Politics

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he told U.S. President Donald Trump last week that any U.S. deal with Iran should dismantle Iran's nuclear infrastructure rather than only halting enrichment.

Ministers are planning changes to the SEND system that favour more support in mainstream schools, and the government has delayed its white paper while carrying out consultations with parents and professionals.

Gisèle Pelicot watched video messages of support during her first televised interview on Newsnight and became visibly emotional; her husband was sentenced in December 2024 after being convicted of sexual offences against her.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said no online platform will get a 'free pass' on children's safety; the government will launch a consultation on social media protections in March and plans legal changes to tighten rules for AI chatbots.

The UK Foreign Office says samples from Alexei Navalny's body contained the toxin epibatidine, and Britain and allied governments have blamed the Kremlin for his death.

Britain's and Germany's top military chiefs wrote that Russia's forces have shifted westward and are rearming, and they framed increased defence spending and industrial expansion as necessary responses; NATO has set a target for members to spend 5% of GDP on defence and security by 2035.

Local rescue services and hospitals reported that Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 12 people and injured others, and the Israeli military said the strikes were a response to alleged ceasefire violations by Hamas.

A Telegraph article titled "Student loans architect says interest rate should be lowered" was published on 15 February 2026; the supplied content contains only the author's biography for Tom Cotterill and not the article text.

The article argues scrapping tuition fees would be a mistake and calls for reforms to address high interest on Plan 2 loans and to link fee rises to teaching quality.

Britain and four European allies said tests found the toxin epibatidine in Alexei Navalny's body and blamed Russia; the Kremlin has rejected the claims.

AP reports that Iranian security agents conducted early-morning raids across the country detaining people accused of joining recent protests, and activists say many are being held incommunicado while an internet blackout hampers reporting.

A Cabinet Office memorandum says the UK would increase net zero targets and pursue 'dynamic alignment' with EU renewable rules, while ministers are negotiating re-entry to the EU internal electricity market.

Local media and the BNP reported that Thursday's election gave the Bangladesh Nationalist Party a parliamentary majority, and Tarique Rahman returned from 17 years in self-imposed exile late last year.

The Electoral Commission chief said ministers do not have a sufficient reason to delay May local elections, and the postponements could affect up to 3.5 million voters.

The article reports Alexei Navalny died in detention in February 2024 and that foreign laboratory tests identified the neurotoxin epibatidine in samples smuggled from his body.

At the Munich Security Conference, Keir Starmer argued for closer European defence and economic cooperation; the article praises that stance while warning against exaggerated historical comparisons and reopening the Brexit debate.

An opinion piece by a former editor of the Jewish Chronicle argues that European leaders at the fringes of the Munich Security Conference seem preoccupied even as the author describes rising global violence.

Iranian authorities moved Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi to a prison in Zanjan without notifying her family, and her family and supporters report concern about her health and limited contact.

The U.N. Human Rights Office reported that more than 6,000 people were killed during a late‑October Rapid Support Forces offensive around el‑Fasher and said the actions may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Undetermined at this time.

Bishop Richard Moth was installed as the 12th Archbishop of Westminster and said he is "most aware" of occasions when the Church has failed abuse victims; he succeeds Cardinal Vincent Nichols and becomes president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

In an interview with Brian Tyler Cohen, Barack Obama said he supported demonstrators in Minneapolis who opposed what he described as unprecedented ICE operations; he and Michelle Obama also called the killing of Alex Pretti a heartbreaking tragedy.

Christopher Njora Muronyo, a Mau Mau leader, died aged 106 and was buried in a modest ceremony with no government dignitaries, his family said. Relatives say his life and funeral underline that some veterans did not receive recognition or compensation.

The high court found the proscription of Palestine Action unlawful and disproportionate, saying it seriously interfered with protest and free-speech rights. The order remains in place while the home secretary seeks to appeal, leaving more than 2,500 people affected.

A US judge ordered that some Venezuelan men deported to El Salvador be allowed to return to the United States to challenge their deportations; one deportee said he wants to return to clear his name but fears being detained again.

Rupert Lowe has launched Restore Britain as a national political party after being suspended from Reform UK, and it is expected to act as an umbrella for local partner parties including Great Yarmouth First.

The Welsh Conservatives propose an NHS Wales Reserves Service to call retired, newly qualified and private clinicians into health boards during peak demand, the party said; the manifesto also pledges reopened wards, increased health spending and waiting-time targets.

A non-profit group and two Washington residents filed a federal lawsuit seeking to stop the Trump administration's attempted overhaul of the East Potomac public golf course, saying the project violates an 1897 congressional act.

The African Union holds its annual summit in Addis Ababa amid growing youth frustration that the bloc prioritizes long-serving leaders over citizens, and the meeting's theme is water and sanitation.

UNHCR says about 5.4 million people have returned to Afghanistan since October 2023, mostly from Pakistan and Iran, and the rapid influx has placed severe strain on the country's resources and services.

At the Munich Security Conference German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged a “new transatlantic partnership” as leaders met amid strained ties with the United States and with the war in Ukraine high on the agenda.