New US ambassador arrives in South Africa

US Ambassador Brent Bozell has said he will use his post to challenge South Africa’s ties with Russia, China and Iran

Russian detained in Sweden at US request

The man is suspected of violating sanctions in 2022-2023

Poland Scraps ‘Gender Training’ Course for Military

The Polish military has scrapped a new gender training course after it faced a widespread backlash

Trump extends order authorizing detention of ships bound for Cuba for year

The US leader also added that a mass migration from Cuba would endanger United States national security

US trade policy in Africa driven by ‘crisis’ while China seeks engagement

Andrey Maslov says the US has been “forced onto an isolationist path,” including imposing tariffs on African countries

Hungary expects Russian oil supplies through Croatia to begin in March

The oil can arrive at the Croatian port of Omisalj by tankers, then it would be sent to Hungary and Slovakia via the Trans Adriatic pipeline

Trade deals will give India more access to EU and UK

Trade deals with the UK and EU will help Indian products integrate better into global supply chains, Narendra Modi has said

Germany’s break with Russia left it hooked on expensive US gas

By decoupling from cheap Russian energy, Germany cemented its dependence on costly US gas imports, AfD party co-chair Alice Weidel has said

India's Adani Group announces $100 billion data center plan

The investment will add to Adani's existing 2 GW national data center and partnership with Google

AI overlords of the world hacked: Fallout from the massive Palantir breach

How should Russia respond to news about the Palantir hack?

Elon Musk’s X facing new EU probes

Ireland and Spain have announced investigations into X amid reports AI chatbot Grok produced non-consensual intimate and pedophilic images

FACTBOX: Telegram blocking speculation and mass channel crackdown

Roskomnadzor’s press service stated that the agency has nothing to add to previously published information regarding the possible blocking of Telegram

Divergent trends: Why a growing economy can still leave many people poorer

The declining levels of trust in political institutions and the growing support for populist politicians observed in a range of counties in recent years may have economic roots: global economic growth has stopped automatically translating into middle-class prosperity. For millennials and the children of Gen Z, the social elevator has not merely slowed down — it has stalled on the lower floors. In the United States, the likelihood that a child will ultimately earn more than their parents has fallen from 90% for those born in the 1940s to 50% for the 1980s generation. On paper, incomes are rising, but inflation in the key “tickets to the middle class” — housing and education — is outpacing wage growth severalfold, rendering the standard enjoyed by previous generations unattainable to an increasing proportion of young people. In Russia, this global trend has taken the form of “well-fed poverty.” While state regulation of prices for the “borscht basket” curbs the threat of hunger and absolute destitution, the cost of essential assets — from real estate to healthcare and cars — has become prohibitively high.

Suppliers of death: The Insider identifies another 160 companies making purchases on behalf of the Russian military

The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom face two main difficulties when imposing sanctions aimed at disrupting Russia’s military production. First, it is not always clear which goods are being imported specifically for military use. Second, when one company is sanctioned, a substitute soon appears in its place, and while new Western restrictions are being introduced, the Russian military-industrial complex has time to adapt. But there is a way to solve this problem. After studying data on domestic supplies and comparing them with customs data, The Insider has identified 160 companies that make purchases specifically for the Kremlin’s military-industrial complex. If these were all to be added to sanctions lists at the same time, it could deal a serious blow to Russia’s military production efforts.

New US ambassador arrives in South Africa

US Ambassador Brent Bozell has said he will use his post to challenge South Africa’s ties with Russia, China and Iran

Powerful cyclone kills dozens in Madagascar (PHOTOS/VIDEO)

Cyclone Gezani has killed 59 people in Madagascar and displaced over 16,000

India's Adani Group announces $100 billion data center plan

The investment will add to Adani's existing 2 GW national data center and partnership with Google

Russian detained in Sweden at US request

The man is suspected of violating sanctions in 2022-2023

Poland Scraps ‘Gender Training’ Course for Military

The Polish military has scrapped a new gender training course after it faced a widespread backlash

God, guns, and grain: Bloomberg maps Russia’s steady expansion across Africa

In a report published on February 16, Bloomberg describes how the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) expanded its presence in Africa from one country to at least 34 between 2022 and 2025. Previously, the church had only one congregation in sub-Saharan Africa — in South Africa. Its remaining African parishes were in Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco. Today, the continent has more than 350 parishes and congregations. According to Father Yuri Maksimov, head of the missionary department of the ROC’s African Exarchate, this may be the most significant expansion in the church’s history.

Trump extends order authorizing detention of ships bound for Cuba for year

The US leader also added that a mass migration from Cuba would endanger United States national security

How do you force Russian conscripts into combat? Threaten them with deployment if they won’t steal for you, then threaten them with prison after they’ve been charged.

On January 30, 2026, a Russian military court issued the first sentence in a case involving theft from a classified Defense Ministry facility in the Leningrad region. Seven service members — four of them conscripts — were charged with hauling 4.6 tons of cable off the base, burning off the insulation to extract the copper, and selling it to a scrap dealer. Investigators estimated the losses at 11 million rubles (about $144,000). The conscripts and their families say officers coerced them into committing the crime by threatening to send them to fight in Ukraine. After charges were filed, investigators offered them another choice, according to sources: go to war or go to prison. The independent outlet Bumaga reported the story. Meduza summarizes the case.

Detained Russian “shadow fleet” tanker Grinch released by France after paying multimillion-euro fine

French authorities released the detained oil tanker Grinch (IMO: 9288851) after the company that owns the vessel paid a fine of “several million euros,” according to a Reuters report citing French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

Poland charges 29-year-old with spying for Russia around objects including military facilities and chemical plants

A court case involving a 29-year-old man accused of cooperating with Russian intelligence is set to begin in Poland, according to an announcement on X (Twitter) made earlier today by Jacek Dobrzynski, a spokesman for the minister-coordinator of the country’s security services.