News of the World

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USA

Arizona couple found blood-spotted glove, rock with blood on it in desert mile from Nancy Guthrie’s home: report

An Arizona couple allegedly found a pair of blood-stained gloves and a rock with a dried blood droplet in the desert a mile from Nancy Guthrie’s home — days after she was reported missing, according to a report.

The couple, who asked to remain anonymous, stumbled upon the suspicious black gloves on the ground 10 feet apart off Campbell Avenue in the Catalina Foothills of Tucson on Feb. 11, KVOA reported on Friday.

“Sure enough, it was a black glove in the desert. It appeared to have looked like it was ripped. It also appeared to look like it had blood on it. There was two different colors. The blood was more towards the wrist side of the glove and on the pointer finger, it looked like it was ripped,” they told the outlet.

The pair reported the sighting to authorities, concerned the items might be related to the investigation into the purported kidnapping of 84-year-old Guthrie, the mother of NBC “Today” host Savannah Guthrie.

Several gloves have been found in the area around the Tucson neighborhood by investigators, possibly matching the same ones worn by an armed individual spotted outside Guthrie’s home the morning she vanished on Jan 31.

“It didn’t just look like a regular glove. It looked like this was a glove used for something that could’ve possibly been what they were looking for,” the wife told the outlet.

The couple didn’t dare touch either glove, fearing they could contaminate any evidence, but snapped photos and looked over the worrisome scene.

A rock, the second glove was lying on, appeared to have at least one blood splatter.

“And also from the glove it looked like a blood drop on a rock underneath the glove was like dried blood or something. We didn’t move it or touch it. We immediately were like, we have to do something. So I was like I will call the sheriff department,” the husband said.

Investigators reported to the area where the couple was questioned and then allowed to leave.

US airman, husband allegedly stole $3M from government to fund lavish lifestyle, luxury cars and mansion

A US Air Force pharmacist and his husband are accused of stealing over $3 million from the Department of War to fund their lavish lifestyle that included purchasing a BMW, a Porsche and a mansion in Arizona.

Staff Sgt. Richard Stefon Ramroop, 35, and Manuel George Madrid, 32, were hit with a 12-count indictment for their alleged scheme to steal from the government between January 2022 and December 2025, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Ramroop is suspected of using taxpayer funds to purchase thousands of medical devices through his position in the pharmacy at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.

After securing the equipment, the couple resold the devices and kept the profits for themselves, costing the Department of War over $3 million, Arizona US Attorney Timothy Courchaine.

Bank accounts connected to Ramroop and Madrid received over $11 million in wire transfers, Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposits and other credits from companies for the devices.

The couple used the funds to purchase a million-dollar home in Tucson in February 2024, along with several luxury cars.

Ramroop and Madrid purchased their large estate in the Tucson Mountains Neighborhood in January 2024 for $1.1 million.

The 5,622 square-foot desert abode features four bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms on 4.9 acres with a double stair grand entrance and five-car garage, according to an online listing.

Madrid was named the sole owner in May 2025 and sold the property for $1.1 million that same month.

The alleged fraudsters also bought a 2024 Porsche Cayenne Sport Utility Vehicle worth $141,443.34 and a new BMW i7 Sport Utility Vehicle for $195,397.59.

Other cars part of their vast collection included a 2025 Ford F-150 Raptor, 2025 Mini Cooper S Convertible, 2025 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2026 BMW X7 Alpina XB7, and a 2026 Cadillac Escalade Sport Platinum.

Officials seized the cars and other purchases through a search warrant on Jan. 15.

“The defendants allegedly stole millions in taxpayer dollars from the US Department of War to bankroll a lavish lifestyle, diverting critical resources away from their intended purpose,” Courchaine said. “Every dollar taken through fraud is a dollar denied to the mission it was meant to support.

Ski guides killed in Lake Tahoe avalanche identified as all bodies recovered from mountain by Black Hawk helicopter

The identities of three ski guides killed in the catastrophic Lake Tahoe-area avalanche were revealed by authorities during an emotional press conference Saturday.

Authorities somberly read the names of Michael Henry, 30, Andrew Alissandratos, 34, and Nicole Choo, 42 — all employees of Blackbird Mountain Guides — as the final unidentified victims of the tragic snow slide Tuesday at Castle Peak.

All of the victims, including six “supermoms” who were clients of Blackbird, were recovered from the mountain on Friday and Saturday.

The California Highway Patrol airlifted out five of the nine bodies on Friday, including a missing skier who was presumed dead.

The final victim was found near the others, but a search team initially failed to see the body due to blizzard-like conditions on the mountain.

The CHP retrieved an additional victim on Saturday before high winds forced the National Guard to fly in a BlackHawk helicopter to recover the final three.

“There are no words that truly capture the significance of this loss and our hearts mourn alongside the families of those affected by this catastrophic event,” said Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon. “The weight of this event is felt across many families, friends, and colleagues, and we stand together with them during this difficult time.”

Authorities on Saturday described the deadly avalanche as roughly the size of a football field.

Trump goes on blistering attack against Supreme Court justices after tariff ruling: ‘Unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution’

WASHINGTON — President Trump launched a scathing attack on Supreme Court justices Friday after suffering a 6-3 defeat on the legality of his “reciprocal” and fentanyl tariffs.

“I’m ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed, for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country,” Trump said in the White House briefing room, after two justices he nominated — Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch — voted against his signature trade policies.

“They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution. It’s my opinion that the court has been swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think.”

Trump said that the three Democrat-nominated justices — Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor — were automatically against his policies and are a “disgrace to our nation.”

Chief Justice John Roberts, a nominee of Republican President George W. Bush, wrote the majority opinion finding that Trump misused emergency powers to enact the tariffs.

The president said it’s possible that Roberts, Barrett and Gorsuch were “being politically correct, which has happened before, far too often with certain members of this court.”

“In fact,” Trump said, “they’re just being fools and lap dogs for the RINOs and the radical-left Democrats.”

He said that for Barrett and Gorsuch, the ruling should be “an embarrassment to their families.”

The remaining three Republican-nominated justices — Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas — dissented and Trump singled out Kavanaugh for praise, gushing, “I’m so proud of him.”

The president went on to say that some of the opponents of his tariffs who argued before the court were “real slimeballs,” in possible reference to Neal Katyal, former President Barack Obama’s solicitor general, who argued against the tariffs on behalf of two educational toymakers.

“These people [opposed to tariffs] are obnoxious, ignorant and loud,” Trump said. “They’re very loud, and I think certain justices are afraid of that. They don’t want to do the right thing. They’re afraid of it.”

California cries ‘political hit job’ as Trump team targets billions in unemployment fraud

California officials blasted the Trump administration’s plans to launch a full-sale investigation into unemployment fraud as ”purely political” — and blamed lost money on the feds.

The US Department of Labor intends to send a “strike team” to dig into COVID-19 pandemic-era fraud involving California’s Employment Development Department, The Post exclusively reported Wednesday.

California is believed to have lost as much as tens of billions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment payouts.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the Biden administration “turned a blind eye” to stolen money and vowed to fully examine the scope of theft that occurred early in the pandemic.

“This ends now,” Chavez-DeRemer said.

EDD officials told The Post they have already taken numerous efforts to combat fraud, launching more than 2,300 investigations and securing 670 convictions with the help of Fraud Special Counsel McGregor Scott, a former US attorney.

“The Trump administration’s announcement today is purely political,” an EDD spokesperson told The Post by email.

“The fraud referenced is the result of a program poorly designed by the federal government, which created fraud at a nationwide scale.”

The Department of Labor did not respond to requests for comment on California’s stance on the pending probe.

EDD officials said the National Association of State Workforce Agencies and the National Governors Association both warned that unemployment benefits programs were “hurriedly deployed” with no anti-fraud guidance, collaboration or technical assistance from the federal government.

“This left states to fend for themselves against international criminal organizations,” a spokesperson said.

“The issues from the pandemic are long over as the nationwide fraud against the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program ended years ago. It occurred because the federal program lacked the safeguards of traditional state unemployment insurance.”

Mamdani’s words come back to haunt him as he threatens property tax hike

His tax promise aged about as well as Uncle Sam’s complexion.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign vow to only ever raise taxes on the city’s uber-wealthy came back to haunt him online Thursday — after he threatened New Yorkers with a nearly 10% hike in property taxes.

Hizzoner repeatedly made the vow on the campaign trail last year— including in viral social media videos — telling voters that he would only push Albany to raise taxes on people pulling in the most money each year in the Big Apple.

“This didn’t age good,” one commenter fumed in the comments section of a widely-shared “Subway Takes” video in which Mamdani made the promise in June.

“I don’t want to pay more taxes,” Kareem Rahma, the host of “Subway Takes,” an internet talk show, tells Mamdani in the footage.

“Do you make more than $1 million or more a year?” Mamdani jokes with the host as he shakes his head no.

“Then your taxes are not going up. The only taxes that we are proposing are on the 1% of New Yorkers who make $1 million or more a year,” he says in the video, which has raked in 1.1 million likes on Instagram.

But after Mamdani threatened New Yorkers this week with a 9.5% property tax hike, the video started making the rounds again.

“This did not age well … Property taxes going up for all. Good job NY,” one user said.

Another commenter posted a meme declaring, “This was all a dream.”

Trump slams Maryland governor, launches federal effort to protect Potomac after historic sewage spill
Moore spokesman blasts Trump, saying he 'has his facts wrong, again'

President Donald Trump ordered an all-of-government effort to protect the District of Columbia’s water supply and slammed Maryland Gov. Wes Moore as a sewage pipe interceptor rupture in Cabin John has released an estimated 240 million gallons into the Potomac River.

The break was first noticed on security cameras off the Clara Barton Parkway just north of the District line Jan. 19, and within several days, crews from DC Water were able to segregate much of the spill into the paralleling Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, according to local reports.

The pipe takes wastewater from several towns in the John F. Dulles International Airport area all the way to Washington, where it is processed farther downstream at the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in Anacostia, D.C.

"There is a massive ecological disaster unfolding in the Potomac River as a result of the gross mismanagement of local Democrat leaders, particularly, Governor Wes Moore, of Maryland," Trump said in a Truth Social post late Monday.

"This is the same Governor who cannot rebuild a bridge. It is clear local authorities cannot adequately handle this calamity," Trump said, referring to the newly elongated timeline and reported projected multi-billion-dollar cost-projection overruns for the rebuilding of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge on the Baltimore Beltway.

The catastrophe affects the region’s other Francis Scott Key Bridge in Georgetown, D.C., as Trump alluded to the explosion in E.coli counts downriver from the spill.

"I am directing Federal Authorities to immediately provide all necessary Management, Direction, and Coordination to protect the Potomac, the Water Supply in the Capital Region, and our treasured National Resources in our Nation’s Capital City," Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social. "While State and Local Authorities have failed to request needed Emergency Help, I cannot allow incompetent Local ‘Leadership’ to turn the River in the Heart of Washington into a Disaster Zone."

Moore spokesperson Ammar Moussa blasted Trump in response, saying he has his "facts wrong — again."

"Since the last century, the federal government has been responsible for the Potomac Interceptor, which is the origin of the sewage leak. For the last four weeks, the Trump Administration has failed to act, shirking its responsibility and putting people's health at risk," Moussa said. "Notably, the president’s own EPA explicitly refused to participate in the major legislative hearing about the cleanup last Friday."

"Apparently the Trump administration hadn’t gotten the memo that they’re actually supposed to be in charge here," Moussa said.

AOC's Munich 'stumbles' draw criticism from liberal critics admitting comments were 'not great'
Even liberal and moderate critics claimed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's comments were 'one of the bigger mistakes' of her

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., received criticism even from moderate and liberal commentators for her Munich Security Conference gaffes over the weekend.

While attending the conference on Friday, Ocasio-Cortez made several statements that went viral because of showing the House "Squad" member struggling to answer foreign policy questions or leveling controversial accusations against other nations.

One example was Ocasio-Cortez claiming that Venezuela was "below the equator" while criticizing the Trump administration for arresting the nation's dictator Nicolás Maduro.

"It is not a remark on who Maduro was as a leader. He canceled elections. He was an anti-democratic leader. That doesn’t mean that we can kidnap a head of state and engage in acts of war just because the nation is below the equator," Ocasio-Cortez said.

AOC's Venezuela comments were the latest in what more liberal critics claimed was an embarrassing outing for a potential 2028 presidential candidate.

"Venezuela is above the equator. Depending on your TL you got very different takes on AOC’s Germany talks but she had a number of clangers that I expect to see for three years in meme video comps," Semafor writer David Weigel wrote on X.

"Whoever convinced AOC that she had successfully completed her tutoring and was now ready to give book reports about foreign policy in public really should look for another line of work. Unless the goal was to sabotage her. In which case: kudos for a job well done," independent journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote.

Political analyst Mark Halperin spoke about Ocasio-Cortez's comments on the 2Way podcast Monday, calling them "one of the bigger mistakes" she's ever made.

"I think giving AOC a slot may go down in history as one of the bigger mistakes she's ever made if she wants to be president," Halperin said.

He added, "It takes a major screwup for the New York Times to put in their story about AOC that she had, I think they said it was a 'stumble' or something. It had to be a really bad stumble."

'One of the greatest actors we ever had': Hollywood mourns Robert Duvall

The Godfather and Apocalypse Now star Robert Duvall has been hailed as "a giant" and "one of the greatest actors we ever had" following his death at the age of 95.

Tributes have been paid by Hollywood figures including The Godfather co-star Al Pacino, who said his "phenomenal gift will always be remembered".

Adam Sandler posted photographs from their time shooting 2022 film Hustle, writing: "Funny as hell. Strong as hell. One of the greatest actors we ever had. Such a great man to talk to and laugh with."

Viola Davis recalled filming Widows with Duvall. "I was in awe," she said. "I've always been in awe of your towering portrayals of men who were both quiet and dominating in their humanness. You were a giant... an icon."

The Oscar winner added: "Greatness never dies. It stays... as a gift. Rest well, sir. Your name will be spoken... May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."

The Godfather Part II star Robert De Niro said: "God bless Bobby. I hope I can live till I'm 95. May he rest in peace."

In his tribute, Pacino wrote: "He was a born actor as they say, his connection with it, his understanding and his phenomenal gift will always be remembered. I will miss him."

During his impressive six-decade career, Duvall was nominated for seven Oscars and played roles including the mafia consigliere in Francis Ford Coppola‘s The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, and a forceful army officer in Coppola’s Vietnam epic Apocalypse Now.

He only had a few minutes of screen time but his famous line in the 1979 classic, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning", became legendary.

Coppola called his loss "a blow".

"Such a great actor and such an essential part of American Zoetrope from its beginning," the director said in a statement on Instagram, referring to his production company.

His Apocalypse Now character was originally meant to be even more over the top but Duvall toned it down and the name was changed from Captain Carnage to Lieutenant Colonel William Kilgore.

"I did my homework," Duvall told veteran talk show host Larry King in 2015. "I did my research.”

UK

Ex-Prince Andrew hits rock bottom as Brits move to boot him from line of succession

The British government is pushing legislation to permanently remove the former Prince Andrew from the line of succession.

The move will stop any chance the ex-royal, now simply known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, may one day become King of England.

Political leaders across Britain — from Labour to Conservative to Liberal Democrat — are lining up to deliver another blow in Andrew’s spectacular fall from grace, according to the BBC.

As of now, Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, remains eighth in line to the throne despite being stripped of his titles in October due to his ties to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, explosive connections that have become an escalating thorn in the royal family’s side and culminated in his Thursday arrest.

Defense Minister Luke Pollard told the BBC that taking Andrew out of the line of succession was the “right thing to do” and that the government had “absolutely” been working with Buckingham Palace to stop the former prince from “potentially being a heartbeat away from the throne.”

The move would require an act of Parliament. The case will then go to King Charles for his approval.

The last time someone was removed from the line of succession by an act of Parliament was in 1936, when King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. The body made sure neither he nor his descendants could ever undo the decision.

London police arrested Andrew on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in office following weeks of new revelations about his dealings with the convicted sex offender.

He was released from police custody 11 hours later — “under investigation,” as Thames Valley Police said later in a statement, meaning he has been neither charged nor exonerated.

King Charles III vowed his full support for police, stressing “the law must take its course.”

FRANCE

French police raid Arab World Institute over former chief Jack Lang’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein

PARIS — French police searched the Arab World Institute in Paris on Monday as part of a probe into its former head, ex-culture minister Jack Lang, and his links to late convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, prosecutors said.

France’s National Financial Prosecutor (PNF) said in a statement that the Arab World Institute was among several locations being raided.

Prosecutors this month opened a preliminary investigation of Lang and his daughter Caroline on suspicion of tax fraud following the release of documents on Epstein in the US.

Lang, who was culture minister under late Socialist president Francois Mitterrand, resigned this month from the Arab World Institute, which he had led since 2013.

He has said he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes despite corresponding with him between 2012 and 2019, 11 years after the financier was convicted of soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. Epstein died in prison by suicide in 2019.

The Institute, which is overseen by France’s foreign ministry, said it could not immediately comment on the police action.

Both Jack and Caroline Lang have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and receiving financial benefits from Epstein. Their lawyer Laurent Merlet told French broadcaster BFMTV this month that “there was no movement of funds.”

Fallout from the release of millions of new documents related to Epstein has rippled through Europe. On Saturday, Paris prosecutors set up a dedicated team to review the files, coordinating with the financial prosecutor and national police.

The office said it was analyzing several potential cases stemming from the Epstein files.

11 arrested in France for beating death of far-right student

PARIS — French police investigating the beating of a far-right militant who died of brain injuries have arrested 11 people, prosecutors said Wednesday, in a case adding fuel to long-standing divides in French politics ahead of presidential elections in 2027.

Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old student described as a fervent nationalist, died in a hospital on Saturday.

He was beaten two days earlier by a group of people in the city of Lyon, in fighting that erupted between far-left and far-right supporters on the margins of a student meeting where a far-left lawmaker, Rima Hassan, was a keynote speaker.

An autopsy found that Deranque suffered a fractured skull and fatal brain injuries, according to Lyon’s prosecutor, Thierry Dran.

He launched the police investigation for homicide and other potential criminal charges.

Dran’s office said police detained a man and a woman on Wednesday morning, with nine other people taken into custody on Tuesday night.

Hassan, a French-Palestinian who was born in a Syrian refugee camp, is a European Parliament lawmaker for the far-left France Unbowed party. In a post on X after the attack on Deranque but before he died of his injuries, Hassan expressed “horror” over the violence and condemned it.

Deranque’s death triggered a storm of recriminations, mostly targeting France Unbowed.

Its opponents accuse it of fueling violence and tensions with its combative politics.

The party is led by veteran hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a former Trotskyist who stood for the presidency in 2012, 2017 and 2022 and failed to advance to the decisive run-off round.

He is preparing for another expected run next year, when President Emmanuel Macron’s second and last term ends.

Mélenchon insisted Tuesday that France Unbowed bore no blame for the tragedy in Lyon, saying: “We have absolutely nothing to do, either directly or indirectly, with the death of this young Deranque.”

UKRAINE WAR

Ukraine strikes key Russian missile factory, as Zelensky declares ‘we’re definitely not losing’ the war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is having a bombed-out passenger train car roll into Kyiv Tuesday as a symbol of the war’s deadly toll — as he greets world leaders on the grim four-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

Five civilians were killed and 18 wounded in a Russian drone attack near Kharkiv last month that blew the roof of the same passenger train and set it ablaze — leaving it charred in pieces in what was called a blatant act of terrorism.

“In any country, a drone strike on a civilian train would be considered in exactly the same way — purely as terrorism,” Ukrainian President Zelensky said after the Jan. 27 strike. “There is not and cannot be any military purpose in this.”

The train car is being held together by a metal wire.

Zelensky vowed this weekend that, despite the odds, Kyiv was “definitely” not losing the war, as his country launched devastating cruise missiles that struck one of Russia’s main weapons factories.

The attack on the Kremlin-owned Votkinsk machine building plant — a manufacturer of strongman Vladimir Putin‘s ballistic missiles that sits 860 miles deep inside Russia — marked the deepest Ukrainian strike into Russian territory using domestically made weapons.

Kyiv fired Flamingo missiles, which can reportedly travel nearly 1,900 miles — even further than the coveted US Tomahawk missiles Ukraine had desperately tried to purchase from the Trump administration.

Black smoke was seen rising from the plant, as Russian locals reportedly heard at least three blasts during the night into Saturday, and windows shattered in nearby buildings.

Zelensky, meanwhile, announced from Kyiv’s presidential palace that his forces had liberated more than 100 miles of Russian-occupied territory in a counteroffensive in the south of Ukraine.

“You can’t say that we’re losing the war,” Zelensky told the AFP in an exclusive interview Friday. “Honestly, we’re definitely not losing it, definitely.”

“The question is whether we will win,” he added. “That is the question — but it’s a very costly question.”

Trilateral talks between the warring sides and the US in Geneva earlier this week failed to make any progress.

MIDDLE EAST

Iran covertly repositions strike drones amid Russia drills in Strait of Hormuz, expert says

Iran re-positioned strike drones and other military assets under the cover of joint drills with Russia in the Strait of Hormuz Thursday, a defense expert claimed.

In what he described as a “calculated escalation” amid rising tensions with the U.S., Cameron Chell said Iran’s latest move also followed reports of sightings of U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones with precision strike capabilities in the region.

“The Russian drills would cover for the Iranian forces to move their drones into strike position,” Chell, of defense firm Draganfly, told Fox News Digital.

“They’ve gone under the veil of doing the military exercises, which happened to be along the coastline, and this is an escalation.”

The combined exercises, reported by The Associated Press, also came as President Donald Trump pressed Iran further to make a deal to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions following indirect talks in Geneva.

“We’re going to make a deal, or we’re going to get a deal one way or the other,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday, signaling determination to secure an agreement.

Meanwhile, on Feb. 18, U.S. Central Command posted photos showing F/A-18 Super Hornets landing on the decks of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.

Flight-tracking data in recent days also showed U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton surveillance drones operating near Iran’s coastline.

One Triton was observed Feb. 14 and another on Feb. 18, conducting high-altitude maritime intelligence missions over the Gulf.

“The U.S. deployed an MQ Triton drone, which is a surveillance drone, so it does not have strike capability, and it typically flies at around 50,000 feet,” Chell said.

He added the drones would likely launch from land bases in countries such as Saudi Arabia or Qatar and provide real-time situational awareness to naval commanders.

“These drones can guide the U.S. on Iranian forces performing exercises with the Russians and where they might be moving equipment to,” Chell said before describing how they fly them “at an altitude so that the Iranians can see it so they become a deterrent.”

Chell also said an MQ-9 Reaper drone was deployed, which he said can fly between 25,000 and 40,000 feet.

“This has strike capability, but Iranians do not have great capability to take these down,” he added.

Hamas appears to renege on Trump’s peace plan in Gaza — tells international board to stay out of our ‘affairs’

Hamas appears to be turning its back on the US-brokered peace plan for Gaza, saying it will only accept an international force in the Strip as long as it doesn’t interfere with the terror group’s “internal affairs.”

“Our position on international forces is clear: we want peacekeeping forces that monitor the ceasefire, ensure its implementation, and act as a buffer between the occupation army and our people in the Gaza Strip, without interfering in Gaza’s internal affairs,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP.

An International Stabilization Force is one of the key features of President Trump’s 20-point plan for the reconstruction of war-torn Gaza — geared toward removing Hamas from the governance of the region.

Both Israel and Hamas signed off on the cease-fire agreement, effectively ending the war in Gaza, in October 2025.

That plan called for the immediate release of all Israeli hostages and the gradual withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces from areas it had seized inside Gaza.
The remains of the final captive, Sgt. Ran Gvili, were turned over to Israeli authorities in late January.

The deal also calls for Hamas to disarm, Gaza to be completely demilitarized, and the Strip ruled by a technocratic committee that ultimately reports to the Board of Peace, an international group chaired by President Trump.

Five countries are sending troops to Gaza as part of the ISF, including Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania, while Egypt and Jordan have committed to training a Palestinian police force inside the strip, ISF Cmdr. Jasper Jeffers said.

The 20,000-troop force will initially be deployed to Rafah in Southern Gaza, and help train an expected 1,200 police officers. They will then deploy to the rest of the Strip “sector by sector,” Jeffers said.

But Hamas and Israel have continued to trade attacks along the Strip despite the tenuous cease-fire, with the terror group committing daily violations of the truce, the IDF has claimed.

“We see them test our troops. We see them carrying out attacks every week … [Hamas] injured and killed soldiers since the ceasefire began,” IDF Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told The Post.

Israeli strikes on Hezbollah kill 8 as terror group reportedly taken over by Tehran

Israeli airstrikes killed at least eight Hezbollah terrorists, including a top commander, and injured dozens more in Lebanon, while the terror group has reportedly been taken over by Tehran.

The Israel Defense Forces targeted three command centers in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley where the terror organization has a strong presence, according to the Times of Israel.

Hezbollah confirmed that at least eight of their members had been killed, including a senior field commander, while 50 more were injured Friday.

The attack comes as Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has apparently exerted control over the Iranian-backed terror proxy, as the Islamic Republic prepares for a possible war with the US and Israel, the Times of Israel reported Saturday, according to Saudi outlet Al-Arabiya.

The IRGC officers have been ordered to rebuild Hezbollah’s military capabilities and have been personally briefing the group’s terrorists across Lebanon, sources told the outlet.

Officials with Hezbollah slammed the Israeli attack on Friday as a “massacre.”

“What happened yesterday in the Beqaa is a new massacre and a new aggression, exceeding all the previous levels of aggression against Lebanon,” senior Hezbollah leader and Lebanese parliament member Mahmoud Qamati said during a speech broadcast Saturday.

Israel said the attack was in response to repeated violations of a cease-fire with the Hezbollah, Al Jazeera reported.

The Lebanese Army has been pushing since September to disarm Hezbollah — though the terror group rejected the government’s plan last week, according to Reuters.

The Jewish state has repeatedly said it will continue to prevent cross-border threats with military action, the outlet reported.

AFRICA

British Journalist: Campaign Linking Morocco to Alleged Dog Cull Reveals a Western Moral Blindspot

Beni Mellal – A British columnist has accused Western animal rights campaigners of imposing colonial double standards on Morocco over its alleged handling of stray dogs, as Morocco rolls out a $100 million national program built on sterilization, vaccination, and purpose-built shelters.

Writing in The Spectator on Wednesday, Ross Clark argued that the international outcry against Morocco “exposes a Western moral blindspot,” taking particular aim at what he called “mawkish sentimentality” driving campaigns that expect the rest of the world to mirror Western attitudes toward dogs.

“No civilized country would tolerate several million stray dogs on the streets,” Clark wrote, noting that stray dogs in Britain are routinely captured and, if unclaimed, euthanized – the very outcome “enlightened” Western campaigners condemn Morocco for pursuing.

The controversy escalated after Morocco secured co-hosting rights for the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, prompting the International Animal Coalition to launch a campaign against what it described as a mass cull.

Renowned primatologist Jane Goodall wrote to FIFA in January 2025 urging it to pressure Morocco, warning of a planned “massacre of three million stray dogs.” Actor Mark Ruffalo called the claimed killings “a moral failure,” declaring that “killing millions of dogs to prepare for a global sporting event is not progress.”

Clark was unsparing in his assessment of Ruffalo’s intervention. “This is a little odd,” he wrote, noting that the same actor “seems to have no problem with the culling of unwanted members of his own species” – a reference to Ruffalo’s vocal support for abortion rights.

“That just about sums up the deep moral confusion of western liberals,” Clark concluded. “A campaign to cull 3 million dogs? An outrage. But an estimated 73 million abortions of humans around the world each year? It doesn’t even register with their consciences.”

The reality on the ground defies Western sentiment

Morocco denied the accusations categorically. Mohamed Roudani, Head of the Department of Health Preservation and Green Spaces at the General Directorate of Territorial Communities, told reporters in February 2025 the claims were “completely unfounded,” stating flatly: “There is no campaign to eradicate stray dogs.”

A Reuters fact-check later debunked a viral photograph circulated as supposed evidence of killings in Morocco – the image, showing a man pointing a gun at a dog, was taken in Iraq in 2008, not Morocco.

Clark framed the campaign as symptomatic of two distinct Western tendencies. The first, he argued, was sentimental: “Just because westerners have adopted them as pets, and fawn over them, we expect the rest of the world to do the same and become morally outraged if they do not.”

The second was structural: a long-standing Western habit of expecting people in developing countries “to live in close proximity to all kinds of dangerous and poisonous species – while we live peacefully and securely in landscapes which have been largely tamed of dangerous wildlife since medieval times.”

He further argued that the campaign against Morocco “ought to attract the attention of the decolonialization brigade,” asking: “How dare western sentimentalists try to lecture a developing country on how to deal with feral animals, especially in a Muslim country which has a very different cultural connection with dogs.” That the same voices who champion decolonization remain silent on this, Clark suggested, reveals the selective nature of their principles.

The public health dimension underpins Morocco’s urgency. Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit disclosed that in 2024 alone, Morocco recorded over 100,000 cases of bites and scratches, 33 deaths from rabies, 432 cases of hydatid disease, and 64 cases of visceral leishmaniasis.

According to the Moroccan Society for the Protection of Animals and Nature, over two million stray dogs currently roam the country, served by only 14 animal shelters.

Since 2019, the Interior Ministry has operated a partnership agreement with the Ministry of Health, ONSSA, and the National Order of Veterinarians, centered on the Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Release (TNVR) method.

Some MAD 260 million ($26 million) has been spent over five years on sterilization and shelter infrastructure. More than 20 centers have been planned, with facilities already operating or nearing completion in Casablanca, Tangier, Marrakech, Agadir, Oujda, and Rabat.

LATIN AMERICA

Venezuela legislature passes limited amnesty bill critiqued by rights groups

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Venezuela's ruling party-controlled legislature on Thursday approved a limited amnesty bill that human rights organizations say falls short of offering relief for hundreds of political prisoners in the country.

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who took power last month after the U.S. ouster of President Nicolas Maduro, has bowed to Trump administration demands on oil sales and released hundreds of people who human rights groups class as political prisoners, as part of a normalization of relations between the countries.

The government has always denied holding political prisoners and says those jailed have committed crimes.

The law was approved after a second debate in the legislature, headed by Rodriguez's brother Jorge Rodriguez.

The approved law provides amnesty for involvement in political protests and "violent actions" which took place during a brief coup in 2002 and demonstrations or elections in certain months of 2004, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025. People convicted of "military rebellion" for involvement in events in 2019 are excluded.

The law does not detail the exact crimes which would be eligible for amnesty, though a previous draft laid out several - including instigation of illegal activity, resistance to authorities, rebellion and treason.

It also does not return assets of those detained, revoke public office bans given for political reasons or cancel sanctions against media outlets, as at least one previous draft would have.

Many members of the opposition and dissident former officials live in other countries to escape arrest warrants they say are politically motivated.

Though the law allows people abroad to appoint a lawyer to present an amnesty request on their behalf, they would have to appear in person in Venezuela to have it granted and the law will only cover "people who have ceased the execution of the actions which constitute crimes," a specification which may leave out many who have continued their activism from other countries. The law removes international arrest warrants for those granted amnesty.

Tribunals must decide on amnesty requests within 15 days, according to the law.

Delcy Rodriguez signed the amnesty law following its approval by the National Assembly, describing the law as the start of a process for offering and receiving forgiveness.

Slain California surfing legend’s brother warns Costa Rican killing is ‘more nefarious’ than reported: ‘Some people didn’t like him’

The brother of a Californian surfer slain in Costa Rica has warned the killing is “more nefarious” than a random break-in.

During an interview with The California Post on Monday morning, Peter Van Dyke revealed more details about his brother Kurt Van Dyke’s death in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca.

The body of Kurt Van Dyke, 66, was found under his bed at the property on Saturday, with multiple stab wounds and evidence of asphyxiation, authorities and local reports said.

His girlfriend, a 31-year-old identified only as Arroyo, was zip-tied and beaten before armed intruders made off with valuables, including their car.

She was not seriously injured during the break-in, Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department said in a statement.

Peter said he suspects there is more to the killing than first reported, adding he had spoken to his younger brother just a few days ago and said he was “in good spirits.”

While he knew of a girlfriend, he didn’t know much about her and warned there were people in the area “who did not like him.”

He told The Post on Monday: “There are people who like him and there are people who don’t. It was more nefarious.”

Kurt Van Dyke had several business partners in the region after moving to Costa Rica in the mid-1980s, according to his brother.

The two spoke weekly, and Peter revealed his brother had assured him recently “he had everything under control.”

Kurt Van Dyke, who owned a hotel in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, was found dead Saturday, with a sheet over his head and a knife next to him, local reports say.

His girlfriend was in the shower when two armed men suddenly stormed into the home, forcing the couple into a room at gunpoint, per reports.

Arroyo said the intruders zip-tied her hands and feet, assaulted her, and made off with several valuables — including the couple’s 2013 Hyundai Elantra — before fleeing.

CK Hutchison Requests Negotiations with Panama over Canal Ports

Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings on February 19, 2026, called on the Panamanian government to open talks aimed at allowing its subsidiary to keep running two key ports at the ends of the Panama Canal. The request came from Alejandro Kouruklis, spokesperson for Panama Ports Company, the Hutchison unit that has operated the Balboa and Cristobal terminals since 1997. He made the appeal during an interview on Panamanian station Radio Red.

Panama’s Supreme Court struck down the company’s concession contract as unconstitutional, citing provisions that granted excessive privileges and tax breaks to the operator at the expense of the state.

The ruling has sparked a dispute over the future of the ports, which handle a significant share of container traffic through the canal. Panamanian authorities responded by designating APM Terminals, a subsidiary of Danish shipping firm A.P. Moller-Maersk, to manage the facilities temporarily until a new concession can be awarded.

This development underscores growing tensions in Latin America over foreign investment in critical infrastructure, particularly amid U.S. concerns about Chinese influence in strategic trade routes. The Panama Canal, linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, carries about 5% of global maritime trade and roughly 40% of U.S. container shipments.

Kouruklis emphasized the company’s flexibility in negotiations. “We request that there be a roundtable discussion between CK Hutchison and representatives of the executive branch to seek a reasonable solution,” he said. He added that Hutchison is prepared to renegotiate “absolutely everything” in the invalidated agreement.

The spokesperson warned that abrupt changes could disrupt operations, potentially halting container movements and vessel services at Balboa on the Pacific side and Cristobal on the Atlantic. He argued that insurance coverage might not apply under such circumstances, leading to broader supply chain issues.

CK Hutchison has already taken legal steps to challenge the court’s decision. Earlier this month, the company initiated international arbitration proceedings against Panama, claiming the ruling violates investment protections. It strongly disputes the unconstitutionality finding and seeks extensive damages.

Earlier, CK Hutchison notified Maersk that any unauthorized takeover by APM Terminals would result in damages and trigger legal action against the Danish group. Maersk has stated it is not involved in the ongoing legal processes and would only step in to ensure continuity if directed by Panamanian authorities.

The original concession stemmed from Law 5 of January 16, 1997, which allowed Panama Ports Company to develop, build, operate, and manage the terminals. An automatic 25-year extension was approved in 2021, but Panama’s comptroller general challenged it after an audit revealed alleged irregularities, including unpaid fees and unauthorized sub-concessions.

The Supreme Court, after deliberation, invalidated the law, its amendments, and the extension. The decision is final and non-appealable, but it requires formal publication to take effect. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has assured that port operations will continue without interruption during the transition. The government has conducted site visits and demanded access to records as part of preparations.

The United States built the 50-mile canal and managed it until handing control to Panama on December 31, 1999, under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed Chinese entities control the waterway, threatening U.S. intervention to reclaim it. Panama has consistently rejected these assertions, affirming its sovereign authority.