-year-old, who, in 2024, ended her life via doctor-assisted suicide in the Netherlands. According to The Guardian, she did so on the “grounds of unbearable mental suffering.”

Such deaths are permitted if a patient has “unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement.” Another such individual is Aurelia Brouwers, a young woman who died in a starkly similar way.

“I’m 29 years old and I’ve chosen to be voluntarily euthanized,” Brouwers said before her death. “I’ve chosen this because I have a lot of mental health issues. I suffer unbearably and hopelessly. Every breath I take is torture.”

These cases are heartbreaking and prove that the slippery-slope alarms sounding for far too long should have been heeded, but, tragically, they have been ignored. And, unfortunately, the chaos doesn’t come from only these mental health loopholes.

Denying Everyone’s Access to Lawful Speech to Protect a Vulnerable Few: Arkansas’s Overinclusive Regulatory Trade-Off | American Enterprise Institute– www.aei.org

pgnewser February 11, 2026 0

Blurb:

An Arkansas federal court recently issued a preliminary injunction barring authorities in the Natural State from enforcing a speech-restrictive statute called Act 901. Among other things, it prohibits social media platforms from using algorithms they know or reasonably should know will cause “a user to: (1) purchase a controlled substance; (2) develop an eating disorder; (3) commit or attempt to commit suicide; or (4) develop or sustain an addiction to the social media platform[s].”

Chief US District Judge Timothy L. Brooks’ ruling in NetChoice v. Griffin marks yet another victory for NetChoice in its seemingly ceaseless battle against state laws that curb the First Amendment speech rights of two groups—users (to express and receive lawful content) and platforms (to exercise editorial discretion and moderate content without government interference). Brooks’ decision also offers several constitutional lessons for lawmakers about such measures; two are addressed below.

Elon Musk says, “You have to go to the moon” as he announces AI satellite factory plan with lunar mass driver |– timesofindia.indiatimes.com

pgnewser February 11, 2026 0

Blurb:

Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind SpaceX and the artificial intelligence company xAI, has unveiled one of his most ambitious plans yet. During an all-hands meeting with xAI staff on Tuesday, February 10, Musk announced a proposal to establish a manufacturing facility on the Moon that would build satellites equipped with advanced computing capabilities. According to The New York Times, Musk described the Moon as a necessary step in gaining a competitive advantage for future AI systems, saying simply, “You have to go to the Moon.”The idea involves constructing a lunar factory that could produce satellites outfitted with hardware designed to support artificial intelligence workloads.

Ukraine Defends Church Law, Says It’s About Separation From Moscow – Not Shutting Churches– www.cbn.com

pgnewser February 11, 2026 0

Blurb:

WASHINGTON – This month marks four years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Casualties are on track to exceed two million this year, two-thirds of them from Russia.

Kyiv warns that the fight to regain control isn’t limited to the battlefield. It’s also playing out through Moscow’s ties to a branch of the Orthodox Church, which the Ukrainian government is now moving to sever.

“The activity of (the) Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate is not prohibited in Ukraine,” explained Viktor Yelenskyy, who oversees religious affairs for the government.

“(The) Ukrainian government asked (the) Ukrai

Venezuelan opposition politician under house arrest after kidnap, son says – BBC

pgnewser February 11, 2026 0

Blurb:

  1. Venezuelan opposition politician under house arrest after kidnap, son says  BBC
  2. Venezuelan Opposition Politician Placed Under House Arrest After Release From Jail, Son Says  PBS
  3. Venezuela to move just-freed opposition politician to house arrest  Reuters
  4. Venezuelan Opposition Politician Guanipa Under House Arrest, Son Says  U.S. News & World Report
  5. Venezuelan opposition politician placed under house arrest after release from jail, son says  ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4
  6. Venezuelan opposition politician placed under house arrest after release from jail, son says  Toronto Star

from news.google.com

Republican congressman says Epstein files ‘likely incriminated’ six more men | Jeffrey Epstein– www.theguardian.com

pgnewser February 11, 2026 0

Blurb:

Thomas Massie, a US congressman, has said he knows the identity of six more men who are “likely incriminated” by their inclusion in the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files after he viewed an unredacted version of the documents relating to the disgraced late financier and sexual abuser.

The Kentucky Republican suggested he might reveal their names under congressional privilege if the justice department (DoJ) continued to conceal their identities in publicly available copies of the documents that are still redacted.

The six men, Massie told reporters after viewing the papers at DoJ headquarters in Washington on Monday, include at least one US citizen, an individual he said was “high up in a foreign government”, a foreigner, and “three or four others” whose nationalities were not readily apparent.

“What I saw that bothered me were the names of at least six men that have been redacted that are likely incriminated by their inclusion in these files,” said Massie, lead sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act that forced Donald Trump’s administration to publish its vast trove of documents into the connections and activities of the president’s former friend.