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Officials say Gaza residents travelling on foot only will be allowed through border point, which was shut in May 2024
Reuters

Gaza’s main border crossing in Rafah will reopen for Palestinians on Monday, Israel has said, with preparations under way at the war-ravaged territory’s gateway, which has been mostly closed for almost two years.

Before the war, the Rafah crossing with Egypt was the only direct exit point for most Palestinians in Gaza to reach the outside world as well as a key entry point for aid. It has been largely shut since May 2024.

Cogat, the Israeli agency charged with administration of Gaza, said the crossing would reopen in both directions for Gaza residents on foot only and its operation would be coordinated with Egypt and the EU.

“Today, a pilot is under way to test and assess the operation of the crossing. The movement of residents in both directions, entry and exit to and from Gaza, is expected to begin tomorrow,” Cogat said on Sunday.
By The Associated Press

ZURICH — An 18-year-old Swiss national has died in a Zurich hospital from injuries sustained in a Swiss Alpine bar fire, bringing the death toll to 41 a month after the tragedy.

The victim died on Saturday, according to the Swiss public prosecutor. The prosecutor said in a statement Sunday it would provide no further information on the status of the investigation.

Investigators have said they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fire when they came too close to the ceiling at the packed Le Constellation bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana, less than two hours after midnight on Jan. 1. Authorities are looking into whether soundproofing material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar. Fire safety inspections hadn't been carried out since 2019.
Alcaraz becomes the youngest man in tennis to complete a career Grand Slam and win seven Slams with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 triumph.
By Hafsa Adil and News Agencies

Carlos Alcaraz has rewritten tennis history by becoming the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam with his victory over the great Novak Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open 2026 in Melbourne.

Alcaraz, 22, overcame a first-set loss to complete a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 triumph over the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday. In the process, he denied the 38-year-old a chance to become the only player with 25 Slam titles.
Comes a day after coordinated suicide and gun attacks killed 33 people.
By ABDUL SATTAR Associated Press and MUNIR AHMED Associated Press

QUETTA, Pakistan -- Pakistani police and military forces killed over a 100 “Indian-backed terrorists ” in counterterrorism operations across the restive southwestern province of Balochistan over the past 40 hours, government officials said on Sunday, a day after coordinated suicide and gun attacks killed 33 people, mostly civilians.

The raids began early Saturday at multiple locations across Balochistan, and left 18 civilians, including five women and three children, and 15 security personnel dead, authorities said.

Sarfraz Bugti, the provincial chief minister, told reporters in Quetta that troops and police officers responded swiftly, killing 145 members of “ Fitna al-Hindustan,” a phrase the government uses for the allegedly Indian-backed outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA. The number of militants killed over the past two days was the highest in decades, he said.

“The bodies of these 145 killed terrorists are in our custody, and some of them are Afghan nationals,” he said. Bugti claimed that the ”Indian-backed terrorists" wanted to take hostages but failed to make it to the city center.
By Reuters

PRAGUE, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Czechs rallied on Sunday in support of President Peter Pavel after he refused to approve the nomination of a minister to the new eurosceptic coalition government who performed a Nazi salute and posted Nazi memorabilia.

In an escalating rift with the government, the pro-EU and pro-Ukraine Pavel last week accused Foreign Minister Petr Macinka of sending text messages via his adviser that threatened the president with "consequences" if he continued to oppose Filip Turek's nomination as Czech environment minister.

Turek, a member of Macinka's right-wing Motorists party, has faced criticism for making a Nazi salute and posting Nazi memorabilia. Turek has put his behaviour down to bad taste rather than any affinity for Nazism or racism.
Medical charity has been barred for not providing Israeli authorities with personal details of its staff in the enclave.
By Al Jazeera Staff and News Agencies

Israel says it will terminate the humanitarian operations in Gaza of Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, after it failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff, further depriving Palestinians in the besieged enclave of life-saving assistance.

In December, Israel announced it would prevent 37 aid organisations, including MSF, from working in Gaza from March 1 for failing to submit detailed information about their Palestinian employees, drawing widespread condemnation from NGOs and the United Nations.

“The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism is moving to terminate the activities of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said on Sunday.

The decision followed “MSF’s failure to submit lists of local employees, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organisations operating in the region”, it added.

The ministry had earlier alleged that two MSF employees had links with Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the charity has denied.
A year out from a bruising loss to Mark Carney, the opposition leader is betting the next election on a simple test: are voters better off?
By Nick Taylor-Vaisey

CALGARY, Alberta — Canada’s Conservative leader channeled a legendary American president as he secured his hold on the party grassroots — and and debuted his new message to voters for a federal election that could come as early as spring.

Pierre Poilievre is rebuilding after last year’s election defeat, losing to Mark Carney, a rookie Liberal politician who leapfrogged and stunned the once-favored Conservatives.

Before the Liberal comeback, the Conservatives seemed set to ride a wave of anti-incumbent sentiment sweeping much of the Western world.

Instead, Carney scooped enough seats to form a minority government. The Liberals even won Poilievre’s Ottawa-area seat, forcing him to run in a special election in a safe Alberta riding in order to return to the House.

Ahead of the weekend’s mandatory postelection leadership review in Calgary, Poilievre whipped up more than 2,500 delegates in the beating heart of Canadian conservatism.

The Conservative leader, a longtime admirer of Ronald Reagan, echoed the former president’s 1980 pitch on his way to a crushing victory: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
ABC News' Patrick Reevell reports on the death toll in Iran as the country's supreme leader warns that any attack by the U.S. would spark a "regional war" in the Middle East.
Story by Sam Stevenson

A new map compiled by Newsweek using data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows how Greenland’s rare earth mineral resources compare to the rest of the world.

Why It Matters
Greenland possesses some of the world’s largest untapped reserves of rare earth elements (REEs)—minerals critical to modern technologies, clean energy transitions, and defense systems. As the global demand for these materials surges, Greenland’s strategic importance as an alternative source grows.

The latest data from the USGS highlights how the self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, a NATO member, compares with major producers, underscoring part of the reason why the island has become a focus of U.S. policy discussions, including President Donald Trump’s push to acquire it—a move which has raised geopolitical tensions.
Trump gives China the green light in surprising remarks on Venezuela's oil industry
Story by Evan Williams

Washington DC - President Donald Trump said on Saturday that China is "welcome" to invest in Venezuela's oil industry as the country looks to revive its economy in the wake of President Nicolás Maduro's abduction.

"China is welcome to come in and would make a great deal on oil. We welcome China," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, noting that Venezuela's Interim President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday agreed to an energy deal with India.

"India is coming in, and they're going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran, so we've already made that deal, the concept of the deal, but China is welcome to come in and buy oil," Trump said.
Yuchen Li in Taipei
As Washington pulls back from international institutions, Beijing is stepping up its diplomatic outreach while pursuing leadership roles in selected areas.

In January, the same month the United States announced its withdrawal from 66 multilateral organizations, China hosted leaders from Canada, Finland and Britain.

"The international order is under great strain," Chinese leader Xi Jinping told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, calling for efforts to "build an equal and orderly multipolar world," as the two met in Beijing on January 29.

The message is not new in China's diplomatic rhetoric, but it has grown more pronounced amid US disengagement from multilateral institutions.

The US is notably abandoning many initiatives focusing on climate change, labor and migration — areas President Donald Trump has characterized as "woke" initiatives "contrary to the interests" of the country.

At the same time, China remains a member of most of these multilateral organizations and gaining broader global recognition.

A recent international survey found that respondents across 21 countries, including 10 from the European Union, expect China's global influence to grow over the next decade, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations.

"The power gap [between China and the US] was much clearer in the past… but now it's getting closer and closer," said Claus Soong, an analyst at the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS).

"The US is still the most powerful nation in the world, but China is catching up very quickly," he told DW.
Story by Holly Harrison - BBC Wales

A man accused of playing a key role in riots in Cardiff broke down in the dock as he described the scene following a crash which killed two teenagers.

Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and Harvey Evans, 15, died on May 22, 2023, after their e-bike crashed in the Ely area of the city, sparking hours of violence and vandalism with about 150 people turning up to riot.

Ashdon O'Dare, 28, from Ely, was accused of "striking the match that lit the fuse".

During his trial at Newport Crown Court this week, O'Dare said: "The scene I was looking at was just tragic so I was emotional at the time. There was a lot going. It was overwhelming."
Story by Brendan Rascius

Over the past year, an Asian cyber-espionage group carried out a massive global hacking campaign, compromising the critical infrastructure of some 37 foreign governments, according to a new report.

The primary targets were government departments and ministries, including those pertaining to trade, natural resources, border control and diplomacy. The operation also affected one country's parliament and multiple national police organizations.

“Its methods, targets and scale of operations are alarming, with potential long-term consequences for national security and key services,” Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity firm, said in a lengthy report published on Thursday.

Espionage seems to have been the main motivation for the attacks, as hackers regularly sought access to email communications, Pete Renals, the director of national security programs with Unit 42, the firm’s threat intelligence division, told Bloomberg.

The U.S. government was not affected by the campaign, but the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said it is aware of the attacks and is collaborating with partners to patch up any existing vulnerabilities.

The group’s activity — referred to as “Shadow Campaigns” — was first identified by Palo Alto Networks in early 2025, amid the investigation of several phishing campaigns against European governments. The firm’s subsequent probe revealed the group had been active since January 2024.
Story by Megan Howe

People in North Korea are being publically executed for watching South Korean TV shows including Squid Game, it has been discovered.

Amnesty International reports that North Korea is severely punishing even schoolchildren for watching or listening to South Korean media and popular culture.

Testimonies from people who have escaped the country reveal that children are sometimes forced to witness public executions carried out for these so-called “crimes,” as a warning to others not to consume foreign content.

The harshest punishments are typically imposed on poorer citizens, while wealthier individuals or those with political connections can often avoid execution by bribing officials.

Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director, said the testimonies from residents who escaped show the severity of the country’s “dystopian” laws.

“Watching a South Korean TV show can cost you your life – unless you can afford to pay,” she said.
Story by FRAIDY MOSER

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy claims it seized two vessels near Farsi Island that were carrying smuggled fuel, Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported on Thursday.

The IRGC Navy’s Public Relations Department alleged that more than one million liters of fuel were found on the ships. The 15 foreign crew members were referred to the judicial authorities.

According to ISNA, the vessels had been operating within a smuggling network over the past several months and were intercepted through monitoring, intelligence work, and IRGC naval operations.
Story by Reuters

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has departed for the Omani capital Muscat at the head of a diplomatic delegation for nuclear talks with the U.S. due to be held on Friday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson said.

The U.S. and Iran have agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday, officials for both sides said, even as they remain at odds over Washington's insistence that negotiations must include Tehran's missile arsenal and Iran's vow to discuss only its nuclear programme.
Donald Trump met with groans as he tells prayer breakfast Christians shouldn't vote Democrat
Story by Jack Hobbs

President Donald Trump was met with groans after allegedly telling Christian leaders that they should not vote for democrats during a prayer breakfast on Thursday.

Speaking to the assembled crowd of politicians and religious leaders at the Washington Hilton, Trump stated that he "didn't know" how a person of faith could vote for a Democrat. "I don't know how a person of faith can vote for a Democrat," the president said.

"I really don't," he added, eliciting a groan from the audience. "And I know we have some here today, and I don't know why they're here, because they certainly don't give us their vote." It comes after the daughter of Trump's doctor made a bombshell claim about his health.

Trump added, switching gears to his newest idea to "nationalize" the election system: "I certainly know that we're not going to be convincing them to vote for a little thing called voter ID. It polls at 97%. And even the Democrats, the people, the voters, are at 82% for voter ID, but the leaders don't want to approve it."

"They said they will strike. They will not allow it to happen," the president claimed. "It's polling at over 90%. It's called voter identification. When you go to the polls, you show if, yes, my name is so-and-so, and I live in the country."
Story by Kollen Post, Francis Farrell

A new "white list" from SpaceX is shutting off Russia's illicit access to Starlink's satellite internet across the front line.

At shortly before 3:00 a.m. Kyiv time on Feb. 5, Elon Musk retweeted a new guide from Ukraine's Digital Transformation Ministry for registering a Starlink terminal within Ukraine.

Subsequently, a series of alarmed Russian social media posts indicate that Starlink terminals were disconnecting en masse along the front.

Three Ukrainian commanders, speaking to the Kyiv Independent on the condition of anonymity, reported intercepting messages from Russian forces complaining about Starlink terminals failing in large numbers.

"The enemy at the front doesn't have a problem, the enemy has a catastrophe," wrote Serhiy "Flash" Bezkrestnov, a longtime commentator on electronic warfare more recently appointed as advisor to Defense Minister Mykhaylo Fedorov.
Story by August M

Dramatic images quickly circulated online, fuelling speculation about the cause. The incident comes at a tense moment in the war with Ukraine.

Explosive derailment
Footage from Russia’s Tambov region showed thick black smoke pouring into the sky after a train derailment, according to reporting by The Express. A huge fireball was seen rising hundreds of feet into the air following an explosion on the tracks.

The blast occurred near Kochetovka-2 station, a location believed to handle freight heading toward southern Russia. The train was reportedly transporting supplies linked to President Vladimir Putin’s war effort in Ukraine.

Around 30 wagons were damaged in the incident, with images showing at least one carriage engulfed in smoke and fire. No deaths or injuries were reported.

Suspected sabotage
Russian authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the explosion. The incident led to rail delays in the area, The Sun reported, but officials have not confirmed what triggered the blast.

While the exact cause remains unclear, Ukraine has previously targeted Russian rail infrastructure. In 2023, Ukrainian forces carried out an attack on Russia’s longest railway tunnel.

The suspected sabotage highlights the vulnerability of supply routes critical to Moscow’s military operations.
Story by Jack Detsch

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will let the last arms control treaty between Russia and the United States lapse and instead direct his administration to work toward a new one.

The New START treaty, which expired at midnight, was the last safeguard on the superpowers’ nuclear arsenals.

While Trump has called for a new deal to include China, his TruthSocial post represents the president’s first public comments on the future of the pact. New START had set limits on the number of bombers, missiles and warheads both sides can deploy.
Story by Nicole Charky-Chami

The American ambassador to Poland had a meltdown Thursday after the country's parliament speaker said President Donald Trump wasn't worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Ambassador Tom Rose, a MAGA ally, raged over the comment Thursday in a post on X after Parliament Speaker Wlodzimierz Czarzasty did not agree that Trump was a good potential recipient of the famed prize, The Daily Beast reported.
Story by Elizabeth Preza

President Donald Trump on Sunday jumped into the fray of MAGA Republicans complaining about U.S. athletes at the Olympic Winter Games in Milan who’ve expressed unease about recent actions by the federal government.

As the New York Times reports, “By Sunday morning, no member of the U.S. team in Italy had spoken publicly in support of the Trump administration. U.S. Olympic committee guidelines stipulate that athletes can advocate social and racial justice, but should avoid partisan politics.”
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