“Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said his government would change the law to protect ministers from suspension while they are under criminal investigation, prompting the opposition to accuse him of trying to protect himself and harming judicial independence. A court suspended Rama’s deputy, Belinda Balluku, in November following her indictment by Albania’s anti-graft prosecutors, known as SPAK, over alleged meddling in a tender for infrastructure projects, which she denies. The case has sparked a dispute between SPAK, which has asked parliament to lift Balluku’s immunity to allow her arrest, and Rama, who has complained about judicial overreach, especially with pre-trial detentions.” (02/16/26)
“Robby Soave gives his radar on a recent revelation that four men named by Rep. Ro Khanna as being associated with Jeffrey Epstein now appear to have no actual ties to him.” (02/16/26)
“The United States and Hungary signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement on Monday, as the Trump administration deepened bilateral ties with a controversial ally at a politically sensitive moment for Budapest. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Budapest for meetings with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and senior members of his government, during which Rubio and Orbán signed the pact. The deal comes two months before Hungary’s next parliamentary elections, which may determine whether Orbán can maintain his two-decade grip on power.” (02/16/26)
“It is Carnival season in New Orleans. That means gazillions of green, gold and purple Mardi Gras beads. Once made of glass and cherished by parade spectators who were lucky enough to catch them, today cheap plastic beaded necklaces from overseas are tossed from floats by the handful. Spectators sometimes pile dozens around their necks, but many are trashed or left on the ground. A few years ago after heavy flooding, the city found more than 46 tons of them clogging its storm drains. The beads are increasingly viewed as a problem, but a Mardi Gras without beads also seems unfathomable. That is why it was a radical step when the Krewe of Freret made the decision last year to ban plastic beads from their parade.” (02/16/26)
“The European Parliament has disabled AI features on the work devices of lawmakers and their staff over cybersecurity and data protection concerns, according to an internal email seen by POLITICO. The chamber emailed its members on Monday to say it had disabled ‘built-in artificial intelligence features’ on corporate tablets after its IT department assessed it couldn’t guarantee the security of the tools’ data. … The latest move to switch off AI tools concerns built-in features like writing and summarizing assistants, enhanced virtual assistants and webpage summaries in both tablets and phones, an EU official said, granted anonymity to disclose details of the security policy. Apps, email, calendar, documents, and other day-to-day tools are not affected, the email to lawmakers said.” (02/16/26)
“Nigerian troops have repelled simultaneous assaults by Islamist militants on two military bases in Borno state, leaving an unspecified number of soldiers dead, the army said on Monday, in some of the fiercest clashes reported in the northeast this year. Borno, the epicentre of Nigeria’s 17-year Islamist insurgency, has seen Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters intensify attacks on both troops and civilians. The weekend’s coordinated assaults targeted Pulka, near the Cameroon border, and Mandaragirau in southern Borno, both long-contested fronts in the fight against Islamist militants. The military said the failed attacks highlight mounting pressure on the insurgents.” (02/16/26)
“Intermittent fasting may not help people who are overweight or obese lose weight, a large review suggests. The researchers say the popular practice of fasting on some days of the week and eating normally on others ‘may make little to no difference to weight loss and quality of life’. But they say intermittent fasting could still improve overall health through helpful changes to some body functions, though more evidence is needed. Examples of intermittent fasting include the 5:2 diet and restricting eating to a short window – often about eight hours – every day. The research team looked at the results of 22 previous studies involving nearly 2,000 adults to find out if short-term intermittent fasting (over a period up to 12 months) was better at helping adults lose weight than standard dietary advice, or no advice at all.” (02/16/26)
“Explosives rigged to a motorcycle went off near the gate of a police station in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, killing at least two people, including a child, and wounding several others, police and rescue officials said. The blast also damaged nearby shops. The attack took place in Bannu, a district in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, local police official Fida Mohammad said. He did not provide any further details and only said the dead and wounded had been taken to a nearby hospital. Though no group immediately claimed responsibility, suspicion was likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP.” (02/15/26)
“The U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense on Sunday for the first time transported a small nuclear reactor on a cargo plane from California to Utah to demonstrate the potential to quickly deploy nuclear power for military and civilian use. The agencies partnered with California-based Valar Atomics to fly one of the company’s Ward microreactors on a C-17 aircraft — without nuclear fuel — to Hill Air Force Base in Utah. … The microreactor in Sunday’s event, a little larger than a minivan, can generate up to 5 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 5,000 homes, according to Valar CEO Isaiah Taylor. It will start operating in July at 100 kilowatts and peak at 250 kilowatts this year before ramping up to full capacity, he said.” (02/16/26)
“Deep in the coastal mountains above the sparkling Pacific resort of Mazatlan, towns spaced along a twisting road appear nearly deserted, the quiet broken only by the occasional passing truck. It was near one of these towns, Panuco, that 10 employees of a Canadian-owned silver and gold mine were abducted in late January. The bodies of five were located nearby and five more await identification. Most residents of these towns have fled out of fear as two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel have been locked in battle since September 2024, said Fermín Labrador, a 68-year-old from the nearby village of Chirimoyos. Others, he said, were ‘invited’ to leave. The abduction of the mine workers under still unclear circumstances has raised fears locally and more widely generated questions about the security improvements touted by President Claudia Sheinbaum.” (02/16/26)
