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As anticipated, it ended up being One Battle After Another’s night at the 98th annual Academy Awards, with the political thriller carting away six Oscars out of a total of 13 nominations.

But while Paul Thomas Anderson’s magnum opus continued its march towards award-season domination, there were moments of genuine surprise and subversion in Sunday’s ceremony.

Some of those moments had to do with the current political climate in the United States.

Host Conan O’Brien and his fellow presenters deftly avoided mentioning President Donald Trump by name, but their barbs took direct aim at his policies since returning to office.

Other surprises came from within the filmmaking community itself. For only the seventh time in Oscar history, a tie was announced: Two films had gotten an equal number of votes for Best Live Action Short.

As a result, both the surrealist thriller Two People Exchanging Saliva and the moody bar-room drama The Singers shared the Academy Award.

Here are six key takeaways from the night.

A two-horse race between Sinners and One Battle

The vampire film Sinners came into Sunday night’s ceremony with a record 16 Oscar nominations. But the big question of the night was: How many nods could it actually convert into wins?

Its biggest competition was, of course, Anderson’s One Battle After Another, which had the second highest tally of nominations.

Sinners director Ryan Coogler and Anderson were in direct competition in several top categories, including Best Picture and Best Director.

In both cases, Anderson came out ahead, though he acknowledged how fickle such awards can be.

“ I just want to say that, in 1975, the Oscar nominees for Best Picture were Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Jaws, Nashville and Barry Lyndon,” the four-time Best Director nominee said, listing films now considered to be Hollywood classics.

“There is no best among them. There is just what the mood might be that day.”

In the categories for Best Supporting Actor and Best Film Editing, One Battle After Another also triumphed, as well as for the inaugural award for Best Casting.

But in a sign of how well matched their two films were, both Coogler and Anderson emerged from the night with writing Oscars.

Anderson picked up Best Adapted Screenplay award for his use of the Thomas Pynchon novel Vineland, while Coogler made off with the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Sinners, a work inspired by his uncle’s love of the blues.

Jordan dunks on Chalamet in Best Actor race

Sinners, which won four Academy Awards overall, earned some of the most emotional, nail-biting victories of the night.

In the Best Cinematography category, for instance, Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to top the field.

It was her first nomination and first win, with Arkapaw besting veteran cinematographers like Marty Supreme’s Darius Khondji and Frankenstein’s Dan Laustsen, both multiple nominees.

Another big win for Sinners came in the form of Michael B Jordan, the actor whom Coogler has cast in every film since his directorial breakout in 2013’s Fruitvale Station.

Jordan, 39, was in a tight race for Best Actor with another young performer, 30-year-old Timothee Chalamet of the 1950s ping-pong drama Marty Supreme.

But Chalamet’s aggressive campaigning may have ultimately sabotaged his prospects. Multiple cracks were taken throughout the night at Chalamet’s recent comments disparaging opera and ballet.

“Nobody cares anymore” about either art form, Chalamet said in an interview last month.

“We can change society through art, through creativity, through theatre and ballet and also cinema,” director Alexandre Singh said pointedly during his acceptance speech for Best Live Action Short.

O’Brien, meanwhile, acknowledged the backlash with a joke about heightened security at the night’s Oscar ceremony.

“I’m told there are concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities,” O’Brien said, before turning to Chalamet. “They’re just mad you left out jazz.”

A conga line of snubs

Given the dominant performances from Sinners and One Battle After Another, plenty of critically acclaimed films left empty-handed, or nearly so.

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, as expected, earned three wins in technical categories, including Best Production Design, Best Costumes and Best Hairstyling and Makeup.

Netflix’s smash hit KPop Demon Hunters, meanwhile, also fulfilled expectations that it would dominate in its categories, Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

But then there were former frontrunners like Hamnet that failed to generate much traction, including for director Chloe Zhao, a past Oscar winner. Out of eight nominations total, it only came away with one win: a Best Actress trophy for Irish performer Jessie Buckley.

Marty Supreme and the Brazilian film The Secret Agent fared worse, however. Despite having nine nominations and being considered an early shoo-in for Best Actor, Marty Supreme scored no wins.

The Secret Agent, which swept the Best Actor and Best Director categories at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, also earned nothing at this year’s Oscars.

Same was true for the quirky kidnapping drama Bugonia, from Oscar darling Yorgos Lanthimos.

Fears about artificial intelligence

The ceremony, however, did occasionally veer away from the competition between the films to discuss issues facing the film industry and the country as a whole.

Among those was the creeping growth of artificial intelligence (AI) in the creative sector.

In the weeks leading up to the 98th Oscars, an AI-generated video clip had gone viral, appearing to show Hollywood icons Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in a rooftop brawl worthy of a James Bond movie.

The clip had been generated through AI software developed by the Chinese firm ByteDance, and Hollywood leaders quickly denounced it as a threat to their livelihood, not to mention a copyright infringement.

Those concerns reverberated on the Oscar stage on Sunday, with O’Brien and others addressing the growing use of AI.

“Tonight we are celebrating people, not AI, because animation – it’s more than a prompt,” actor Will Arnett said emphatically as he introduced the animation awards.

O’Brien, meanwhile, joked that, by next year, his hosting gig would be taken by “a Waymo in a tux”.

Trump skewered for threatening free speech

Another concern looming over the night’s Oscar ceremony came in the form of President Donald Trump, who has courted controversy by launching deadly military attacks in Venezuela and Iran, as well as leading a violent immigration crackdown in the US.

At no point was Trump mentioned by name. But his leadership was alluded to throughout the night.

O’Brien, the host, set the tone early on with his oblique jabs at the Republican president in his opening monologue.

“When I hosted last year, Los Angeles was on fire,” the two-time Oscar emcee said in remarks dripping with sarcasm. “But this year, everything’s going great.”

Fellow comedian Jimmy Kimmel was even more direct. Last September, his show was briefly suspended after Trump criticised the comedian.

The head of the Federal Communications Commission, a Trump appointee, subsequently threatened the broadcasting license of the TV channel Kimmel performs on.

“There are some countries whose leaders don’t support free speech. I’m not at liberty to say which. Let’s just leave it at North Korea and CBS,” Kimmel quipped, referring to another channel that cancelled a fellow late-night comedy show.

Several filmmakers honoured at the Oscars likewise waded into the controversies surrounding Trump.

Best Documentary Feature winner David Borenstein, for instance, implied a parallel between his film — an exploration of authoritarianism in Russia — and what is currently happening in the US.

“Mr Nobody against Putin is about how you lose your country,” Borenstein explained.

“What we saw when working with this footage is that you lose it through countless small little acts of complicity: when we act complicit, when a government murders people on the streets of our major cities, when we don’t say anything, when oligarchs take over the media.”

Political speeches avoid mention of Iran war

The Oscars come roughly seven months ahead of the pivotal midterm elections in the US, which could see Trump’s Republican Party lose its majorities in Congress.

But while several filmmakers did hint at their anti-Trump stances, few explicitly denounced his policies.

For example, Norway’s Joaquim Trier, the winner of the Best International Feature category, veiled his criticism in a James Baldwin quote about the duty to protect children.

“Let’s not vote for politicians who don’t take this seriously into account,” Trier said.

No artist during the night referenced the US and Israeli war against Iran either, though its effects were felt among the participants of this year’s Oscar crop.

Writer-director Jafar Panahi, whose work was up for two Oscars on Sunday, has already said he plans to return to his native Iran after the awards season concludes.

Meanwhile, Iranian politician Sara Shahverdi — the subject of a nominee in the Best Documentary Short category — was prevented from attending the Oscars at all due to Trump’s ban on visas for 39 countries.

Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees, star of the Oscar nominee The Voice of Hind Rajab, likewise told media outlets he could not be present at the ceremony due to the travel ban.

The most pointed acknowledgements of the US-led and US-backed conflicts in the world were brief. When Spanish actor Javier Barden took the Oscar stage to present an award, he offered up six words, “No to war, and free Palestine!”

Russian filmmaker Pavel Talankin, meanwhile, made a similar appeal to the audience. “In the name of our future, in the name of all of our children, stop all of these wars now,” he said.

But by and large, the Oscar winners and presenters kept their remarks vague, emphasising global unity over political criticism.

“If I can be serious for just a moment, everyone watching right now around the world is all too aware that these are very chaotic, frightening times,” O’Brien told the audience at the outset of the night.

“It is at moments like these that I believe that the Oscars are particularly resonant. Check it out. Thirty-one countries across six continents are represented this evening, and every film we salute is the product of thousands of people speaking different languages.”

Cinema, he and others argued, transcended borders. The talent on stage was not the US’s alone.

The HM Passport Office has issued a warning to Brits about passport checks they must carry out well in advance of any impending holidays over spring and summer

HM Passport Office has issued a warning to Brits ahead of the peak travel season.

With the Easter half-term just weeks away and plans already made for a summer getaway, thousands of holidaymakers will be jetting off abroad during one of the busiest travel periods. To ensure their journey gets off to a flying start, Brits are being urged to check their passports; otherwise, they risk being turned away at the airport.

In a stark reminder, the HM Passport Office advised Brits to “check your passport now” in a post shared on X, ahead of any spring or summer trips. A link in the post directed travellers to the government website, where they can apply online to renew, replace, or update their passports.

READ MORE: UK Foreign Office updates Egypt travel advice amid Middle East tensionsREAD MORE: Easter passport warning for Brits as common mistake could see you turned away at the airport

There are two key dates you should check on your document; the expiry date, and the issue date, especially if you’re planning to head to a European hotspot such as France, Spain or Greece. This is because of a post-Brexit regulation on travel to the European Union or Schengen countries, which stipulates that UK passports must have been issued less than 10 years before your departure and must be valid for at least 3 months after your return.

Meanwhile countries such as Australia, China, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and India require at least 6 months of passport validity from the date of arrival. It’s vital to check any entry requirements and passport validity before making any travel plans.

You must also ensure your passport has not been physically damaged, as this may render it invalid. This could include ripped pages, water damage, separated covers, or anything else that might make the personal information difficult to read.

Travel expert Jamie Fraser at Wild Packs warned that the general wear and tear of a passport can also be problematic when passing through automated scanners or at airport border control points. So it’s vital to check that your passport is in good condition, or if you need to apply for a replacement.

There must also be a blank page at the back of the passport for any necessary stamps or visas. If the passport is crammed with stamps from past trips, it could create problems at the border if there aren’t enough blank pages, leaving you unable to travel.

If your passport has expired or needs to be replaced, you can apply for a new one through the government website. However, it’s crucial to do it well in advance, as it can take around three weeks and sometimes longer.

There are fast-track passport services available, but Jamie cautioned that these are not “always guaranteed and appointments can be limited during peak travel periods”. HM Passport Office also advised: “Do not book travel until you have a valid passport – your new passport will not have the same number as your old one.”

To renew or replace your standard passport online, it will cost £94.50, or £107 if you opt for a paper application. Meanwhile, a child’s passport will cost £61.50 online or £74 by post.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

The National People’s Congress signals firm stance against corruption as China’s 15th five-year plan is approved.

China’s annual legislative meeting is wrapping up after setting the country’s lowest economic growth target in nearly 30 years, excluding during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Nearly 3,000 delegates participating in the National People’s Congress (NPC) were due on Thursday to formally approve an economic growth target of “4.5 to 5 percent”, as set out in China’s latest five-year plan.

The 15th iteration of the five-year plan, an economic roadmap for 2026 to 2030, also set targets for inflation, the fiscal deficit ratio and urban unemployment.

China has set the longterm goal of becoming a “moderately developed” country by 2035 and raising gross domestic product (GDP) per capita to $20,000. The figure was $13,303 in 2024, according to the World Bank.

Planners in Beijing also continue to grapple with deep economic problems driven by the collapse of the property sector, low consumer confidence and a prolonged period of deflation.

China’s targets for the next five years include industrial self-reliance and increased state support for industries such as AI, aerospace, aviation, biomedicine and integrated circuits, as well as the development of “future energy, quantum technology, embodied artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G technology”, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.

Beijing also aims to expand the use of the digital yuan, known as the e-CNY, to improve cross-border payments, according to the Reuters news agency. The digital currency is currently under development by the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank.

Among the most closely watched elements of the NPC over the past week has been the release of government “work reports” from China’s many government ministries, which give insight into China’s progress in meeting its goals and the direction of its future policy.

The NPC’s Standing Committee released a work report indicating that China will soon pass a law on combatting cross-border corruption, Xinhua said.

The measure is seen as an extension of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s long-running anticorruption drive across the Chinese state, military and private sector.

The campaign appears to be gaining momentum as the Supreme People’s Court, China’s highest court, reported a 22.4 percent increase in corruption cases last year involving 36,000 individuals, according to Xinhua.

The state also recovered 18.14 billion yuan ($2.63bn) as part of its anticorruption crackdown in 2025, Xinhua said.

China’s military also identified combatting corruption as an important target in its annual work report, as well as ensuring political loyalty to Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.

The NPC typically runs for a week, and it is held alongside the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body.

The meetings are known as the “Two Sessions”, and they bring thousands of delegates to Beijing to approve short- and mid-term policy measures.

Coming into her senior year, Ciena Alipio wanted to be as present as humanly possible and learn how to trust herself going into every competition.

She set forth goals for herself and a bigger one for the UCLA gymnastics team. With the first box checked after clinching their second consecutive Big Ten title, the work toward meeting each of her standards is just beginning.

“You’re seeing the result of every hard practice that we’re having,” Alipio said after Friday’s victory over Maryland. “We’re putting in work and we’re doing what we absolutely have to every single day in the gym and I think it’s just putting it all together on the same day.”

After an unbeaten conference season, Alipio has not only transformed herself into a three-event staple in the lineup, she was among the 45 nominees for the 2026 AAI Award along with her teammate Jordan Chiles — an NCAA honor that is given to the most outstanding senior female gymnast of the season.

“She’s just one of those athletes that’s really willing to do whatever it takes to be at her best for the team, and she’s an incredibly hard worker,” coach Janelle McDonald said. “She puts her heart into everything she does and she really has a growth mentality that she takes into every aspect of her life.”

During the first three years of her college career, Alipio was known as a balance beam expert. That fact hasn’t changed, except now she added success on the uneven bars and the floor exercise.

She’s currently ranked No. 4 in the nation on beam and leads the team with six individual titles in the event. Against Nebraska in January, Alipio led the meet in the floor exercise. On her way to another Big Ten title, she has shown consistency by hitting all 23 of her routines without a fall.

Alipio is averaging a mark above 9.800 on beam, bars and floor exercise. The two-time first-team All-American on beam has been named Big Ten event specialist of the week three times this season for her high performances on multiple apparatuses.

McDonald describes the Big Ten balance beam champion as a steady leader who leads by example, someone who’s willing to put her head down and go through the grind to get better — a valuable asset to any team.

“To see somebody always trying to show up and get better with that growth mindset is so great,” she said. “Ciena really has leveled up in her leadership in that she’s somebody that continually checks in on people.”

When Alipio notices someone needs a little pick-me-up, she’s there to support them, McDonald added.

“She’s also just become a really great messenger of our team culture and just [continues] to build and tighten our culture where it’s needed and to step up in those moments when the team needs a leader.”

UCLA gymnast Ciena Alipio celebrates with teammate Jordan Chiles after completing a balance beam routine.

(Jesus Ramirez / UCLA Athletics)

With two meets left in the regular season — against Stanford on Saturday and Utah on March 14, senior night at Pauley Pavilion — Alipio is just going to have fun competing.

“Coming in as a freshman I was like, ‘Oh, I have so much time,’ and now it has gone by in a blink of an eye,” she said. “… But I’m really, really trying to just stay present for the next few weeks and just enjoy every single moment with this team.”

Rosen update

McDonald and the coaching staff will take a conservative approach to dealing with Katelyn Rosen’s foot injury from Friday’s meet. Resting her and making sure she is 100% to go for the Big Ten championships is the priority. Replacing her at the top of rotations is an ongoing conversation.

“We really look for that lead-off to be very steady,” she said. “Somebody that doesn’t kind of go with the ups and downs of their emotions. They can show up, be really steady, kick off the event really aggressively, confidently and so those things we’re gonna be looking for this weekend [against Stanford].”

With England needing 43 from the last 18 balls to beat New Zealand on Friday, Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed put on an unbeaten partnership of 44 from 16 balls to secure the win.

In the previous two games, England made a below-par 146-9 against Sri Lanka only to dismiss their co-hosts for 95 to secure victory, and were 58-4 against Pakistan before Brook himself hit a stunning century.

Those three victories followed a group stage where England struggled to beat Nepal, Scotland and Italy and were beaten by West Indies.

Their success also follows the dismal Ashes tour of Australia in Test cricket.

“I don’t believe we need a perfect game to win the competition,” said Brook, who is leading England for the first time at a World Cup.

“We’ve won those tight games which in World Cups prove to be very important and we’ve got a lot of confidence going into the deeper parts of the game.

“We’ve got a lot of competitive lads. Everybody wants to win, which is a given really, but even off the field when we’re playing golf, playing cards, whatever, everybody is always really competitive and they always have that slight edge and they take it out into the cricket as well.”

Brook said he expects Thursday’s atmosphere to be “awesome”, with the match to be played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in front of 33,000 spectators.

England resisted naming an XI before the toss, but seam-bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton appears likely to replace leg-spinner Ahmed.

India were the overwhelming pre-tournament favourites but have also stuttered at times in the competition.

They were given a scare by the United States in the group stage and were well beaten by South Africa in the Super 8s.

“I said the other day there’s a lot of pressure on both sides, potentially more on them going into here with the crowd and the disappointment they had against South Africa as well,” Brook said.

“But we’re just going to go out there, stick to what we know and assess conditions as quickly as possible and give it real good fight.”

Feb. 27 (UPI) — The Department of Defense reached an agreement with Scouting America to continue to support the organization after it committed to end its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said he had been considering an end to supporting the organization because of “significant cultural changes” it made in the early 2010s.

The 116-year-old organization changed its name from Boy Scouts of America to Scouting America, allowing girls to join and introducing programs that included various DEI themes.

“The Boy Scouts lost their way, and a once-great organization became gravely wounded,” Hegseth said in a statement.

“[DEI] crept in, the name was changed to ‘Scouting America,’ girls were accepted [and] the focus of God as the ruler of the universe was watered down to include openness to humanism and Earth-centered pagan religions,” he said in the statement.

Hegseth tied the move to an executive order President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office seeking to end “illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity,” including with the end of DEI programs among government agencies.

Scouting America said in a statement that it is making changes to align with DOD policies and goals as it has engaged in negotiations with the department for several months about its support for the organization.

The group said in a statement that it plans to waive registration fees for military families, launch a new merit badge focused on military service and veterans and reinforce its commitment to “scouting’s foundational ideas: leadership, character, duty to God, duty to country and service.”

As it has engaged the DOD about potential changes to its program, Scouting America said in the statement that it has “preserved our service to the more than 200,000 girls who participate in our programs.”

Noting that girls have participated in scouting since the 1960s, Scouting America said that its commitment to girls being part of the organization is “unwavering.”

Since 1910, more than 130 million people have participated in scouting programs and it is a well-known pipeline to the U.S. military based on its history showing that “scouts are significantly more likely to serve in uniform than the general population.”

These are the key developments from day 1,465 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Saturday, February 28:

Fighting

• Russia struck port infrastructure overnight in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, igniting fires and damaging equipment, warehouses and food containers, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said.
• A localised truce has been established near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to allow repairs to power lines, Russian news agencies report, citing the head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation.
• Ukraine shot down a drone near the border with Romania during a Russian attack on port infrastructure on the Danube River, Romania’s Ministry of National Defence said.
• Romania said it scrambled fighter jets and that the drone was brought down 100 metres (110 yards) from the Romanian village of Chilia Veche, on the opposite side of the Danube River to Ukraine.
• Russian forces have taken control of the village of Biliakivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region of eastern Ukraine, the Russian RIA Novosti state news agency reported, citing the Ministry of Defence.
• Ukraine’s military said it struck an oil depot in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region overnight, causing a large fire at the facility.
• Firefighters were trying to bring a fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region under control, local officials said early Saturday.
• Ukraine is considering forming partnerships with allies to build air defences capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and to address a critical shortage of munitions for United States-made Patriot systems, the country’s defence minister said.
• Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said 55 Ghanaians had been killed fighting in Ukraine, and that some 272 citizens of the African country are believed to have been lured to fight for Russia in Ukraine since 2022.

Regional security

• The Swedish military intercepted a suspected Russian drone off the country’s south coast while a French aircraft carrier was docked in Malmo, officials said.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was “absurd” to suggest the drone that was electronically disabled near a French aircraft carrier in Sweden earlier this week was Russian.
• The European Commission said Croatia is assessing whether it can legally import seaborne Russian crude to supply Hungary and Slovakia through its Adria pipeline.
• The move by Croatia follows after oil supplies via the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia – the only European Union countries still importing Russian oil – were halted last month due to damage Ukraine blamed on a Russian drone strike.
• In a video posted on Facebook, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to grant Hungarian and Slovak inspectors access to repair and restart the Druzhba pipeline.

• President Zelenskyy said he had not been offered nuclear weapons by the United Kingdom or France, but added he would accept such an offer “with pleasure”, after Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service accused both countries of working to provide Kyiv with a nuclear bomb.
• Poland’s parliament approved a law to implement the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence procurement programme aimed at boosting member states’ military readiness.

Economy

• The International Monetary Fund said its executive board had approved an $8.1bn, four-year loan for Ukraine, anchoring a broader $136.5bn international support package. The World Bank estimates Ukraine will need $588bn for post-war reconstruction.
• Economists say Russia is grappling with heavy state defence spending alongside deepening structural challenges, including labour shortages and high inflation.
• Ukraine’s major steelmaker ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih said it is closing another division due to a worsening energy crisis caused by continued Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power system.

Peace talks

• Bilateral talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Geneva concluded on Thursday, with Kyiv saying preparations are under way for the next round of negotiations aimed at ending the war.
• Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said on X that discussions were held in two formats: separate meetings with the United States and a trilateral session involving the US and Switzerland.
• Umerov said participants spoke with President Zelenskyy and were working to ensure the next three-sided meeting with Russia on a settlement is “as substantive as possible”.

Politics and diplomacy

• Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has begun advising the Ukrainian government on economic renewal as Kyiv works to rebuild its energy sector before next winter.
• Finland, Ukraine and the Czech Republic will skip the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Paralympics in protest against the inclusion of Russian athletes competing under their own flag while the war in Ukraine is ongoing.
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said “diplomacy cannot succeed at the moment” with Russia, and that greater emphasis should be placed on defending Ukraine from Moscow’s aggression.

Feb. 27 (UPI) — Britain’s Green Party won the Gorton and Denton byelection in southeast Manchester with a more than 4,000-seat majority, beating the ruling Labour Party into third place, and 12 points clear of Reform UK.

The Greens’ new Member of Parliament, Hannah Spencer, a plumber from a neighboring suburb of Manchester, produced a convincing win in Thursday’s poll, overturning the 13,000-seat majority won in the 2024 general election by the previous Labour holder of the seat who is standing down due to ill-health.

Spencer won 14,980 seats, or 40.7% of the vote, Reform’s Matt Goodwin, 10,578 and Labour’s Angeliki Stogia trailing in third place with 9,364. The Conservative Party’s candidate came in a distant fourth with just 706 votes. Turnout was 47.6%.

The win, a first for the Green Party in a byelection, takes the party’s contingent in the House of Commons to five.

Speaking in the early hours of Friday after the results were announced, 34-year-old Spencer vowed to “fight” for the people of Gorton and Denton “who feel left behind and isolated.”

“There is an appetite here for change, and there are people across this constituency and much further beyond who are rejecting the old political parties and who are coming together to fight for something better, but who are doing it positively and in a really hopeful way.”

Spencer said her victory proved there was “no longer any such thing as a safe seat” and that there was “no part of the country where the Green Party cannot win.”

Asked if the Greens’ intention was to “eviscerate” Labour, Party leader Zack Polanski said that taking a seat Labour had held for more than 100 years showed it was “beginning already.”

“If we see a swing like this at the next general election, there will be a tidal wave of new Green MPs. This is an existential crisis for the Labour Party,” he said.

Labour’s second-straight loss of a byelection with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the helm, and with local elections just around the corner in May, could prove highly consequential for his future.

Speaking to reporters Friday, a defiant Starmer rejected any suggestion he might be considering his position, saying he would never quit.

“I came into politics late in life to fight for change for those people who need it. I will keep on fighting for those people for as long as I’ve got breath in my body,” he said.

Starmer played down the loss saying that while it was “very disappointing,” voters often took out frustrations on sitting administrations in mid way through their terms.

However, Strathclyde University Politics Professor John Curtice said the Green Party was now challenging Labour’s stranglehold on the left of British politics in a way that would cause the parliamentary wing of the party to seriously question whether Starmer was still the right person to lead the country.

Reform UK chairman David Bull, telling the BBC he was “absolutely thrilled” with his party’s performance,” echoed that analysis.

“Keir Starmer is in big trouble now — it is not a matter of if he leaves office, it’s when he leaves.”

Party leader, MP Nigel Farage, warned the Greens’ win would embolden the radical left and said opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch should apologize for leading the party to the worst result in its history.

“Roll on the elections on May 7. It will be goodbye Starmer and goodbye to the Tory [Conservative] party,” he wrote on X.

Badenoch, who is Black, called on Starmer to quit immediately.

“Our country is not broken, but this byelection showed that Labour, Reform and the Greens are trying very hard to break it. Labour trying to buy people off with more and more benefits spending, Reform telling people you can’t be British if you’re not white. The Greens running a nasty, sectarian campaign while simultaneously wanting to legalize crack-cocaine,” she wrote in a statement.

“The result shows Keir Starmer’s premiership is finished. He lost authority a long time ago, a mere hostage at the mercy of a divided Labour Party that cannot decide who to replace him with. He has lost the support of his MPs and the country. He is in office but not in power. If had any integrity he would go,” said Badenoch.

The UCLA women’s basketball team is closing in on an undefeated Big Ten season, clinched the outright regular season league title for the first time in school history, is riding a 21-win streak and is ranked No. 2 nationally.

Perhaps most remarkable, the Bruins firmly believe they can be better and have yet to peak as they push to win a national title.

How did UCLA go from being a team that got pushed around by UConn, LSU and South Carolina in the NCAA tournament the last three seasons to a loaded squad no one wants to face in March?

Bruins coach Cori Close solved the riddle by recruiting six senior leaders who accepted they had to continuously sacrifice and push to improve to achieve their goals. They echo their coach’s values, putting each other first in order to succeed.

“Me and Kiki [Rice] came here in our freshman year and it’s just been amazing to see the program grow since then,” UCLA senior Gabriela Jaquez said. “And I think that’s also a big credit to our coaches and to all the staff at UCLA to really get the fans out there and support us because we really couldn’t do it without them.”

UCLA honored Lauren Betts, Angela Dugalić, Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens, Charlisse Leger-Walker and Rice during their final regular-season home game Sunday. The group will be back soon to host first- and second-round NCAA tournament games at Pauley Pavilion, but Close wanted them to take the time to celebrate all they had accomplished together.

Betts is in the national player of the year conversation, but the big award is likely to go to another player who carries a heavier workload for their team. Close said the seniors are all projected to be WNBA draft picks, but they have sacrificed better individual statistics and potentially some awards in exchange for a better shot at winning a national championship. She said the selfless approach is rare and should be cherished.

“One of them said the other day, like, ‘I might not ever play on a team like this again,’” Close said of her senior class. “I think the combination of the depth of the relationship, excellence on the court, their love of the work — they love to work and get better together — and their connection off the court.

”… I think these seniors actually do really understand that this is really special. They’ve set a bar for the culture of our program that we will be forever measuring it against.”

Baseball makes a statement

No. 1 UCLA baseball team turned heads with a weekend sweep of No. 7 TCU. The Bruins beat the Horned Frogs 10-2 on Friday, 5-1 on Saturday and 15-5 on Sunday. Roch Cholowsky and Will Gasparino have racked up six home runs apiece during UCLA’s first seven games this season.

Softball keeps rolling

The No. 9 UCLA softball team beat No. 11 Texas A&M 15-7 in five innings on Sunday to cap a 6-0 weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Bruins also beat No. 20 Duke and No. 13 South Carolina. Senior Megan Grant delivered a .545 batting average during the weekend with two home runs and nine walks.

Gymnastics knocks out Illini

No. 5 UCLA gymnastics defeated Illinois 197.675-195.475 Sunday in Champaign, Ill.

Jordan Chiles won the all-around (39.650), vault (9.950) and floor exercise (9.975), while Ciena Alipio won balance beam (9.950).

The Bruins host three top 25 programs — Iowa, Ohio State and Maryland — during the Big Fours meet Friday at Pauley Pavilion.

In case you missed it

UCLA women blitz Wisconsin on Senior Day, win 21st in a row

Donovan Dent channels Tyus Edney, lifts UCLA to stunning OT win over No. 10 Illinois

UCLA to play 2026 football season at Rose Bowl as lawsuit continues

UCLA’s Mick Cronin apologizes for ejecting player, says he’s still ‘a good fit’ as coach

No. 2 UCLA’s 20th win in a row clinches share of first conference crown in 27 years

Plaschke: UCLA must eject Mick Cronin if he can’t respect his players

UCLA men are no match for Michigan State

No. 2 UCLA wins its 19th straight game with thrashing of Indiana

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

This Disney+ crime thriller is a must-watch for fans of Netflix’s You, with one standout difference that sets this stalker series apart from the rest.

With streaming services flooded with thrillers, crime, and mystery programmes, the storylines can occasionally feel repetitive and formulaic. There hasn’t been a riveting thriller that has captured the nation’s attention quite like Netflix’s You (2018).

However, Disney+ is venturing into this sinister realm with its new stalker thriller entitled Watching You (2025). The series delivers a nerve-wracking, gripping narrative packed with twists and shocking revelations. Audiences can anticipate intricate characters whose hidden truths gradually emerge, maintaining the tension throughout.

Yet, there’s one distinctive feature that distinguishes this programme and renders it essential viewing for thriller devotees.

What is Watching You about?

Protagonist Lina has a one-night stand, which is secretly filmed by a mystery person. However, Lina is engaged to someone else, meaning this one night of passion is an affair.

Lina is subsequently blackmailed by this enigmatic individual who appears to be monitoring her every action. Intent on exposing the stalker threatening her existence, she quickly discovers the peril may be considerably nearer than she ever suspected.

There’s murder and domestic violence in this thriller with layered characters. Whilst it may not feature the most twists and turns, the programme expertly keeps you on edge as secrets steadily emerge, given that no character is entirely blameless.

Similarities to Netflix’s You

Both programmes portray domestic violence, threats against women, stalking and murder. The villains in both shows conceal their true identity while manipulating women.

The only difference is that in Netflix’s You, stalker Joe is the main character and more charismatic than the villain in Watching You. Spoilers ahead.

However, both men are completely unhinged and will do anything to keep their secret whilst convincing themselves they are relentlessly, madly in love with the women they are obsessed with.

One reason you should watch

Watching You does a brilliant job of addressing domestic violence. Unlike Netflix’s You, this show is from the perspective and follows the actions of Lina. Though she is flawed, the show does not excuse what happened to her as a victim.

Her fight against the abuser is fierce, intense and complicated, but it is well written and delivered. Netflix’s You has been criticised for the “romanticisation” of male violence against women, as seen from Refinery29, Our Wave, and feminists.co, but Watching You intensifies the feeling of danger and suspense.

Early ratings

Commenting on IMDB, one person said: “It’s a refreshing and paychpatic watch. All the characters are stupid and follow questionable and illogical choices. But haven’t we all been there? The series reminds me of ‘You’ to a certain degree.

“It’s the plot of stalking someone and manipulating them into loving you. That’s about it with the similarities. The acting could be better; there’s some nudity, which I am not appalled by, but sometimes it makes no sense. Anyway, it’s not vulgar or anything. All in all, it’s a good show. But judge for yourselves.”

Another viewer commented: “I was very entertained by the first 3 episodes. Steamy show, interesting relationship dynamics, good performances. Despite the plot being more than obvious, I enjoyed watching the story unravel.”

They continued: “After the fourth episode, the story started getting more and more ridiculous. Characters were making one stupid decision after another, and the final episode was a letdown, the way it ended. Was that even justice being served? I doubt so.

“Overall, it’s a nice show for a binge, easy to follow despite being predictable. The finale just wasn’t to my taste. It wouldn’t hurt you to watch it.”

These are the key developments from day 1,459 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Sunday, February 22:

Fighting

• A Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region killed four people, including a 17-year-old boy, while another attack on the southeastern Zaporizhia region killed a 77-year-old man, according to Ukrainian authorities.
• Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Odesa region wounded two people and caused damage to homes, cars and an energy facility, officials said. Another Russian attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region wounded a 77-year-old man.
• In the Donetsk region, Russian shelling wounded four people in 18 attacks throughout the day, Governor Vadym Filashkin wrote on Telegram. Authorities evacuated 562 people, including 244 children, from front-line settlements.
• Russian forces also hit the facility of US snack food company Mondelez in Sumy, sparking a reaction from Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha, who wrote on X that Russia was “targeting American business interests in Europe”.
• “Moscow cannot speak of economic dialogue with the United States while attacking US-owned production facilities,” Sybiha added.
• In the front-line Kherson region, Russian shelling wounded two police officers and one civilian, Ukraine’s National Police wrote on Telegram. Three apartment buildings, 18 homes, a hospital and numerous public buildings sustained damage.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Ukrainian security forces “neutralised Russian mercenaries preparing assassination attempts” against “high-profile” figures, including military personnel, intelligence officers and journalists.
• Moscow’s ⁠forces ⁠took control of the village of ⁠Karpivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk ⁠region, the Russian RIA state news agency reported on Saturday, citing ‌the Ministry of Defence.
• A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Belgorod region wounded a man and a three-year-old child, according to the Russian TASS news.
• The Ukrainian General Staff said Ukraine’s home-produced “Flamingo” cruise missiles hit a Russian ballistic missile plant in the Udmurtia region, as well as a gas plant in the Samara region.

Politics and diplomacy

• Zelenskyy held discussions with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on the next round of trilateral negotiations with the US and Russia, as well as Ukraine’s energy situation. He said on X that “in many areas, our views align”.
• Zelenskyy said in his evening address that “we continue working every day… so that the next round of negotiations can deliver results for Ukraine, results for peace”.The Ukrainian leader said he was closely coordinating with European partners so that the European Union is “involved in all processes and grows only stronger”.
• Demonstrators in Washington, DC, Paris, and Prague rallied in support of Ukraine ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24.
• Zelenskyy awarded Ukraine’s civilian award, the Order of Princess Olga, to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in the Ukrainian capital. Hidalgo’s visit marked her sixth trip to Kyiv since the start of the war.
• Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign minister, condemned Russia’s alleged ongoing recruitment of Kenyans and other Africans into Moscow’s war, writing that it “evokes the worst memories of colonial attitudes from the past” and warning Africans against signing contracts with Russian recruiters.
• Ukraine enforced new sanctions against the captains of vessels allegedly transporting Russian oil, a list that Zelenskyy said totalled 225 people.

Energy

• Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened to stop providing emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine unless Kyiv resumed Russian oil transit to Slovakia over Ukrainian territory, through the Druzhba pipeline. Hungary said it would block a 90 billion euro ($106bn) EU loan for Ukraine for the same reason.
• Shipments of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia have been cut ⁠off since January 27, when Kyiv says a Russian drone strike hit pipeline equipment in Western Ukraine. Slovakia and Hungary say Ukraine is to blame for the prolonged outage.
• The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “rejects and condemns” Hungary and Slovakia’s statements and that the “provocative, irresponsible ultimatums threaten the energy security of the entire region”.
• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk criticised Hungary’s move on X, writing, “Guess who’s happy”, in an apparent reference to Russia.

Military aid

• The Czech Republic transferred 200 reconnaissance drones to five Ukrainian brigades, equipment worth about $800,000, Ukraine’s Interfax news agency reported.
• Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an interview with the BBC that the United Kingdom and the EU should send “peaceful ground forces” to “show our support for a free, independent Ukraine”.

Manchester City’s win cut Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League to two points.

Nico O’Reilly’s first-half brace inspired Manchester City to a vital 2-1 victory over Newcastle United, which turned up the heat on Premier ⁠League leaders Arsenal.

City took the lead on Saturday when O’Reilly slammed in a left-footed shot in the 14th minute before Lewis Hall levelled.

O’Reilly headed in Erling Haaland’s cross to restore City’s lead ⁠in the 27th minute, and it proved to be the match-winner as Pep Guardiola’s side cut Arsenal’s lead to two points.

Arsenal face north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, knowing that City are now breathing down their necks.

The stuttering form of Arsenal, who drew with the bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers ‌on Wednesday, opened the door for City, but victory over Newcastle was imperative.

It looked like a formality early on as they overran their visitors, but it was a different story after the break as they nervously held on to the victory.

Nothing illustrated City’s determination more than the sight of goal-machine Haaland working tirelessly back in his own area, blocking shots and making clearing headers.

Newcastle pushed hard for an equaliser, and ⁠when the final whistle blew, there was relief around Etihad ⁠Stadium. They will now be watching Arsenal’s Sunday derby with added interest.

City were slick at the start and went ahead when a surging Omar Marmoush played in O’Reilly. He could have touched it on for Haaland ⁠to his left, but the 20-year-old opted to trust his left foot, and his powerful shot beat Nick Pope.

Newcastle were level soon afterwards, ⁠though, as a weak clearance fell to Hall, whose ⁠shot took a touch off a City player before beating keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Haaland was not on the scoresheet but showed many other attributes to his game, and it was his measured cross that was met by O’Reilly, ‌who directed his header past Pope.

City were nowhere near as effective as an attacking force after the break, but they defended doggedly when required and were always a threat on the ‌counter-attack.

They ‌now have 56 points from 27 games. Should Arsenal fail to beat Tottenham on Sunday, City will feel they have the title race firmly in their hands.

O’Reilly said he was “over the moon” about the goals and three points.

“The win was the most important thing: close the gap and apply as much pressure as possible,” he told TNT Sports.

“Very happy with the two goals. It is a dream of mine to win [the Premier League].”

Asked if City, unbeaten in eight games, can win the title, he added: “Yeah, definitely. We always believe we can win games.”

Elsewhere on Saturday, ⁠Aston Villa’s faint Premier ⁠League title hopes suffered a blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Leeds United, and Chelsea’s top-four ambitions were damaged when they dropped two points against relegation-bound ⁠Burnley.

Anton Stach’s stunning 31st-minute free kick past Emiliano Martinez looked like giving Leeds a vital victory at Villa Park, but substitute Tammy Abraham levelled late on.

Chelsea moved above Manchester United into fourth spot on goal difference, but it felt like two points dropped for the second week running as they drew 1-1 with Burnley at home.

Joao Pedro put Chelsea ahead, but the hosts were reduced to 10 men when Wesley Fofana received a second yellow ⁠card and Burnley equalised in stoppage time through Zian Flemming.

Brighton’s James Milner broke the Premier League appearance record in ⁠their 2-0 win at Brentford.

The 40-year-old former Manchester City and Liverpool ⁠player made his 654th appearance to go past Gareth Barry.

West Ham had the opportunity to really put some pressure on Nottingham Forest and Spurs in the relegation battle, but played out a turgid draw with visiting Bournemouth. It ‌was ‌the sixth successive Premier League stalemate between the sides.

Feb. 20 (Asia Today) — Motif Technology’s consortium has been selected in an additional call to join South Korea’s government-backed effort to build an “independent” artificial intelligence foundation model, as officials said a second evaluation in August will continue to weigh whether teams meet the project’s originality standard.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said Motif was chosen for its experience designing models with its own architecture and for achieving performance it said could compete with leading global systems despite operating in a limited data environment.

The Motif consortium includes the company, startup More, Seoul National University’s industry-academia cooperation foundation and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

The group plans to build an inference-focused large language model with 300 billion parameters and later expand work into vision-language models and vision-language-action models, the ministry said.

Motif will develop its model from this month through July and then compete in an August stage evaluation against LG AI Research, Upstage and SK Telecom. The ministry said it will extend the development timeline for the existing three teams by one month, setting the deadline at the end of July, and will provide Motif with support comparable to the other teams, including 768 graphics processing units and data.

The August stage evaluation will narrow the field to three teams and will include the originality requirement, officials said. Two teams are to be selected for final support by the end of the year.

Kim Kyung-man, director of the ministry’s AI policy office, said the four teams will discuss how to apply the originality assessment and that more detailed criteria will be developed with input from industry and academia.

The project drew attention last month after Naver Cloud failed to meet the originality requirement in an initial evaluation and NC AI was eliminated after scoring lowest on other criteria, raising questions in some quarters about the program’s momentum.

The ministry said the project’s priority is building a domestic AI ecosystem through teams capable of developing an independent foundation model.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260220010006171

These are the key developments from day 1,458 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Saturday, February 21:

Fighting

• The death toll from a Russian attack on a warehouse in Malynivka in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region rose to three after rescuers found two more bodies under the rubble, the State Emergency Service said on the Telegram messaging app.
• A Russian drone attack killed two police officers as they were on their way to evacuate residents near the village of Serednii Burluk in Kharkiv, the National Police of Ukraine said on Telegram.
• Russian forces launched a ballistic missile and 128 drones towards Ukraine overnight on Thursday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said on Facebook. Ukrainian forces shot down 107 of the drones, the ministry added.
• Russian attacks caused dozens of injuries and damage to homes and infrastructure, including oil and gas facilities in Ukraine’s Poltava region, according to the country’s state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz.
• Russian forces attacked Komyshuvas in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region with guided bombs, causing a fire in residential buildings that injured a 22-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.
• In Russia, two people were killed and three were wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on a car in the rural Maksimovskoye settlement located on the front line in the Belgorod region, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram.
• The attack was one of several by Ukrainian forces across Belgorod, including another strike that killed a man in the village of Pochayevo, the regional emergency task force wrote on Telegram.
• Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of Russia’s Bryansk region, said Ukrainian forces attacked a hospital in the village of Voronok with drones, though no casualties were reported.
• A “significant portion” of the northwest of Russian-occupied Zaporizhia was left without electricity due to “a massive attack” by Ukrainian forces on the region’s electric grid, Russia’s TASS state news agency reported, citing a Russian-appointed official, Yevhen Balitsky.
• Yevgeniya Yashina, communications director at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, told TASS that there was heavy Ukrainian shelling in the vicinity of the facility, which has been under Russian occupation since 2022.

Politics and diplomacy

• French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will chair a video conference of Ukraine’s “Coalition of the Allies” on February 24, which will mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Macron’s office said on Friday.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in a WhatsApp group that no positive movement has been made regarding negotiations over the future of Ukrainian land occupied by Russia in peace talks with Moscow mediated by the United States.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that he cannot yet confirm when and where a new round of talks on Ukraine will take place after TASS reported the next talks will take place in Geneva.

Energy

• The European Commission has allowed the German government to take trusteeship of the German assets of US-sanctioned Russian oil group Rosneft, which supplies most of the fuel to Berlin via its PCK Schwedt refinery, when the current arrangement expires on March 10.

• The US Department of the Treasury has extended a sanctions waiver on Serbia’s Russian-owned oil firm NIS until March 20, giving the Balkan country another month to import crude oil supplies, Serbia’s Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said in a statement.
• Hungary will block a 90 billion euro ($106bn) European Union loan for Ukraine until oil transit to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline resumes, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
• “By blocking oil transit to Hungary through the Druzhba pipeline, Ukraine violates the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, breaching its commitments to the European Union. We will not give in to this blackmail,” Szijjarto said on X.

Regional security

• Britain and European allies – including France, Germany, Italy and Poland – will work together to develop new low-cost air defence weapons to protect the continent’s skies, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

The U.K. is blocking U.S. use of two key bases for an attack on Iran, according to a report by The Times. Both Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean, and RAF Fairford, a base in the U.K., would be important to any American plans to use long-range bombers in a sustained campaign against Iran.

The move reportedly stems from British legal concerns about an Iran attack as well as a dispute between U.S. President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the ultimate disposition of Diego Garcia. We will discuss that more later in this story.

We have yet to see any bombers moving to Diego Garcia and, to a lesser degree, Fairford, which would be likely to happen in advance of a sustained aerial bombardment campaign. The decision by the U.K., if the report is accurate, could be a primary reason why these movements haven’t occurred.

As we have frequently reported, Diego Garcia has long been a highly strategic operating location for the U.S. military. Beyond its large airfield that sits in the center of the Indian Ocean, it plays many roles for the Department of Defense, including hosting Space Force operations, serving as a key port for U.S. Navy vessels, including nuclear submarines, and its lagoon provides shelter for a Sealift Command Prepositioning Ship Squadron. 

The island outpost drew particular attention last year after an unusually large force of six B-2 Spirit stealth bombers began arriving in March in a clear show of force aimed primarily at Iran. This is precisely the type of deployment we would have expected to have occurred during the present crisis, but it has not. The B-2s subsequently conducted strikes on Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen and were ultimately replaced by B-52 bombers.

RAF Fairford is the home of the only U.S. bomber forward operating location in the U.K., where American strategic aircraft are frequently forward deployed for Bomber Task Force missions. Major bomber operations have been staged out of the base in the past, including major strikes against Iraq.

Last June, when the U.S. launched the Operation Midnight Hammer attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, the B-2 bombers flew roundtrip from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. However, that was a one-night operation. Trump is now considering what is likely to be a week’s long campaign against Iranian leadership, nuclear infrastructure, missile launch sites and associated industry, and other military installations and command and control nodes. 

It would be extremely helpful for the U.S. to use Diego Garcia, and possibly RAF Fairford, to stage, rearm and maintain the B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers that could be used to strike Iran.

It is about 2,300 miles from Diego Garcia to the eastern border of Iran and about 2,500 miles from RAF Fairford to the western border. By contrast, Whiteman AFB, one of many bases in the U.S. housing strategic aircraft, is located about 6,500 miles from Iran’s western border. Having access to the two U.K. bases would allow the U.S. Air Force to increase the generation of bomber sorties, especially important in the opening of a campaign. It would also help reduce wear and tear on the aircraft and crews.

Though the U.S. has not deployed any bombers to Diego Garcia, we have been reporting that America is transiting scores of fighters, electronic warfare jets, radar planes, aerial refueling tankers and other aviation assets from RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath to that region. It is unclear if that will change if the fighting starts. Traditionally, these types of limitations are focused on actual combat sorties, not aircraft transiting through in order to get to another destination.

That being said, the U.S. does have other basing options, even for its sensitive B-2 Spirit bomber force. The Air Force has put a high priority on training to operate even these notoriously finicky jets out of unfamiliar and somewhat austere locations. Deployments to the Azores, Iceland and Wake Island, among others, are evidence of this. The B-52s and B-1s are even more flexible and have operated out of multiple allies’ airfields in recent years. But operating from a forward locale in a limited fashion is different than flying from an installation that is pre-equipped with all the amenities needed to keep sortie rates up during a conflict. Regardless, any other country would have to approve the use of bombers based on its soil to attack Iran.

A similar situation involving permission for the use of Diego Garcia took place shortly before Midnight Hammer. The U.K. government said it would have to sign off on the U.S. use of its Diego Garcia base in any bombing raid on Iran, The Guardian reported at the time. Britain was informed of the U.S. military strikes on Iran ahead of time, but did not receive any U.S. request for use of Diego Garcia for that mission, according to Reuters.

The impetus behind this latest move, according to The Times, is a dispute over control of Diego Garcia, which is part of the Chagos Islands. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is pushing for a deal to seek a 99-year lease of the island from Mauritius, which claims rights to this chain. Trump, who has previously backed the plan, on Wednesday blasted it, widening a growing rift between the two allies over the issue.

“I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease with whoever it is that is ‘claiming’ Right, Title, and Interest to Diego Garcia, strategically located in the Indian Ocean,” Trump proclaimed Wednesday on his Truth Social site. “Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and powerful one, and it has been for many years, but Prime Minister Starmer is losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before. In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature.”

In his Truth Social post, Trump pointed to the strategic importance of both Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford in any campaign against Iran.

“Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime — An attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly Countries,” the U.S. president posited. “Prime Minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100 Year Lease. This land should not be taken away from the U.K. and, if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our Great Ally. We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them. DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!”

In its story on Thursday, The Times claimed that Trump pulled his support for Starmer’s lease deal after the U.K. refused to allow its bases to be used to strike Iran.

“The White House is drawing up detailed military plans for a strike against Iran involving the use of both Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, which is home to America’s fleet of heavy bombers in Europe,” The Times stated. “Under the terms of long-standing agreements with Washington, these bases can only be used for military operations that have been agreed in advance with the government.”

The Times “understands that the UK is yet to give permission for the US to use the bases in the event that Trump orders a strike on Iran, owing to concerns that it would be a breach of international law which makes no distinction between a state carrying out the attack and those in support if the latter have ‘knowledge of the circumstances of the internationally wrongful act,’” the publication proffered. “The president spoke to the prime minister on Tuesday night, and the two men discussed Trump’s ultimatum to Iran over its nuclear program. The following day, Trump made his statement attacking the Chagos deal.”

The U.K. MoD Defense Ministry (MoD) declined to talk about operational details, but did declare its support for Trump’s push to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of Iran.

“There is a political process ongoing between the US and Iran, which the UK supports,” the U.K. MoD told us in a statement. “Iran must never be able to develop a nuclear weapon, and our priority is security in the region.”

A White House official told us that “President Trump’s first instinct is always diplomacy, and he has been clear that the Iranian regime should make a deal. Of course, the President ultimately has all options at his disposal, and he demonstrated with Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Absolute Resolve that he means what he says.”

We have reached out to the White House, the Pentagon, U.S. Central Command, U.S. IndoPacific Command and the U.K. Ministry of Defense for more details.

Despite the controversy over Diego Garcia, the U.S. buildup of forces continues unabated. For instance, just this morning, another flight of F-22 Raptor stealth fighters left Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, most likely bound for Mildenhall or Lakenheath. You can read more about the massive influx of forces to the Middle East in our story here.

Whether the U.K. will end up fully enforcing restrictions against the U.S. use of its bases in a kinetic operation against Iran, only time will tell. In the meantime, how this is impacting U.S. war planning isn’t clear, but if it sticks, it will certainly alter those plans and reduce the magnitude of U.S. bombers’ role in a conflict.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

These are the key developments from day 1,457 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Friday, February 20:

Fighting

• Russian forces launched 448 attacks on 34 settlements in Ukraine’s front-line Zaporizhia region in a single day, injuring a six-year-old child and damaging homes, cars and other infrastructure, regional governor Ivan Fedorov wrote on the Telegram app.
• Russian drone, missile and artillery attacks on Ukraine’s Kherson region injured five people and damaged homes, including seven high-rise buildings, the local military administration said on Telegram.
• Russian attacks also continued in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions, but local officials there noted that “fortunately, no people were injured”. According to the Kyiv Independent news outlet, overnight was “unusually quiet” following weeks of “heavy fire” in the two regions.
• A man was killed by shrapnel from a Ukrainian drone attack on Sevastopol, in Russian-occupied Crimea, Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram.
• A Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an oil depot in Velikiye Luki in Russia’s Pskov region, local official Mikhail Vedernikov said, according to Russia’s state TASS news agency.
• Russian forces shot down 301 Ukrainian drones, 10 missiles and two guided bombs in a 24-hour period, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said, according to TASS.

Peace process

• United States President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace held its first meeting in Washington, DC, without Belarus participating, despite Trump extending an invitation to the Russian ally.
• Belarus’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that its delegation to the meeting did not receive the necessary visas to enter the US “despite carrying out all the required procedures”.
• The Foreign Ministry questioned, “What kind of peace and what kind of sequence of steps are we talking about if the organisers cannot even complete basic formalities for us to take part?”

• France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Pascal Confavreux expressed surprise to see the European Commission had sent a commissioner to participate in Trump’s meeting, noting that it “does not have a mandate from the [European] Council to go and participate”.

• Confavreux also said France would not take part in Trump’s initiative until the Board of Peace returned its focus to Gaza in line with a United Nations Security Council resolution.
• Several European Union member states have said they will not participate in the peace board after Trump extended an invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and is subject to an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court.

Regional Security

• Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD said on Thursday that European countries, including the Netherlands, were facing increased hybrid threats from Russia, including cyberattacks, sabotage, influence campaigns and disinformation.

Energy

• Ukraine’s Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is operating on its sole remaining main power line after losing its only backup power line more than a week ago, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said in a statement.
• Hungary is considering halting power and gas exports to Ukraine and will take such steps unless Ukraine resumes the flow of crude oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff told a briefing.
• The Druzhba pipeline, parts of which run through Ukraine, is crucial for the transfer of Russian crude oil to Hungary and Slovakia. Oil flows have reportedly halted since an attack on the pipeline in January, which Kyiv has blamed on Russia.
• France’s Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry Roland Lescure said his country would provide 71 million euros ($83.5m) in additional funding for Ukraine for services including energy, health and clearing land mines.

Politics and diplomacy

• The head of Russia’s FSB security service accused Telegram messaging app founder Pavel Durov of condoning criminal activity on the platform, in an escalation of Moscow’s rhetoric as it moved to restrict the service that is used by many Russians and Ukrainians to communicate about the war.

•  Dismissing a Russian government allegation that foreign intelligence services are able to see messages sent by Russian soldiers on Telegram, the popular platform said it had not found any breaches of its encryption codes and called Russia’s claims a “deliberate fabrication”, according to the Reuters news agency.

Military aid

• Sweden announced a 12.9 billion crown ($1.42bn) military aid package for Ukraine that will include air defences, drones, long-range missiles and ammunition.

Kim focuses on improving economic activity in opening speech at Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

North Korea has kicked off a rare party congress of the ruling Workers’ Party, held once every five years, that will see the leadership in Pyongyang set major policy goals in defence, diplomacy and the economy, state media reports.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Friday that the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) was under way, marking the start of the country’s most consequential political event since 2021.

“The Ninth Congress of the WPK opened with splendour in Pyongyang, the capital city of the revolution,” KCNA said, reporting that the high-level meeting started on Thursday and observers say it is expected to run for several days.

South Korea’s official Yonhap News Agency said the gathering will be closely followed for any signs regarding North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons or overtures towards the administrations in Seoul and the United States, which the North considers its chief foes.

Yonhap reports that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, made no mention of relations with either South Korea or the US in his opening speech to the congress on Thursday and, instead, focused on boosting the country’s economy.

“Ahead of our party are heavy and urgent tasks of advancing economic development and improving people’s livelihoods, and transforming all aspects of social life in the country as quickly as possible,” Kim said, according to KCNA.

While the true state of North Korea’s often struggling economy is hard to gauge, The Associated Press news agency reports that outside experts suggest the country has seen a gradual recovery in economic activity, helped by a post-COVID boost in trade with China and the export of weapons to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Several thousand North Korean troops have fought on Moscow’s side against Ukraine, and Pyongyang is believed to have exported large amounts of ammunition to help the Russian invasion of its neighbour.

North Korea’s ‘biggest enemy’

South Korea’s spy agency said last week it was monitoring the congress for any sign that Kim will officially designate his teenage daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his potential successor, formalising her position as heir apparent in a fourth-generation succession of the Kim family as North Korea’s leaders.

At the previous party congress five years ago, Kim declared that the US was his nation’s “biggest enemy”, the AFP news agency reports, and there is deep interest in whether the North Korean leader will soften his rhetoric – or double down – at this year’s congress, particularly amid the US presidency of Donald Trump.

Trump – who met Kim in 2019 when he briefly stepped foot into North Korea to shake Kim’s hand and pose for photos – said during a tour of Asia late last year that he was “100 percent” open to meeting Kim again.

So far, Kim has demurred on Trump’s overtures to meet again.

Observers of North Korean politics are reported to be scouring satellite imagery for any signs of the vast military parades that have accompanied previous congress meetings in Pyongyang.

Such parades will be closely watched for signs of a shift in North Korea’s weapons capabilities, as the country has used previous processions to show off its newest and most advanced weapons.

Kim held a ceremony on Thursday to unveil the deployment of 50 new launch vehicles for nuclear-capable short-range missiles as the congress kicked off.

According to Yonhap, the congress brings together some 5,000 party representatives from across the country, including 200 senior officials from the WPK’s headquarters. More than 4,700 officials from regional and industrial sectors are also in attendance.

These are the key developments from day 1,456 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Thursday, February 19:

Fighting

• Russian forces launched multiple attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, killing one person and injuring seven others over the past day, the region’s military administration said on the Telegram messaging platform.
• The attacks involved 448 drones as well as 163 artillery strikes, causing damage to 136 homes, cars and other structures, the military administration said.
• Russian forces also continued shelling Ukraine’s Donetsk region, forcing 173 people, including 135 children, to evacuate front-line areas over the past day, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram.
• A 54-year-old man was killed in a Russian attack in the Nikopol district of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram.
• Russian attacks also left many people without electricity across Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Energy, including more than 99,000 households in the Odesa region.
• In Russia, one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the village of Aleynikovo in the country’s Bryansk region, Governor Alexander Bogomaz said.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said that Russian forces seized the village of Kharkivka in Ukraine’s Sumy region and Krynychne in the Zaporizhia region, according to Russia’s state news agency TASS.
• Ukrainian battlefield monitoring site DeepState said that Russian forces advanced in Nykyforivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
• Russian forces shot down 155 Ukrainian drones, 11 rocket launchers, and two guided aerial bombs in a 24-hour period, Russia’s Defence Ministry said, according to TASS.

Peace talks

• Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine concluded the second of two days of US-mediated talks in Geneva, with both sides describing the negotiations as “difficult”.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that although “progress has been made … for now, positions differ because the negotiations were difficult”.
• President Zelenskyy later told the Piers Morgan Uncensored current affairs show that Russia and Ukraine were close to defining terms for how a potential ceasefire would be monitored, but progress on “political” issues had been slower, including on the most divisive issue of control of territory.
• In Washington, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said there was “meaningful progress made” with pledges “to continue to work towards a peace deal together”, and more talks are expected in the near future.
• Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s top negotiator, said the two days of talks in Geneva were “difficult but businesslike,” telling reporters that further negotiations would be held soon, without specifying when.
• Rustem Umerov, the head of Kyiv’s negotiating team, said that the second day had been “intensive and substantive” and that both sides were working towards decisions that can be sent to their presidents, he said.

Politics and diplomacy

• Ukraine imposed sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, promising to “increase countermeasures” against Minsk for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, including through providing relay stations for Russian drone attacks on Ukraine, Zelenskyy said on social media.
• United States Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire along with three other US senators from the Democratic Party visited Kyiv.
• Shaheen told reporters that she “would hope that we would see a stronger effort and some real work when we get back to put pressure on Putin”.

Sport

• Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in a post on Telegram that “allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Milano-Cortina Paralympics while Russia continues its full-scale war against Ukraine is a disgrace”.
• Estonian Public Broadcasting company Eesti Rahvusringhaaling announced it would not broadcast the games in protest at the decision to allow the Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their own flags.

WASHINGTON — As progressives seek to place a new tax on billionaires on California’s November ballot, a Republican congressman is moving in the opposite direction — proposing federal legislation that would block states from taxing the assets of former residents.

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin), who faces a tough re-election challenge under California’s redrawn congressional maps, says he will introduce the “Keep Jobs in California Act of 2026” on Friday. The measure would prohibit any state from levying taxes retroactively on individuals who no longer live there.

The proposed legislation adds another layer to what has already been a fiery debate over California’s approach to taxing the ultra-wealthy. It has created divisions among Democrats and has placed Los Angeles at the center of a broader political fight, with Bernie Sanders set to hold a rally on Wednesday night in support of the wealth tax.

Kiley said he drafted the bill in reaction to reports that several of California’s most prominent billionaires — including Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin — are planning to leave the state in anticipation of the wealth tax being enacted.

“California’s proposed wealth tax is an unprecedented attempt to chase down people who have already left as a result of the state’s poor policies,” Kiley said in a statement Wednesday. “Many of our state’s leading job creators are leaving preemptively.”

Kiley said it would be “fundamentally unfair” to retroactively impose taxes on former residents.

“California already has the highest income tax of any state in the country, the highest gas tax, the highest overall tax burden,” Kiley said in a House floor speech earlier this month. “But a wealth tax is something unique because a wealth tax is not merely the taxation of earned income, it is the confiscation of assets.”

The fate of Kiley’s proposal is just as uncertain as his future in Congress. His 5th Congressional District, which hugs the Nevada border, has been sliced up into six districts under California’s voter-approved Proposition 50, and he has not yet picked one to run in for re-election.

The Billionaire Tax Act, which backers are pushing to get on the November ballot, would charge California’s 200-plus billionaires a onetime 5% tax on their net worth in order to backfill billions of dollars in Republican-led cuts to federal healthcare funding for middle-class and low-income residents. It is being proposed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West.

In his floor speech, Kiley worried that the tax, if approved, could cause the state’s economy to collapse.

“What’s especially threatening about this is that our state’s tax structure is essentially a house of cards,” Kiley said. “You have a system that is incredibly volatile, where top 1% of earners account for 50% of the tax revenue.”

But supporters of the wealth tax argue the measure is one of the few ways that can help the state seek new revenue as it faces economic uncertainty.

Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats, is urging Californians to back the measure, which he says would “provide the necessary funding to prevent more than 3 million working-class Californians from losing the healthcare they currently have — and would help prevent the closures of California hospitals and emergency rooms.”

“It should be common sense that the billionaires pay just slightly more so that entire communities can preserve access to life-saving medical care,” Sanders said in a statement earlier this month. “Our country needs access to hospitals and emergency rooms, not more tax breaks for billionaires.”

Other Democrats are not so sure.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is eyeing a presidential bid in 2028, has opposed the measure. He has warned a state-by-state approach to taxing the wealthy could stifle innovation and entrepreneurship.

Some of he wealthiest people in the world are also taking steps to defeat the measure.

Brin is donating $20 million to a California political drive to prevent the wealth tax from becoming law, according to a disclosure reviewed by the New York Times. Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and the chairman of Palantir, has also donated millions to a committee working to defeat the proposed measure, the New York Times reported.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ showrunner has confessed cutting the scene feels like an error in retrospect.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms returns in just a few hours for its fifth and penultimate episode.

Ahead of episode 5 of the Game of Thrones spin-off, showrunner Ira Parker has admitted they decided to cut one scene that fans have argued is key to understanding the heart of the story.

It comes after one fan pointed out that the HBO and Sky Atlantic show hadn’t included a notable exchange between Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and Steely Pate (Youssef Kerkour) in the build-up to the fateful Trial by Seven from George RR Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas.

In the books, Dunk passes the Smallfolk on the way to the joust when he asks Pete “Why? Who am I to them?” before Pete replies: “A knight who remembers his vows.”

Posting in a Reddit AMA, the fan noted that many readers view this to be “the soul and the moral of the entire novella”, with showrunner Parker admitting he had some regret over cutting the scene from the original script.

“Honestly it was a mistake on my part,” he responded. “Not my first, not my last on this show. That scene was in the script at one point, then fell out.

“I agree that ‘a knight who remembers his vows’ is the soul of this story, but I think that is still very much at the core of the show, even if I stupidly left out this scene… it may not be said explicitly, but Dunk’s actions remain the same.”

Fans respected Parker’s refreshingly candid answer, with one observing: “It’s been so long since the last time i saw showrunner being able to admit they made a mistake.”

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This delivers live and on-demand TV without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

The Trial by Seven requires Dunk to find six other knights to battle the cruel Prince Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett) after the hedge knight attacked the royal in order to save young actress Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford) from his wrath.

HBO’s synopsis for episode 5 suggests we will get some insight into Dunk’s origins, as it reads: “Before Ser Duncan the Tall can learn the fate of his future, he must relive his past.”

The accompanying teaser also shows flashbacks to Dunk’s childhood and his friendship with a young girl, who tells him not to lose his nerve in following the path that lies ahead of them.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 5 airs on Monday, February 16 on Sky Atlantic and streaming platform NOW at 3am GMT.

**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new ** Everything Gossip ** website**.

These are the key developments from day 1,453 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Monday, February 16:

Fighting

• Russian forces launched attacks across Ukraine on Sunday, wounding six people in the central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, three in the northeastern Sumy region, and two in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, the Ukrinform news outlet reported, citing local officials.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia has launched about 1,300 drones, 1,200 guided aerial bombs and dozens of ballistic missiles at Ukraine over the past week alone.
• About 1,600 buildings in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, remained without heat on Sunday following recent Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, officials said.
• Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said Russian strikes overnight on Sunday had damaged railroad infrastructure in the southern region of Odesa and the Dnipropetrovsk region.
• The Ukrainian military said in a statement that it hit a key oil terminal in southern Russia, near the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula, on Sunday. The attack was on the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal near the village of Volna in the Krasnodar region.
• Ukrainian forces also launched a drone attack on the Russian Black Sea port of Taman, which handles oil products, grain, coal and commodities, causing damage and triggering several fires, according to Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Russia’s Krasnodar region. He said more than 100 people were working to put out the fires.
• Kondratyev said there were more Ukrainian attacks on the Russian resort city of Sochi and the village of Yurovka, close to the seaside town of Anapa. They caused less significant damage, he added.

• Russian air defences downed five drones approaching the Russian capital, Moscow, according to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
• A Ukrainian attack also left five municipalities in the Russian border region of Bryansk and parts of its capital without heat and electricity, Governor Alexander Bogomaz said.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that its troops had taken the village of Tsvitkove in the southeastern Zaporizhia region, according to the TASS news agency. Russia controls about 75 percent of the Zaporizhia region, but battle lines had been largely static since 2022 until recent Russian advances.
• Russia’s army chief, Valery Gerasimov, said on Sunday that Russian troops had seized a dozen villages in eastern Ukraine in February. He made the announcement while visiting Russian troops in Ukraine, the AFP news agency reported.

Politics and diplomacy

• Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested the country’s former energy minister, German Galushchenko, who resigned in November amid a huge corruption scandal, as he tried to cross Ukraine’s border.
• Zelenskyy said in a statement that Ukraine has agreed to new energy and military support packages with European allies.
• The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said she felt that the bloc’s governments were not ready to give Ukraine a date for membership into the EU, despite demands from Zelenskyy.
• Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics echoed Kallas’s comments, saying that “there is no readiness to accept a date” for Ukrainian membership. He added that he has little hope of an imminent peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
• Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused Ukraine of delaying the restart of a pipeline carrying Russian oil to Eastern Europe via Ukraine to “blackmail” Hungary to drop its opposition to Ukraine’s future EU membership.
• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over the completion ceremony of a new housing district in Pyongyang for families of troops who died in overseas military operations, state media KCNA reported. It is believed that more than 6,000 North Korean soldiers were killed while fighting alongside Russian troops in Ukraine.
• Russia will not end the militarisation of its economy after fighting in Ukraine ends, the head of Latvia’s intelligence agency, Egils Zviedris, told the AFP news agency on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, which ended on Sunday.