“A former top rival of grocery giant Kroger has been named the company’s next chief executive officer. Greg Foran — former CEO of Walmart’s U.S. division — will now lead Kroger following an ‘extensive’ year-long search for ‘an innovative retail leader with a strong track record,’ the company announced Monday. Kroger is America’s biggest grocer by sales, behind only Walmart, and has been looking for a new leader since March 2025 when former CEO Rodney McMullen was ousted over an undisclosed ethics violation.” (02/09/26)
“Novo Nordisk on Monday said it is suing online telehealth provider Hims & Hers for mass marketing cheaper, unapproved copies of the drugmaker’s new Wegovy obesity pill and injections in the U.S. Novo is asking the court to permanently ban Hims from selling compounded versions of its drugs that infringe on the company’s patents and is seeking to recover damages [sic]. … The move escalates the feud between Novo and Hims, which said on Saturday it will stop offering its new copycat obesity pill after facing scrutiny from federal regulators and legal threats from the Danish drugmaker. Hims had planned to offer the oral drug for as little as $49 for the first month, roughly $100 less than Novo’s approved Wegovy pill.” (02/09/26)
“The EU could take ‘interim measures’ against WhatsApp as it investigates AI providers’ access to the app. On Monday, the EU’s regulatory arm announced its ‘preliminary view’ that Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, violated antitrust laws by blocking third-party AI assistants from operating on WhatsApp. The European Commission’s is concerned that Meta’s actions will limit competitors from entering the AI assistant market. ‘We must protect effective competition in this vibrant field, which means we cannot allow dominant tech companies to illegally leverage their dominance to give themselves an unfair advantage,’ Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition said in a statement.” (02/09/26)
“Uganda’s Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi condemned a military raid on opposition leader Bobi Wine’s home last month, telling Reuters that the popstar-turned-politician had not committed any crime and was free to return there. Wine has been in hiding for weeks after fleeing his home in the capital, Kampala, hours before he was announced the runner-up to President Yoweri Museveni in the January 15 presidential election. On January 24, Wine said his wife had been taken to hospital after soldiers invaded their residence, alleging that they partially undressed and choked her. Uganda’s military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also Museveni’s son, denied soldiers assaulted Wine’s wife, but later said on X that they had ‘captured and then released’ her. Baryomunsi, who is also a spokesperson for the government, said the authorities would investigate the incident.” (02/09/26)
“Treasuries extended losses after Chinese regulators reportedly asked the nation’s financial institutions to rein in their holdings of US bonds. Yields on 10-year Treasuries rose as much as four basis points on the day to 4.25% after trading around 4.22% earlier. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped 0.1%. Chinese officials had urged banks to limit purchases of US government bonds, and instructed those with high exposure to pare their positions, according to people familiar with the matter. The move was framed around diversifying risk rather than anything to do with geopolitical maneuvering or a fundamental loss of confidence in US creditworthiness. The directive doesn’t apply to China’s state holdings of US Treasuries.” (02/09/26)
“International war crimes prosecutors said on Monday Kosovo’s former president Hashim Thaci controlled ethnic Albanian guerrillas and should be convicted of war crimes and sentenced to 45 years in prison. Thaci and three other ex-Kosovo Liberation Army commanders are charged with persecution, murder, torture and forced disappearances of people during and shortly after the 1998-99 uprising that eventually brought independence for the Albanian majority region from Serbia. … Thaci, 57, who served as prime minister, foreign minister and president of independent Kosovo between 2008 and 2020, and his co-accused deny all the charges.” (02/09/26)
“The Socialist Party of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez endured a major defeat on Sunday in an election in the Spanish region of Aragón, while the far right made substantial gains. The conservative People’s Party (PP), which governs the north-eastern region, came first with 34.3 percent support, but its 26 seats represented a loss of two and left it well short of a majority in the 67-seat chamber. With 99 percent of votes counted the Socialists secured 24.3 percent, good for 18 seats but representing a loss of five, equaling their worst-ever result in the region.” (02/09/26)
“San Francisco teachers went on strike on Monday for the first time in nearly half a century, closing public schools for roughly 50,000 students in the city. The teachers walked out after their union, United Educators of San Francisco, could not reach an agreement on raises and health care costs despite nearly a year of negotiations with the San Francisco Unified School District. The union represents about 6,000 educators, counselors and nurses who work in more than 100 schools in the city. The strike has no set end date. The last teachers strike in San Francisco, in 1979, lasted for nearly seven weeks, making it one of the longest in state history.” (02/09/26)
“British Prime Minister Keir Starmer found broad support among lawmakers Monday, easing speculation that he will be toppled by revelations about his former ambassador’s ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In an attempt to rebuild some of his badly weakened authority, Starmer addressed Labour lawmakers in a 75-minute closed-door session, the same day his office said he does not plan to step down. All of Starmer’s Cabinet members extended public support to him in the hours before the session, and legislators gave him a round of applause when it concluded. The prime minister is facing heavy criticism for appointing in 2024 Labour politician Peter Mandelson as the U.K. ambassador to the U.S. despite his disclosed ties to the convicted sex offender. Starmer fired Mandelson in September after published emails revealed his friendship with Epstein.” (02/09/26)
“Norway’s ambassador to Jordan and Iraq has resigned after an investigation was launched into her ties to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the foreign ministry said Sunday. Mona Juul, who played a key role in the secret Israeli-Palestinian negotiations which led to the Oslo Accords of the early 1990s, is among several high-profile Norwegian figures swept up in the latest Epstein file release. … Epstein left $10 million in his will to Juul’s two children with her husband, fellow diplomat and Oslo talks broker Terje Rod-Larsen, according to Norwegian media. … Thomas Skjelbred, Juul’s lawyer, said in a statement that she resigned because ‘the situation she now finds herself in makes it impossible for her to discharge her duties in a responsible manner.'” (02/09/26)
