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Trump says he is considering limited military strike on Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering a limited military strike on Iran but gave no other details.Asked if he was considering a limited strike to pressure Iran into a deal on its nuclear program, he told reporters at the White House, “I guess I can say I am considering" it.

20-02-2026 18:24

Britain’s Royals Confront Worst Crisis in 90 Years Over Andrew’s Epstein Links

King Charles woke up on Friday to pictures of his younger brother leaving a police station emblazoned across front pages of newspapers around the world, heralding the worst crisis for the British monarchy in 90 years.The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, and the public humiliation over his relationship with the late convicted U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has left some wondering if the saga could spell the beginning of the end for the 1,000-year-old institution.Graham Smith, the head of the campaign group Republic which filed complaints with the police over the former prince and Epstein to trigger the investigation, used the arrest to repeat his demand for the institution to go."I think it's incredibly bad for the monarchy," he said.Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing with regard to Epstein and said he regrets their friendship.The House of Windsor is no stranger to scandals, embarrassments and calamities.From the divorce and death of Charles' first wife Princess Diana in 1997, which caused widespread public anger, to the upheavals caused by the king's younger son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan stepping down from their roles and then criticising the institution from the U.S., the family has been at the centre of high-profile dramas before.But the current situation of a senior royal under investigation and police arrest is without precedent, and leaves the monarchy facing its greatest threat since Charles' great-uncle, King Edward VIII, gave up the throne to marry U.S. divorcee Wallis Simpson in 1936."It's certainly the worst crisis since the abdication, and it's particularly bad because it's not a crisis over which they can really exercise any control," said one former senior royal aide who knows the king well."They have been sort of predominantly on the back foot throughout because they've had to react to information emerging, and they still don't know what else is in the files," the aide told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.The key question for Charles, William and their courtiers is whether the scandal around Andrew does lasting wider damage or just reinforces the already negative view most people had of Mountbatten-Windsor himself.The royals have already banished the former prince as much as they can, stripping him of all his titles, his mansion and any public involvement with the family.The king, who is still undergoing treatment for an unspecified cancer, and Queen Camilla have said their thoughts and sympathies are with the victims of any abuse. William and his wife Kate have said they are "deeply concerned" by the revelations in the Epstein files.The king's blunt public statement following his brother's arrest - "Let me state clearly: the law must take its course" - was a clear attempt to go still further."The institution has taken every step that it can to distance itself from him and his actions," Julian Payne, Charles' former communications chief, told Reuters."The hope is that by doing so, they can create some clear blue water between the working members of the family and what they exist to do on behalf of the UK and the other countries around the world where he is king, and this person and the actions that they are responsible for answering."The most recent popularity tracker by pollster YouGov in January, before the release of millions of files relating to Epstein by the U.S. government which heralded the British police investigation, showed only 3% of Britons viewed the king's younger brother favourably. Some 90% held a negative opinion.But the rest of the family and the monarchy itself are held in much higher esteem. William is viewed positively by 77% of the public and the king by 60%, the tracker showed.The monarchy itself, while not as popular as it was and struggling to maintain the support of younger people, is still backed by a comfortable majority."It's challenging and it doesn't reflect well on the family as a whole, but I think they'll survive," Jeremy Paul, 59, an accountant, told Reuters on his way to work on Friday.Republic's Smith said it would be "'game over' for the royals" if a police investigation revealed anything that suggested Charles or his eldest son and heir Prince William had known more about Mountbatten-Windsor's close ties to Epstein, and failed to act.There is no suggestion, so far, that that is the case.While the royals will be fearful of what more might emerge from the Epstein files, nothing is likely to implicate the key figures of Charles and William, the former aide said.Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations he sent confidential government documents to the disgraced financier Epstein when he was a trade envoy.Charles had cautioned against his younger brother being given the trade job over which he is now being investigated, while William does not have any time for his uncle, the former aide said."It's not existential ... I don't think it'll bring the monarchy down, I know quite a few people are thinking about that," the aide said."I think it'll do significant harm that will be quite lasting. But I think in the king and in the Prince of Wales, the right people are there to maintain and restore sufficient trust and respect."

20-02-2026 18:10

IOC chief Coventry says unaware of Infantino's presence at Board of Peace meeting, will look into matter

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said on Friday she was unaware of world soccer body (FIFA) chief Gianni Infantino's presence at the first meeting of The Board of Peace along with U.S. President Donald Trump, and said she would look into the matter.Infantino, who is also an IOC member, took part in the meeting of The Board of Peace, established under Trump with a focus on Gaza's reconstruction fund.The FIFA chief appeared on stage with several politicians, sported a red hat with 'USA' on the front and the numbers 45-47, for the two non-consecutive presidencies of Trump.Infantino also displayed the FIFA collaboration agreement with The Board of Peace, which includes building 50 mini-pitches near schools and residential areas in Gaza, five full-size pitches across multiple districts, a state-of-the-art FIFA academy and a new 20,000-seat national stadium."I wasn't aware of that, that we had an IOC member front and centre," Coventry told a press conference during the Milano Cortina Olympics."Now that you guys (journalists) made us aware of it we will go back and have a look at it," she said. "The IOC Charter is very clear what it expects of its members. We will go and research into the alleged signing of documents."The Olympic Charter states that members must always act independently of commercial and political interests. They also cannot accept "from governments, organisations, or other parties, any mandate or instructions liable to interfere with the freedom of their action and vote," the Charter says."I think from the IOC's point of view we will continue to be politically neutral," Coventry said. "That's the only way for us as an organisation to ensure that we allow for there to be fairness on the field of play. That's what we will continue to do as we walk into the future."Trump has met Infantino several times, with the United States co-hosting this summer's soccer World Cup along with Mexico and Canada.The U.S. President was also awarded FIFA's inaugural peace prize in December for his efforts to promote dialogue and de-escalation in some of the world's biggest hotspots, the soccer body said at the time.Coventry, elected in 2025, has not yet met Trump, with the 2028 Summer Olympics to be held in Los Angeles.

20-02-2026 17:54

Mother and infant burnt to death in Indian state over witchcraft allegations

Four people have been arrested in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand for allegedly burning to death a woman and her 10-month-old son on suspicion of practising witchcraft earlier this week.The woman's husband, who was also attacked, suffered severe burns and is in hospital.Police say they are searching for more people who may be involved. The accused are in custody and haven't commented publicly yet.According to the National Crime Records Bureau, more than 2,500 people, mostly women, were killed in India on suspicion of witchcraft between 2000 and 2016.Tuesday's murder of Jyoti Sinku and her son occurred months after five members of a family in neighbouring Bihar state were brutally killed and allegedly burned alive on accusations of practising witchcraft.Such cases are often reported from areas inhabited by disadvantaged tribal communities, where superstition is rife and a non-existent public health system leads to dependence on quacks for medical advice.The murders in Jharkhand occurred in the Kudsai hamlet, a remote tribal settlement of around 50 mud houses located 250km (155.3 miles) from the state capital, Ranchi.​The violence appears to have been triggered by recent incidents in the village, including rumours of sudden cattle deaths and the illness and death of a local man named Pustun Birua.His wife Jano Birua says she consulted an informal healthcare provider - common in villages where no doctors are available - when he began suffering from anxiety and fainting spells. He told her that her husband was not suffering from any physical illness.Asked why she did not take him to a hospital, she said: "We are poor people, so it wasn't possible to take him that far."Meanwhile, rumours spread that Jyoti Sinku was practising witchcraft and was responsible for the man's illness.Pustun Birua died on Tuesday evening. That night, according to Jyoti's husband Kolhan Sinku who is in hospital, a mob of about a dozen people, including five women, stormed their home and set fire to his wife and child.Recalling the horror from his hospital bed, he said: ​"I pleaded with folded hands to have the matter resolved in the village council but the attackers didn't listen to me."Based on the testimonies of Kolhan Sinku and another family member, the district police have registered a complaint of murder and criminal conspiracy.Police say four men have been arrested and a special police team has been set up to track down other members of the mob.They added that they would organise programmes in rural areas to raise awareness against superstitions.

20-02-2026 16:26

Lagarde dampens ECB exit talk, says she expects to finish her term

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has attempted to calm speculation about her stepping down early that has called into question the central bank's separation from politics, telling the Wall Street Journal she expects to complete her term.Lagarde's status as leader of Europe's most important financial institution was plunged into doubt this week after the Financial Times reported she planned to leave her job ahead of next spring's French presidential election, giving outgoing leader Emmanuel Macron a say in picking her successor.In an interview with the WSJ on Thursday, Lagarde dampened speculation about an imminent exit but still left the door slightly ajar to the possibility that she might leave before the end of her contract in October 2027.“When I look back at all these years, I think that we have accomplished a lot, that I have accomplished a lot,” she told the paper. “We need to consolidate and make sure that this is really solid and reliable. So my baseline is that it will take until the end of my term.”Reuters exclusively reported that Lagarde had sent a private message to fellow policymakers reassuring them that she was still concentrating on her job and that they would hear it from her, rather than the press, if she wanted to step down.The ECB has said that Lagarde has not made a decision, about the end of her term, but stopped short of denying the FT report.Some analysts thought an early exit risked tangling the ECB up in European politics as it could give the impression of trying to make sure France's eurosceptic far right, which could win next year's presidential vote, had no say in her succession.Lagarde said last year she intended to complete her term, a commitment she has conspicuously failed to repeat this week.Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau announced plans to step down from his job last week, in a move that gives President Macron a chance to pick the next French central bank chief, drawing sharp criticism from the far-right who called the move anti-democratic.Villeroy's early departure and the confusion about Lagarde's future come just as U.S. President Donald Trump is attacking the Federal Reserve, further stoking debates about central bank independence from politics."After the recent events in the U.S., this is another reminder that although central banks are nominally independent, who leads them and their worldview is a matter for high politics," economists at Oxford Economics wrote on Friday.As the head of the euro zone's second largest economy, the French president plays an important role in wider negotiations to select the head of the ECB.Polls show either far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, or her protege Jordan Bardella, could win the French presidency.While the party has long dropped a call for France to leave the euro, it is still seen as something of an unknown quantity in central banking circles.Lagarde told the WSJ that she viewed her mission as price and financial stability, as well as "protecting the euro, making sure that it is solid and strong and fit for the future of Europe."She also said that the World Economic Forum was "one of the many options" she was considering once she left the central bank.When Lagarde's name first emerged as a possible candidate for ECB president in 2019, she said she had no interest in the job and would not leave the International Monetary Fund, where she was the managing director.

20-02-2026 15:46

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Trump says he is considering limited military strike on Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering a limited military strike on Iran but gave no other details.Asked if he was considering a limited strike to pressure Iran into a deal on its nuclear program, he told reporters at the White House, “I guess I can say I am considering" it.

20-02-2026 18:24

Britain’s Royals Confront Worst Crisis in 90 Years Over Andrew’s Epstein Links

King Charles woke up on Friday to pictures of his younger brother leaving a police station emblazoned across front pages of newspapers around the world, heralding the worst crisis for the British monarchy in 90 years.The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, and the public humiliation over his relationship with the late convicted U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has left some wondering if the saga could spell the beginning of the end for the 1,000-year-old institution.Graham Smith, the head of the campaign group Republic which filed complaints with the police over the former prince and Epstein to trigger the investigation, used the arrest to repeat his demand for the institution to go."I think it's incredibly bad for the monarchy," he said.Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing with regard to Epstein and said he regrets their friendship.The House of Windsor is no stranger to scandals, embarrassments and calamities.From the divorce and death of Charles' first wife Princess Diana in 1997, which caused widespread public anger, to the upheavals caused by the king's younger son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan stepping down from their roles and then criticising the institution from the U.S., the family has been at the centre of high-profile dramas before.But the current situation of a senior royal under investigation and police arrest is without precedent, and leaves the monarchy facing its greatest threat since Charles' great-uncle, King Edward VIII, gave up the throne to marry U.S. divorcee Wallis Simpson in 1936."It's certainly the worst crisis since the abdication, and it's particularly bad because it's not a crisis over which they can really exercise any control," said one former senior royal aide who knows the king well."They have been sort of predominantly on the back foot throughout because they've had to react to information emerging, and they still don't know what else is in the files," the aide told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.The key question for Charles, William and their courtiers is whether the scandal around Andrew does lasting wider damage or just reinforces the already negative view most people had of Mountbatten-Windsor himself.The royals have already banished the former prince as much as they can, stripping him of all his titles, his mansion and any public involvement with the family.The king, who is still undergoing treatment for an unspecified cancer, and Queen Camilla have said their thoughts and sympathies are with the victims of any abuse. William and his wife Kate have said they are "deeply concerned" by the revelations in the Epstein files.The king's blunt public statement following his brother's arrest - "Let me state clearly: the law must take its course" - was a clear attempt to go still further."The institution has taken every step that it can to distance itself from him and his actions," Julian Payne, Charles' former communications chief, told Reuters."The hope is that by doing so, they can create some clear blue water between the working members of the family and what they exist to do on behalf of the UK and the other countries around the world where he is king, and this person and the actions that they are responsible for answering."The most recent popularity tracker by pollster YouGov in January, before the release of millions of files relating to Epstein by the U.S. government which heralded the British police investigation, showed only 3% of Britons viewed the king's younger brother favourably. Some 90% held a negative opinion.But the rest of the family and the monarchy itself are held in much higher esteem. William is viewed positively by 77% of the public and the king by 60%, the tracker showed.The monarchy itself, while not as popular as it was and struggling to maintain the support of younger people, is still backed by a comfortable majority."It's challenging and it doesn't reflect well on the family as a whole, but I think they'll survive," Jeremy Paul, 59, an accountant, told Reuters on his way to work on Friday.Republic's Smith said it would be "'game over' for the royals" if a police investigation revealed anything that suggested Charles or his eldest son and heir Prince William had known more about Mountbatten-Windsor's close ties to Epstein, and failed to act.There is no suggestion, so far, that that is the case.While the royals will be fearful of what more might emerge from the Epstein files, nothing is likely to implicate the key figures of Charles and William, the former aide said.Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations he sent confidential government documents to the disgraced financier Epstein when he was a trade envoy.Charles had cautioned against his younger brother being given the trade job over which he is now being investigated, while William does not have any time for his uncle, the former aide said."It's not existential ... I don't think it'll bring the monarchy down, I know quite a few people are thinking about that," the aide said."I think it'll do significant harm that will be quite lasting. But I think in the king and in the Prince of Wales, the right people are there to maintain and restore sufficient trust and respect."

20-02-2026 18:10

IOC chief Coventry says unaware of Infantino's presence at Board of Peace meeting, will look into matter

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said on Friday she was unaware of world soccer body (FIFA) chief Gianni Infantino's presence at the first meeting of The Board of Peace along with U.S. President Donald Trump, and said she would look into the matter.Infantino, who is also an IOC member, took part in the meeting of The Board of Peace, established under Trump with a focus on Gaza's reconstruction fund.The FIFA chief appeared on stage with several politicians, sported a red hat with 'USA' on the front and the numbers 45-47, for the two non-consecutive presidencies of Trump.Infantino also displayed the FIFA collaboration agreement with The Board of Peace, which includes building 50 mini-pitches near schools and residential areas in Gaza, five full-size pitches across multiple districts, a state-of-the-art FIFA academy and a new 20,000-seat national stadium."I wasn't aware of that, that we had an IOC member front and centre," Coventry told a press conference during the Milano Cortina Olympics."Now that you guys (journalists) made us aware of it we will go back and have a look at it," she said. "The IOC Charter is very clear what it expects of its members. We will go and research into the alleged signing of documents."The Olympic Charter states that members must always act independently of commercial and political interests. They also cannot accept "from governments, organisations, or other parties, any mandate or instructions liable to interfere with the freedom of their action and vote," the Charter says."I think from the IOC's point of view we will continue to be politically neutral," Coventry said. "That's the only way for us as an organisation to ensure that we allow for there to be fairness on the field of play. That's what we will continue to do as we walk into the future."Trump has met Infantino several times, with the United States co-hosting this summer's soccer World Cup along with Mexico and Canada.The U.S. President was also awarded FIFA's inaugural peace prize in December for his efforts to promote dialogue and de-escalation in some of the world's biggest hotspots, the soccer body said at the time.Coventry, elected in 2025, has not yet met Trump, with the 2028 Summer Olympics to be held in Los Angeles.

20-02-2026 17:54

Mother and infant burnt to death in Indian state over witchcraft allegations

Four people have been arrested in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand for allegedly burning to death a woman and her 10-month-old son on suspicion of practising witchcraft earlier this week.The woman's husband, who was also attacked, suffered severe burns and is in hospital.Police say they are searching for more people who may be involved. The accused are in custody and haven't commented publicly yet.According to the National Crime Records Bureau, more than 2,500 people, mostly women, were killed in India on suspicion of witchcraft between 2000 and 2016.Tuesday's murder of Jyoti Sinku and her son occurred months after five members of a family in neighbouring Bihar state were brutally killed and allegedly burned alive on accusations of practising witchcraft.Such cases are often reported from areas inhabited by disadvantaged tribal communities, where superstition is rife and a non-existent public health system leads to dependence on quacks for medical advice.The murders in Jharkhand occurred in the Kudsai hamlet, a remote tribal settlement of around 50 mud houses located 250km (155.3 miles) from the state capital, Ranchi.​The violence appears to have been triggered by recent incidents in the village, including rumours of sudden cattle deaths and the illness and death of a local man named Pustun Birua.His wife Jano Birua says she consulted an informal healthcare provider - common in villages where no doctors are available - when he began suffering from anxiety and fainting spells. He told her that her husband was not suffering from any physical illness.Asked why she did not take him to a hospital, she said: "We are poor people, so it wasn't possible to take him that far."Meanwhile, rumours spread that Jyoti Sinku was practising witchcraft and was responsible for the man's illness.Pustun Birua died on Tuesday evening. That night, according to Jyoti's husband Kolhan Sinku who is in hospital, a mob of about a dozen people, including five women, stormed their home and set fire to his wife and child.Recalling the horror from his hospital bed, he said: ​"I pleaded with folded hands to have the matter resolved in the village council but the attackers didn't listen to me."Based on the testimonies of Kolhan Sinku and another family member, the district police have registered a complaint of murder and criminal conspiracy.Police say four men have been arrested and a special police team has been set up to track down other members of the mob.They added that they would organise programmes in rural areas to raise awareness against superstitions.

20-02-2026 16:26

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