03 World

Iran president orders talks with US as Trump hopeful of deal– www.channelnewsasia.com

pgnewser February 2, 2026 0

Blurb:

PARIS: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered the start of nuclear talks with the United States, local media said on Monday (Feb 2), after US President Donald Trump said he was hopeful of a deal to avert military action against the Islamic republic.

Following the Iranian authorities’ deadly response to anti-government protests that peaked last month, Trump has threatened military action and ordered the dispatch of an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East.

While piling pressure on Iran, Trump has maintained he is hopeful of making a deal, and Tehran has also insisted it wants diplomacy while vowing an unbridled response to any aggression.

UK, China rush to forge business deals– www.cnbc.com

pgnewser February 2, 2026 0

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Chinese businesses have pledged hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of investment in the U.K. and struck new partnerships with British peers as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to China spurred a flurry of bilateral business activity and investment flows.

During his four-day visit in China last week, Starmer met Chinese President Xi Jinping and secured deals that would see hundreds of millions worth of new investments from Chinese businesses, in addition to £2.2 billion ($3 billion) worth of exports and £2.3 billion in market access, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.

Following the high-profile visit, the two leaders hailed the benefits of cooperation, with Xi describing the bilateral ties as “mutually beneficial.” Starmer, who brought a large delegation of executives from banking, pharmaceutical, and automobile companies to China, also described the country as vital to Britain’s interests.

Iran horror as women ‘mutilated and raped’ in sickening regime crackdown | World | News– www.express.co.uk

pgnewser February 2, 2026 0

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Women have been raped and mutilated after standing up to the regime as protests sweep the country, it has been claimed.

Journalist Michel Abdollahi claims this brutal treatment is being used to instil “maximum fear.”

Speaking on social media. He said, “No women’s bodies are turning up, or very few. And that’s because, according to eyewitness accounts, they are being raped, their uteruses removed, their scalps ripped off along with their hair and their bodies covered in cigarette burns.”

He added that the Islamic Republic “uses rape as a weapon against its people.”

Sudan’s war displaced crisis peaks as millions eye return to ruined homes | Sudan war News– www.aljazeera.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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Sudan has moved to the forefront of the global humanitarian landscape, now hosting the world’s largest internal displacement crisis. According to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), approximately 14 million people have been forced from their homes within the country.

These staggering figures in Sudan are part of a broader global surge in forced displacement. UNHCR estimates suggest the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide exceeded 122 million by the first half of 2025.

U.S. has told Ukraine it must sign peace deal with Russia to get security guarantees, source says– japantoday.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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The United States has told Ukraine that it must sign on to a peace deal with ‌Russia in order to get U.S. security guarantees, a source familiar with internal discussions told Reuters on Tuesday.

U.S. security guarantees are considered by Ukraine as ⁠the linchpin for any settlement ending Russia’s four-year-old  ‍invasion of Ukraine. The United States brokered ‍talks in Abu ‍Dhabi between envoys for Ukraine and Russia last weekend that ⁠U.S. officials said made progress toward an agreement.

Hungary’s Orbán accuses Ukraine of election interference and summons ambassador– abcnews.go.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary’s pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused Ukraine on Monday of seeking to meddle in his country’s upcoming elections and ordered Kyiv’s ambassador to be summoned to the foreign ministry.

The step was the latest in Orbán’s long-running anti-Ukraine campaign as he seeks to convince voters that the neighboring country, embroiled in a war with Russia since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, poses an existential threat to Hungary’s security and sovereignty.

Orbán, who has maintained close ties with Russia, faces what is expected to be the biggest challenge of his 16 years in power during elections scheduled for April 12.

Trump Sends Massive US Armada To Iran With Ominous Warning: ‘Speed And Violence’– trendingpoliticsnews.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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President Donald Trump warned Iran to “come to the table” Wednesday as the United States moves a powerful naval force into the region, signaling that military action remains firmly on the table if Tehran refuses to negotiate.

Trump confirmed the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group, describing the move as a direct message to Iran’s leadership and a demonstration of American resolve.

“A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela. Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

China Rewards UK With Trip For Mega-Embassy– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has arrived in Beijing, the first British leader to make an official trip to China since 2018, after he said he believes he can unlock business opportunities there despite security concerns.

A chartered British Airways jet carried the Prime Minister to Beijing overnight — allegedly to keep Chinese spies away from the Prime Minister’s own government plane — for the first of a three-day trip to China, which the Labour leader hopes will thaw relations after what he called an “ice age”.

The hurried trip was only officially announced by China on Tuesday and seems to be something of a reward for Starmer after the British government forced through permission for Beijing to build a new “mega-embassy” in London just last week. The new complex, which will be the largest embassy in Western Europe once completed, has been the subject of intense criticism over spying and national security fears, but was signed off on nevertheless by one of Starmer’s government ministers.

Greenland standoff was ‘strategic wake-up call’ for Europe, says Macron – Europe live | Europe– www.theguardian.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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We also know have a video of Macron’s remarks at his press conference with the Danish and Greenlandic prime ministers earlier today.

Macron said that a recent standoff with the US over Greenland was “a strategic wake-up call for all of Europe”, repeating his call for Europe to assert its “sovereignty” in relation to other global powers.

He even said a few things in Greenlandic, stressing: “Greenland is not for sale,” before switching to Danish to express his solidarity with Denmark.

China’s Top General Accused Of Giving Nuclear Secrets To United States– wltreport.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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China’s top general is in deep water.

In an exclusive report, the Wall Street Journal has reported that China’s top military general has been ousted from his position after allegedly giving nuclear secrets to the United States.

The General was known in Beijing and to U.S. intelligence as President Xi Jinping’s top military ally.

The New York Post reported more on the general leaking nuclear secrets to the United States:

China’s top general has been accused of leaking nuclear secrets to the US and accepting bribes as President Xi Jinping purges the country’s senior military leadership.

General Zhang Youxia, 75, once considered one of Xi’s most-trusted military allies, allegedly leaked core technical data on China’s nuclear weapons to the US, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Zhang, the first-ranked vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, was officially placed under investigation on Saturday.

He was detained by military corruption investigators earlier this week, according to reports from Chinese outlets.

President Xi has reportedly sent a special task force to Shenyang in northeast China, where Zhang was previously stationed.

‘No security threat here’: Bangladesh questions India’s move to recall diplomats’ families– timesofindia.indiatimes.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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Bangladesh on Wednesday said that there was no security situation that justified India recalling the family members of its diplomats from Dhaka. This comes after New Delhi cited precautionary safety concerns amid rising extremist activity ahead of the country’s general elections.Bangladesh’s foreign affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said that there was “no reason” for such a move and maintained that foreign diplomats and their families were not facing any threat in the country. Addressing a media briefing at the foreign ministry, Hossain said, “There is no situation here that would indicate danger (for Indian diplomats).”

WW3 fears soar as Iran issued ‘force that’s never been seen before’ warning | World | News– www.express.co.uk

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a stark warning to Tehran’s leadership, vowing that any attack on Israel would be met with “a force that Iran has never seen before”. The declaration comes as tensions in the Middle East reach a dangerous new peak, fuelled by a volatile mix of nationwide protests in the Islamic fundamentalist republic, the arrival of a massive US aircraft carrier strike group, and bellicose rhetoric from Washington.

The prospect of World War 3 has shifted from a distant anxiety to an immediate geopolitical concern. Military experts warn that a major war in the Middle East could ignite a global conflagration by drawing in world powers through alliance commitments.

Canada PM Carney denies retracting Davos comments in talk with Trump– www.channelnewsasia.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday (Jan 27) said he spoke to US President Donald Trump on Monday but denied he had retracted comments last week that irritated the US President.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that during the call, Carney “was very aggressively walking back” some of the remarks he made during a speech in Davos in which he urged nations to accept the end of a rules-based global order.

Carney – citing US tariffs on key Canadian imports – is pushing to diversify trade away from the United States, which takes around 70 per cent of all Canadian exports.

Rubio set to warn of future military action if Venezuela’s new leaders stray from US goals– www.channelnewsasia.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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While keeping pressure on those whom the Trump administration dubs “narcotraffickers” without providing evidence, US officials also are working to normalise ties with Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez.

Nonetheless, Rubio will make clear in his testimony that she has little choice but to comply with Trump’s demands.

“Rodriguez is well aware of the fate of Maduro; it is our belief that her own self-interest aligns with advancing our key objectives,” Rubio will say, noting that they include opening Venezuela’s energy sector to US companies, providing preferential access to production, using oil revenue to purchase American goods, and ending subsidised oil exports to Cuba.

AI Risks a Political Backlash Before It Earns Public Trust | American Enterprise Institute– www.aei.org

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

Blurb:

The emerging Age of AI has a tricky PR problem that may turn into a nasty political one. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella recently warned that AI could lose its “social permission” to consume massive amounts of electricity unless it delivers clear, real-world gains across society, including healthcare, education, government efficiency, and business performance.

That stark warning should be front-of-mind for techno-optimists. Too much of the public sees AI as extractive rather than beneficial, associating it with job threats, wealth concentration, and rising energy demand. Even worse, the message is getting through to at least some lawmakers.

Russia offers incentives to those outside the country to replenish military – National– globalnews.ca

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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For average wage earners in Russia, it’s a big payday. For criminals seeking to escape the harsh conditions and abuse in prison, it’s a chance at freedom. For immigrants hoping for a better life, it’s a simplified path to citizenship.

All they have to do is sign a contract to fight in Ukraine.

As Russia seeks to replenish its forces in nearly four years of war — and avoid an unpopular nationwide mobilization — it’s pulling out all the stops to find new troops to send into the battlefield.

Russia names UK cities on WW3 nuclear hit list in chilling threat -‘Defenceless’ | World | News– www.express.co.uk

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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A senior Russian politician has sparked fresh World War Three fears after claiming Europe is effectively “defenceless” against Moscow’s latest hypersonic weapons. The warning was posted on Telegram by Aleksey Aleksandrovich Zhuravlyov, a hardline nationalist MP and chairman of the Rodina party, who shared a German media report about a recent Russian missile strike in Ukraine.

Zhuravlyov referenced an article published by Berliner Zeitung reporting on the alleged deployment of Russia’s so-called “Oreshnik” hypersonic missile during strikes on Ukraine’s Lviv region. He claimed the attack had sent shockwaves through political and military circles across Europe. In his commentary, the Kremlin ally alleged the strike was a “clear signal” to the EU and NATO, insisting that Russia had demonstrated its ability to hit targets in “Western capitals” and at NATO military bases.

Europe can defend itself but cannot replace US nuclear umbrella, Kubilius tells Euronews– www.euronews.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

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Europeans cannot replace the US nuclear umbrella, at least for the time being, but when it comes to conventional defence the situation is different, European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius told Euronews on Wednesday.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday that the European Union should “keep on dreaming” of becoming independent from the US, its largest ally, in matters of security and defence.

Kubilius told Euronews that if Rutte’s comments refer to nuclear defence only and if Rutte meant that “the Europeans should stop dreaming about the possibility to defend themselves without American nuclear umbrella – I agree with him”.