“The Indian Coast Guard seized three tankers that it said were involved in oil smuggling, the first sign of the country getting tough on the so-called dark fleet. The three ships were taken in the waters off Mumbai on Friday by the coast guard, which said in a post on X that it had ‘busted an international oil-smuggling racket’ and that the vessels had been known to ‘frequently change identity.’ It’s the first time New Delhi has taken such action, according to people familiar with the Indian shipping industry, and comes as the US and Europe lead an effort to get tougher on vessels moving sanctioned oil.” (02/10/26)
“An immigration court blocked the deportation of a Turkish Tufts University graduate student who was detained by immigration officials near her Massachusetts home, her attorneys said in court documents filed Monday. Rümeysa Öztürk’s attorneys said the immigration court found on Jan. 29 that the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t proved that Öztürk should be removed from the U.S. The immigration court also terminated Öztürk’s removal proceedings, the attorneys said in a letter to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has been reviewing her case.” (02/10/26)
“Consumer activity slowed sharply for the December holiday shopping season amid a spate of rough weather, tariff impact and persistently higher inflation, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Retail sales were flat on the month following a 0.6% increase in November, according to numbers adjusted for seasonality but not inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected an increase of 0.4%. Excluding autos, sales also were unchanged, against the estimate for a 0.3% increase. On an annual basis, sales rose 2.4%, a considerable step down from the 3.3% pace in November. … The shopping pace failed to keep up with inflation, as the consumer price index for December posted a 2.7% increase.” (02/10/26)
“The brute who threw acid in an Elmont college student’s face has finally been arrested — nearly five years after the sickening attack that left the young woman permanently disfigured, authorities said. The wannabe rapper appeared in Nassau County Court Tuesday, marking the first arrest in a case that shocked Long Island and drew national attention over four years ago. Prosecutors claimed the suspect, a wannabe rapper, boasted about an acid attack in one of his songs posted to social media. The victim, Nafiah Ikram, previously condemned prosecutors for dropping the ball in the case, allowing the sicko to remain on the run while she suffered second- and third-degree burns and lost vision in one eye” (02/10/25)
“A top Iranian security official traveled on Tuesday to Oman, the Mideast sultanate now mediating talks between Tehran and Washington over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program aimed at halting a possible American strike. The visit by Ali Larijani, a former Iranian parliament speaker who now serves as the secretary to the country’s Supreme National Security Council, likely focused on what comes next after the initial round of indirect talks held last week in Muscat with the Americans. Larijani’s entourage shared photos of him meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, the chief intermediary in the U.S.-Iran talks, with what appeared to be a letter sheathed in plastic and sitting alongside the Omani diplomat.” (02/10/25)
“Madagascar’s military government has criticised Eswatini for hosting ousted President Andry Rajoelina last week, describing the visit as a ‘grave infringement of its sovereignty.’ Last Friday, the Eswatini government shared photos of King Mswati III meeting Rajoelina, during which the king called on Madagascar’s military junta to restore constitutional order. In a statement, Madagascar’s military leader Col Michael Randrianirina voiced his ‘strongest condemnation’ of the visit, terming it ‘politically unacceptable.’ Rajoelina was overthrown last October by an elite military following weeks of youth-led protests in the Indian Ocean island.” (02/10/26)
“A student died during protests over unpaid financial aid at Senegal’s top university in Dakar, the government said late on Monday, as weeks of unrest over delayed stipends escalated into clashes with security forces. Unverified videos showed students jumping from upper floors of a burning campus building. The government said the circumstances of the death of Abdoulaye Ba, a second-year dental surgery student at Cheikh Anta Diop University, remain under investigation. The protests reflect mounting pressure from Senegal’s worsening public finances. The administration that took office in April 2024 is grappling with a $13 billion budget hole, one of Africa’s most severe hidden debt crises, and growing public dissatisfaction as bills go unpaid. Demonstrations on campus since early December have descended into confrontations between rock-throwing students and security forces.” (02/10/26)
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday took steps toward banning BHA, a food additive used in processed foods such as meats and bread. BHA, or butylated hydroxyanisole, has been used in the food supply for decades. The FDA first listed it as ‘generally recognized as safe’ in 1958 and approved it as a food additive in 1961. It’s used to prevent fats and oils in food from spoiling and can show up in products such as frozen meals, breakfast cereals, cookies, ice cream and some meat products. The agency said it’s launching a new safety review of the chemical, pointing to long-standing concerns that the food additive might cause cancer in humans.” (02/10/26)
“NASA is now aiming to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, in another delay over weather conditions, the US agency announced Tuesday. It is targeting February 13 for the lift-off of Crew-12’s mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a window opening at 5:15am local time (10:15am GMT). … Weather at the site in Florida has been in fact favourable, NASA officials told a briefing Monday, but higher winds forecast across the rest of the East Coast are to blame for the delays.” (02/10/26)
“Facing growing calls for his resignation, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admitted Tuesday to having lunch on Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in 2012, but strenuously denied any closer relationship with the convicted sex offender. Lutnick’s ties to Epstein have come under intense scrutiny after email exchanges included in newly released files undermined his earlier insistence that he had cut all links with the late financier back in 2005. So far, President Donald Trump’s administration has stood by Lutnick, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the president ‘fully supports’ him.” (02/10/26)
