“Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid is pushing for Qatar to be named an ‘enemy state’ in the latest Israeli political broadside against the Gulf state. Lapid, who is the biggest challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli political scene, said on X on Sunday that he would begin a bill in the Knesset ‘Declaring Qatar an Enemy State,’ which follows months of opposition attacks against the premier on the issue. … Critics of Netanyahu have repeatedly tried to link his government to Qatar due to Doha’s past role in facilitating payments to authorities in Gaza to provide state services and facilitating negotiations between Hamas and Israel.” (02/02/26)
“Capgemini is getting rid of one of its subsidiaries. The French IT giant announced on Sunday that it was putting up for sale its subsidiary working with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), at the heart of international controversy over the violent methods used by these federal agents. The company has been in the spotlight for several days because of a contract, revealed by the NGO Observatoire des Multinationales, that its U.S. subsidiary, Capgemini Government Solutions, signed with ICE to identify foreign nationals on U.S. soil and track their movements. … In a press release, Capgemini explained that ‘the usual legal constraints imposed in the United States on contracting with federal entities conducting classified activities did not allow the Group to exercise appropriate control over certain aspects of this subsidiary’s operations.'” (02/02/26)
“There is a long tradition of painters depicting real people in their religious art, but the appearance in a Roman church of a cherub that bears a striking resemblance to Premier Giorgia Meloni has sparked a minor scandal for both church and state in Italy. The diocese of Rome and the Italian Culture Ministry both announced investigations into the recent renovations at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, after photographs of the Meloni-esque cherub were published in Italian newspapers this weekend. Their swift and harsh reactions indicated little tolerance for the profane in a sacred place. The ruckus has given the basilica, already well known as one of the oldest churches in Rome, newfound celebrity status. It was jammed on Sunday and Monday with curiosity-seekers straining to photograph the angel in a side chapel up near the front altar, at times disrupting Mass.” (02/02/25)
“German customs officers arrested five men Monday for allegedly violating European Union embargoes on Russia by exporting industrial goods to Russian arms manufacturers. The defendants arranged for around 16,000 deliveries to Russia, according to the ongoing investigation, with illegal transactions amounting to at least €30 million, the office of Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor General said in a press release. The arrests come as authorities in Kyiv urge European leaders to crack down on exports of industrial goods and parts that Russia can use to manufacture weapons deployed in the war on Ukraine.” (02/02/26)
“Activists filed two impeachment complaints against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte Monday, accusing her of large-scale corruption after an initial attempt to unseat her a year ago was shot down by the Supreme Court on a legal technicality. The new impeachment bids filed before the House of Representatives are the latest episode in the stormy political life of Duterte, a 47-year-old lawyer and former city mayor who has been touted by supporters as a potential presidential contender in 2028. She is the daughter of ex- President Rodrigo Duterte, who oversaw bloody anti-drug crackdowns while in office from 2016 to 2022. He was arrested and detained in the Netherlands by the International Criminal Court last year for alleged crimes against humanity.” (02/02/26)
“Police say no suspicious packages or devices have been located after a bomb threat was sent to schools in the Columbia Heights neighbourhood, a suburb of Minneapolis, on Monday. Multiple schools in the district, where a number of students have been abducted in recent weeks as part of Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in Minnesota, were nonetheless forced to close for the day. Columbia Heights Public Schools said it closed the schools out of an abundance of caution following a credible threat. Classes will resume on Tuesday. The school closures come as protests against ICE continue in Minnesota and across the US. Among the students [abducted] by federal agents in the Columbia Heights district was five-year-old Liam Ramos. A photo of Ramos in a blue bunny-eared hat being held by ICE agents led to a national outcry.” (02/02/25)
“President Donald Trump has threatened to sue Trevor Noah over a joke the comedian made while hosting Sunday night’s Grammy Awards. … Trump frequently pursues lawsuits against critics and media organizations over comments he says damaged his reputation, drawing criticism from opponents who accuse him of trying to silence dissent. Noah, a South African comedian who has hosted the Grammy Awards since 2021, attracted the ire of the American president with a joke about Trump’s relationship with the convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.” (02/02/26)
“Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of wintry weather Monday, a forecast sure to disappoint many after what’s already been a long, cold season across large parts of the United States. His annual prediction and announcement that he had seen his shadow was translated by his handlers in the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club at Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania. The news was greeted with a mix of cheers and boos from the tens of thousands who braved temperatures in the single-digits Fahrenheit to await the annual prognostication.” (02/02/26)
“France has adopted its delayed 2026 budget Monday, clearing the way for higher military spending promised by President Emmanuel Macron to confront threats linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine and Mideast conflicts. The adoption of the budget marks the final step of a monthslong, chaotic process that exposed deep divisions in the fractured Parliament, which proved unable to reach a compromise. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu ultimately opted to use his special constitutional power to pass the bill without a vote, surviving two no-confidence votes on Monday evening. Macron has vowed to increase defense spending to counter what he describes as a widening range of threats, from Russia and nuclear proliferation to terrorism and cyberattacks. France in December passed an emergency law to avoid a U.S.-style government shutdown, but only the full 2026 budget provides the military with the needed funding to build up forces.” (02/02/25)
“Greece’s prime minister proposed on Monday reviewing ministers’ legal immunity and guaranteed ‘jobs for life’ for state-sector workers in a bid to restore voters’ trust after a graft scandal and to build support ahead of a 2027 national election. Kyriakos Mitsotakis'[s] centre-right government remains ahead in opinion polls but it has been shaken by a corruption scandal in which some farmers, aided by state employees, faked land ownership to get subsidies. The affair was revealed by EU prosecutors in 2025 and parliament is looking into the case.” (02/02/26)
