World, US, Culture, Market, and Sci-Tech News Aggregation from MSM and Independent News
Differing opinions on the U.S.-Israel strikes against Iran have emerged in Europe, with key Western allies standing strong with the United States, despite some voices bemoaning the escalation and calling for restraint.
Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, joint chairs of the AfD parliamentary group in the German Bundestag, issued the following statement:
“We have noted with great concern the attacks by Israel and the USA on Iran. We call on all warring parties to exercise absolute restraint. The civilian population and civilian infrastructure must be protected. International law and international humanitarian law must be fully respected. The renewed destabilization of the Middle East is not in Germany’s interest and must be stopped,” wrote the party in a statement.
The AfD’s stance on Israel, one of the two main actors currently attacking Iran, has been at odds with many other European conservative parties, which are often extremely pro-Israel.
VLADIMIR Putin is reportedly willing to accept a deal on Ukraine, according to a senior aide to President Zelenskyy.
Ukrainian Chief of Staff Kyrylo Budanov made the surprise claim during an interview on Ukrainian television.
“At the last talks, the Russian side said, for example, that they would accept the security guarantees offered to Ukraine by the United States,” he said.
The Kremlin has not confirmed the remarks.
If accurate, they would represent the most significant shift in negotiations since the conflict began four years ago.
It remains unclear what form those US security guarantees would take.
The United Kingdom has confirmed that an Iranian kamikaze drone impacted one of its airfield’s in Cyprus, marking the first time the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East have directly impacted one of the nation’s military installation. The attack came just hours after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer — alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz — indicated that they were open to joining offensive strikes against Iranian missile and drone targets.
The impact was confirmed at RAF Akrotiri, a Royal Air Force installation located within the United Kingdom’s Sovereign Base Area in southern Cyprus.
Austria Targets “Right-Wing Extremism”, Ignores Left-Wing and Islamist Violence The European Conservative
from news.google.com
The Chagos Islands deal fell into disarray Wednesday amid conflicting U.K. government messages about whether ratification was paused for talks with the United States over the strategic Indian Ocean military base Diego Garcia.
Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer had told members of Parliament that ratification of the deal to cede the islands to Mauritius had been paused while discussions with Washington continued.
A U.K. government spokesperson later denied there was any formal suspension of the process, insisting no deadline had ever been set and reiterating that Britain would not move forward without American backing.
PARIS — France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen said she won’t run for president next year if a Paris appeals court orders her to wear an electronic bracelet over alleged misuse of European Union funds.
Le Pen said she hopes the appeals court clears her in key verdict set for July 7 — a ruling that may derail her presidential ambitions.
“I know very well that the decision regarding this candidacy isn’t mine to make,” she said Wednesday evening on news broadcaster BFM TV.
Le Pen, 57, is challenging a March 2025 verdict that found her and other members of her National Rally party guilty of misusing EU Parliament funds in the hiring of aides from 2004 to 2016 who allegedly worked for the party instead of doing parliamentary tasks.
The crude oil shipment destined for MOL Group is already being loaded at the state-owned Janaf’s Omišalj terminal, the Croatian oil company announced on Wednesday, per a report from HVG. According to the statement, this will not be the only shipment, as seven more tankers will arrive by the beginning of April.
Janaf emphasized in its statement that it is not Russian crude oil that is being supplied to Hungarians, and yet, the company is ready to meet the entire annual demand of refineries in both Slovakia and Hungary.
TRUMP AND ZELENSKY SPEAK: A day after President Donald Trump publicly ignored the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and barely mentioned the war in his State of the Union address, the president resumed his pressure campaign to convince Volodymyr Zelensky he has little choice but to make a quick deal to end the war before things get worse.
“I just spoke with @POTUS Donald Trump,” Zelensky posted on X yesterday after a phone call with Trump, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner. “I thanked them for all their work and for their active involvement in the negotiations and the efforts to end the war.”
In the 30-minute call, Trump told Zelensky he wants to see an end to the war “as soon as possible,” Axios reported, citing “a Ukrainian official and two other sources with knowledge of the call.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a ruthless attack order in the face of peace efforts(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia launched a mass overnight onslaught of almost 500 bombs on Ukraine injuring at least 26 people – as the Kremlin dampened peace talk hopes.
At least 420 deadly drones and dozens of missiles were used in the attack, plus anti-ship , ballistic and cruise weapons , many of which were aimed at Kyiv and seven other regions.
Hardly a week goes by now that we don’t get a cautionary tale coming out of Britain, where the political elite are determined either to destroy the nation’s ethnic majority through the mass importation of third-world migrants, or to pretend that there is no ethnic majority to destroy in the first place.
Among the pretenders is none other than Nigel Farage, whose right populist party Reform UK is poised to win an outright parliamentary majority in the next general election. Farage has been a fixture in British politics for a quarter-century now and has always presented himself as counter-establishment. Yet he is also a man who likes to be liked, which means he will not speak candidly about Britain’s migrant crisis and what must be done to save the country.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has announced he will ask the Slovak Electricity Transmission System (SEPS) to stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine in retaliation for Kyiv’s refusal to resume Russian crude oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline.
In a video message posted on social media on Sunday, Fico said he would visit SEPS on Monday to request the suspension of electricity deliveries, further increasing tensions between so-called “dissenting” member states like Slovakia and Hungary, and the European Commission.
“If Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tells us to buy gas and oil elsewhere than in Russia — even though it is more difficult and expensive, which costs us a lot of money — then we have the right to respond,” Fico told followers.
LONDON — British comedian Russell Brand pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to new counts of rape and sexual assault.
Brand, who was already facing similar charges involving four women, denied the new charges in Southwark Crown Court. The alleged offenses took place in 2009, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Brand, 50, was charged in April with two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. Prosecutors said those offenses involving four women took place between 1999 and 2005 — one in the English seaside town of Bournemouth and three in London. Brand pleaded not guilty to those charges in a London court earlier this year.
Greece–Turkey tensions rise over Chevron energy deal south of Crete libyanexpress.com
from news.google.com
King Charles was warned over six years ago that disgraced former Prince Andrew’s secret financial entanglements were damaging the Royal Family, according to a whistleblower email.
The email has now surfaced amid an escalating scandal that has already seen the former Duke of York arrested and released under investigation.
According to the Daily Mail, an August 2019 email was sent to Charles, then Prince of Wales, through the royal law firm Farrer & Co.
The EU’s top executive body has urged US President Donald Trump not to impose new tariffs on the bloc’s goods and to clarify his position following the US Supreme Court ruling that struck down most of his earlier measures.
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump had no authority to impose tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Trump responded by signing an order imposing a 10% global tariff through a different law and later said he would raise it to 15%. He denounced the justices who ruled against him as “a disgrace to the nation.”
Germany’s Merz says he can’t stand applause for Rubio at Munich conference South China Morning Post
from news.google.com
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.”
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.
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.
Apparently, what happens in Brussels doesn’t stay in Brussels.
The House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on “Europe’s Threat to American Speech” made one thing unmistakable: this is no longer a distant policy debate — it’s a fight.
Rubio meets Orbán in Budapest as US and Hungary are to sign a civilian nuclear pact MSN
from news.google.com
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
Prince William, who is currently on a diplomatic trip to Saudi Arabia, was asked by a reporter during a visit to a sports complex in Riyadh, “Sir, to what extent do you think the royal family has done enough around the Andrew and Epstein issue?” He did not respond.
On Monday, William and Kate Middleton released a statement hours before the prince landed in Saudi Arabia, saying they were “deeply concerned by the continuing revelations” and that “their thoughts remain focused on the victims.” It was the first comment from the royal couple regarding Mountbatten-Windsor’s involvement with the disgraced late financier.
Meanwhile, sources close to King Charles say that while Charles feels vindicated for stripping his brother of his titles, there is concern that more is yet to come.
Swiss Will Vote on 10-Million Population Cap Proposal in June Bloomberg
from news.google.com
MOSCOW, February 11. /TASS/. No presidential election will be announced in Ukraine on February 24 as an election campaign can only be initiated at least six months after martial law is lifted, said Olga Aivazovskaya from a parliamentary group working toward an election.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Financial Times reported, citing sources, that Ukraine plans to hold a presidential election and a referendum on a peace deal with Russia by May 15. According to the British paper, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky may make an announcement as early as February 24.
“Team work on drafting laws to hold the first post-war election is ongoing, and it is understood that at least six months must pass after martial law is lifted before an election campaign can begin,” she wrote on Facebook (banned in Russia, owned by Meta, a corporation recognized as extremist in Russia).
“This is important for all of Ukraine’s partners – in the United States and Europe – to understand,” he said.
He said that “security issues are the key priority right now,” as Ukraine faces continuing attacks, including on civilian population and energy infrastructure.
A remarkably candid column appeared in the New York Times this week by Spain’s left-wing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who recently announced his government would grant amnesty to half a million illegal immigrants living in Spain. Framed as an argument for “why the West needs migrants,” Sánchez’s essay is really an admission of moral collapse, and a frank declaration that he intends to destroy his nation in exchange for short-term economic gain.
It is an admission of moral collapse because the Spanish government has signaled its willingness to erase their country, put the interests of foreigners above those of native citizens, and turn Spain into a magnet for Third World migration.
This isn’t confined to the U.S.; across the globe, far-left movements and Islamist extremists are algined to destroy free societies.
Violent clashes erupted in Milan as Antifa-linked rioters rampaged outside events connected to the 2026 Winter Olympics, attacking police officers for hours and plunging the area into chaos. Officers were pelted with projectiles and forced into prolonged confrontations as authorities struggled to restore order, underscoring the increasingly coordinated and transnational nature of militant Antifa activity across Europe.
🚨 MASSIVE disorder hits Milan as Antifa rioters unleash mayhem at the Winter Olympics. pic.twitter.com/nXtrZRMaO8
Police under siege for hours!
These violent extremists prove again why Antifa is a worldwide threat.
Unbelievable.— Luca Taner (@LucaTaner) February 8, 2026
BREAKING: 🚨 Italy is seeing riots as Antifa and Islamist groups clash with police. pic.twitter.com/pvO82pO21h
— ø 🇺🇲 (@TrumpUpdateHQ) February 8, 2026