“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)
“The search warrants in last month’s FBI raid at the Fulton County Elections Hub have been ordered to be unsealed. Earlier this week, Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts and the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections filed a motion to have the records unsealed. The night of the raid, Pitts confirmed that when FBI agents arrived at the facility, their search warrant did not include the correct location for 2020 election records. Agents had to get a new warrant signed by a judge and returned to the facility, where they seized 700 boxes of ballots and voter data from the presidential election. As of now, those warrants have not been released. Pitts reported after the raid that he had not seen the warrants himself.” (02/08/26)
“Iranian authorities have arrested four people on charges of attempting to ‘disrupt the country’s political and social order’ and working ‘for the benefit’ of Israel and the United States during the antigovernment protests last month. The arrests were made late on Sunday and early on Monday, and included prominent reformist politicians who have recently spoken critically about the theocratic establishment, according to Iranian media reports.” (02/09/26)
“Jimmy Lai, the media mogul and prominent pro-democracy activist, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong for national security offences, a punishment his daughter said could mean ‘he will die a martyr behind bars.’ Claire Lai said the sentence was ‘heartbreakingly cruel’ given her 78-year-old father’s declining health, while her brother Sebastien Lai called the sentence ‘draconian’ and ‘devastating.’ … Lai was convicted in December on charges of sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges. … Lai is the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily, a popular Hong Kong newspaper that supported the pro-democracy movement that swelled in the city in the 2010s. The movement was crushed in June 2020 by the imposition of a harsh national security law that criminalised most forms of dissent.” (02/09/26)
“The world’s largest social media companies have been accused of creating ‘addiction machines’ as a landmark trial began in California examining the mental health effects of Instagram and YouTube. In his opening argument before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl and a jury, Mark Lanier argued that his client, plaintiff ‘K.G.M.,’ suffered from mental health issues as a result of her social media addiction. … The outcome of the trial may provide a benchmark for monetary damages [sic] that would likely impact thousands of cases brought by other plaintiffs, their families, state prosecutors, and school districts across the United States.” (02/09/26)
“Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Sunday that close ally Juan Pablo Guanipa was kidnapped by armed men in Caracas hours after his release from prison. The abducation comes just days before lawmakers are due to vote on a historic amnesty law covering charges used to lock up dissidents.” (02/08/26)
“Two congressional lawmakers on Sunday called on Howard Lutnick to resign amid revelations that the Commerce secretary had more extensive business and personal dealings with deceased sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein than were previously disclosed. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., urged Lutnick to step down after The New York Times reported the Trump ally interacted ‘regularly’ with Epstein, according to files released by the Department of Justice relating to the notorious sex offender. Massie was the lead Republican on the Epstein Files Transparency Act that compelled the release of the Epstein files. … Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, took it a step further, calling on Lutnick to resign — or be fired.” (02/08/26)
“Japan’s conservative Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi swept to a landslide victory in a snap election on Sunday, marking a historic turnaround for her party, which had been hemorrhaging voter support in recent years — until she stepped to the helm. Since she was elected more than four months ago – becoming Japan’s first female leader in a country where men have long dominated politics – Takaichi has enjoyed sky high approval ratings and a glowing endorsement from US President Donald Trump. … The LDP won more than 310 of the 465 seats in Japan’s lower house of parliament, marking the first time since World War II that a single party has secured a two-thirds majority. The broader ruling coalition won more than 340 seats.” (02/09/26)
“Members of Congress were briefed this week on a whistle-blower report about an intelligence intercept of a call between two foreign nationals discussing a person close to President Trump, according to people familiar with the material. It is not clear what country the two foreign nationals were from, but the discussion involved Iran. The whistle-blower report was drafted last May, around the time the Trump administration was deliberating about a strike on Iran. Mr. Trump ordered a military attack on Iranian nuclear facilities in June. … The whistle-blower accused Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, of limiting who could see the report and of blocking wider distribution among the nation’s spy agencies, according to people familiar with the complaint. People who have reviewed the whistle-blower report have differed about the importance of the underlying intelligence, which was collected by the National Security Agency.” (02/07/26)
