February 9, 2026

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional tensions:

• Following indirect talks in Oman on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said yesterday that recognition of Iran's right to enrich uranium domestically is key for nuclear-related talks with the U.S. to succeed. Araqchi characterized Iranian uranium enrichment as being "rooted in a desire for independence and dignity," and said "No one has the right to tell the Iranian nation what it should or should not have." [more]
• Israel's security cabinet approved measures yesterday that, according to far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, will make it easier for Jewish settlers to force Palestinians to give up land in the West Bank. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas characterized the measures as a dangerous attempt to legalize settlement expansion and called on the U.N. Security Council to intervene in the matter. [more]
• After having been closed for two days due to operational issues, the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt was reopened yesterday. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, 17 medical evacuees and 27 companions were expected to leave Gaza via the crossing yesterday. [more]
• Both Israeli and Lebanese media report that Israeli forces carried out an operation in southern Lebanon early today in which a local Sunni Islamist group official with links to the Palestinian militant group Hamas was seized and taken to Israel for questioning. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,444 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian officials say at least four people were killed, and nine others were injured, in overnight Russian attacks that included the use of 11 ballistic missiles and 149 attack drones. [more]

U.S. PRESIDENCY | White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed as "fake outrage" reactions to a social media post by President Donald Trump late last week that depicted former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama – the US' first Black president and first lady – as apes or monkeys. Trump said he would not apologize for the post, which was eventually removed, and later blamed a staffer for releasing the video. [more]

U.S. BIRTHS | According to new provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of births in the U.S. in 2025 fell about 24,000 from the prior year to slightly over 3.6 million. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the Trump administration's policy of detaining undocumented immigrants without bond or granting the immigrants an opportunity to challenge their detention can continue. Reports note that the ruling only applies to immigrants in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. [more]

EPSTEIN FILES | The Associated Press says its review of internal Justice Department records shows that while federal investigators found proof that Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused underage girls, not enough evidence was found to support the contention that Epstein led a sex trafficking ring serving powerful men. [more]

NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY | The Trump administration filed a notice of appeal yesterday seeking to block a preliminary injunction issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas that ordered the federal government to release frozen congressionally approved funds for the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project connecting New York and New Jersey. Reports note that President Donald Trump offered to unfreeze the funds last month in return for support from Democrats to rename Washington Dulles Airport and New York's Penn Station after him. [more]

IRAN | Amidst reports that Iranian security forces have begun a campaign to arrest figures within the country’s reformist movement, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency cites prosecutors as saying four people have been arrested for alleged involvement in "organizing and leading activities aimed at disrupting the political and social situation in the country." [more]

JAPAN | In weekend elections, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party won an outright majority of seats in Japan's lower house of parliament – a result seen by analysts as indicating widespread support for Takaichi’s conservative security, economic, and social policies. [more]

HONG KONG | Pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, the former publisher of Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper, was sentenced to 20 years in prison today after having been convicted in December on charges of violating the city's China-imposed national security laws. [more]

U.K. | Amidst ongoing fallout from investigations in numerous European countries into alleged relationships high-profile persons had with late financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, resigned yesterday, saying he was the person who advised Starmer to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States despite Mandelson's relationship with Epstein. [more]

PORTUGAL | With almost all votes counted, center-left candidate António José Seguro won Portugal's runoff presidential election yesterday, defeating hard-right candidate André Ventura. [more]

KOSOVO | Closing arguments at a tribunal in The Hague are scheduled for today in the trial of Kosovo’s former President Hashim Thaci, who is facing charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during his country’s 1998-99 war for independence from Serbia. [more]

MEDITERRANEAN MIGRATION | The U.N. International Organization for Migration said today that at least 53 people are dead or missing after an inflatable migrant boat sank off the coast of Libya on Friday. The U.N. group said this and similar incidents "underscore the persistent and deadly risks faced by migrants and refugees" attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing to Europe. [more]

SOCIAL MEDIA | Opening arguments are scheduled to begin today in New Mexico in what is reported to be the first stand-alone trial from state prosecutors against Facebook parent company Meta related to the company's handling of child sexual exploitation and its alleged failure to disclose what it knew about related harms. State prosecutors' case against Meta was built on undercover investigations using proxy social media accounts and posing as kids to document sexual solicitations and Meta's responses. [more]

FOOTBALL | The Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots, 29-13, yesterday to win Super Bowl 60 and claim the franchise's second NFL championship. Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III was named the game's most valuable player. [more]

OLYMPICS | Following the first weekend of competition at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games, host country Italy leads the overall medal count with 9, followed by Norway, Japan, Austria, Germany, and the United States. [medal tracker] [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Send Help" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $10 million in receipts, followed by "Solo Mio" and "Iron Lung." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1943, the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an Allied victory over Japanese forces. [more history]