Top World News

Feb 19, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump argued that Hamas deserved "a lot of credit" for digging up the dead bodies of their victims.During the first Board of Peace meeting in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Trump noted that "every last remaining hostage, both living and dead, has been returned back home" from Gaza."And we did hundreds of hostages," he remarked. "I said the last 20 are gonna be very tough, very, very tough.""And we got them back. We got the living back," Trump continued. "And then we only got about 16 of the dead. And we said, well, you got to get them all. You promised them all." "And they dug and dug and dug. You can imagine it's a job that's brutal. And Hamas really did a lot of that work. And you've got to give them credit for that. They brought the last one home a week ago. And we got all 28 of them."According to Drop Site News, "some 10,000 Palestinians are still missing, buried under the rubble, and another 10,000 Palestinian captives are detained in Israeli torture prisons and military sites."

Feb 19, 2026 - World

Intelligence findings read to parliament say ‘rogue’ agencies and individuals recruiting Kenyan nationals to frontlineMore than 1,000 Kenyans have been lured to fight for Russia in its war with Ukraine, according to an intelligence report to the Kenyan parliament that highlights the scale of a Russian operation taking African men to the frontline.The majority leader of Kenya’s national assembly, Kimani Ichung’wah, said “rogue recruitment agencies and individuals in Kenya” were continuing to send Kenyan nationals to fight in the conflict, as he read MPs the summary of an investigation by Kenya’s National Intelligence Service. Continue reading...

Feb 19, 2026 - World

The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor could affect the United States, according to a political commentator who believes a precedent has been set. The ex-Prince was arrested earlier today (February 19) on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The Mirror columnist Christopher Bucktin described the arrest as an "almost surreal" moment that would have longer-term consequences for those in the US. He wrote, "Whatever the eventual outcome, the message was unmistakable: status alone no longer guarantees insulation from criminal investigation. Of course, Andrew's arrest should not be seen as any indication of guilt, and there are no charges yet. "He has consistently denied any wrongdoing. But the tremors have not stopped at royalty." Bucktin would pull up Attorney General Pam Bondi's comment on investigating everyone mentioned in Jeffrey Epstein's files. Bondi suggested such action could "bring down the government," and the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor could be a shift in the tide, Bucktin believes. He added, "It was an astonishing warning. Not that the innocent would be exonerated. Not that due process would prevail. But that full accountability might destabilise the political order itself."If examining credible allegations against powerful individuals, like what the UK is now doing, risks shaking institutions, then those institutions demand deeper scrutiny, not gentler handling. The rule of law cannot function on the basis that some names are simply too significant, too connected, too politically sensitive to examine."The Epstein affair was never merely about one disgraced financier who died in custody. It was about an ecosystem of influence - the private jets, the island retreats, the cross-party friendships and the ease with which wealth seemed to smooth every obstacle. It was about how power protects itself."Bucktin went on to suggest the activity in the UK over the former Prince's arrest could put pressure in the US to act similarly, as their "conspicuous" silence may be breached. He wrote, "Justice cannot stop at one imprisoned accomplice while others retreat behind legal teams and influence. It cannot flinch because the truth might prove politically explosive. And it cannot accept that the potential embarrassment of the elite outweighs the public’s right to accountability."A birthday arrest on suspicion of misconduct in a public office should not stand alone as a rare spectacle. It should signal something larger: that no title, no fortune, no political office is sufficient armour against the law."

Feb 19, 2026 - World

According to documents reviewed by the Guardian, Donald Trump has initiated plans to construct a military base in Gaza capable of housing up to 5,000 troops.Guardian reporters Aram Roston and Kate Brown obtained contracting records detailing the proposed 350-acre facility as part of Trump's controversial "Board of Peace" initiative. The base would serve as headquarters for the Board of Peace's International Stabilization Force (ISF).The facility design includes "26 trailer-mounted armored watch towers, a small arms range, bunkers, and a warehouse for military equipment for operations. The entire base will be encircled with barbed wire."The proposed site is located in an area devastated by years of Israeli military operations. International construction companies with war zone experience have already conducted site visits to assess the location.Several critical questions remain unanswered regarding the proposal. It is unclear what the ISF's rules of engagement would be during combat, renewed Israeli bombing, or Hamas attacks. The ISF's specific role in disarming Hamas—a condition Israel has set for Gaza reconstruction—also remains undefined.The proposal follows negotiations led by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner regarding the Board of Peace's operational structure.You can read more here.

Feb 18, 2026 - World

New body camera footage this week showed the moment a police officer confronted the alcoholic father of a British woman who was shot dead in Texas after the two argued over President Donald Trump. Lucy Harrison, 23, was visiting her family in Texas in January 2025 when her father, Kris Harrison, 51, shot her during a disagreement, The Daily Beast reported. In the video, police confront Kris Harrison about the fight. He told law enforcement the two were "talking about guns" when the firearm apparently went off. “She said, ‘you got a gun?’ I said, yes, I got it out and it just went off and she stood there like, as I pulled it out. It went off,” he said during the conversation, which was captured on the body camera footage. “I put it on the bed straight away. It was in the bedside cabinet. In a locked box, and we took it out to look, and just as I picked it up, it went off,” Kris said. Officers appeared to be speaking with Kris while Lucy's boyfriend, Sam Littler, was seen pacing in the room, putting his hands on his head. "Prosecutors in Collin County failed to secure an indictment against Kris after a grand jury heard that his gun accidentally fired when he 'lifted it to show her,'" The Daily Beast reported. Although he wasn't prosecuted in the US, the UK has held an inquest — a special court hearing — and has continued to investigate.. Last month the court ruled that Lucy died unlawfully.In his testimony with the Cheshire Coroner’s Court earlier this month, Littler described what happened in the moments before the shooting.Lucy and her father were apparently discussing Trump when she asked him, “How would you feel if I was the girl in that situation and I’d been sexually assaulted?”"He dismissed her question and said he had two other daughters living in their home, so it would not upset him too much," The Daily Beast reported. "Littler said that Lucy grew 'quite upset' with her father’s answer and went upstairs."The couple had planned to leave for the airport and return to the UK when Littler said Kris took Lucy by the hand up to his bedroom. "Littler said he then heard a loud bang and heard Kris scream for his wife," The Daily Beast reported.Kris sent a written statement to the Cheshire Coroner’s Court and said he had relapsed the day of the shooting and had drunk nearly a full bottle of white wine. “As I lifted the gun to show her I suddenly heard a loud bang. I did not understand what had happened. Lucy immediately fell,” Kris said.“I fully accept the consequences of my actions, and there isn’t a day I don’t feel the weight of that loss—a weight I will carry for the rest of my life, and I know that nothing I say can ease the heartbreak this tragedy has caused,” he said in the statement.