Crude oil deliveries to Slovakia resumed this week through the Druzhba pipeline, ending a nearly three-month interruption that had strained energy supplies across Central Europe and complicated European Union decision-making. The restart restored a critical route for Russian crude that runs through Ukrainian territory and supplies refineries in Slovakia and Hungary. The pipeline had been inactive since late January following…
Submarine Strike And Intensified Air Campaign A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, a dramatic escalation as Washington and Israel expanded their strikes against Iranian security forces and other state institutions on the fifth day of open conflict. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a torpedo hit the vessel in international waters late Tuesday. Sri Lankan…
A confidential assessment by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it has been unable to confirm whether Iran has halted all uranium-enrichment activity after the June conflict in which Israel and the United States struck Iranian nuclear facilities. With inspectors kept out of several damaged sites, the watchdog said it cannot reliably determine the status of enrichment-related work or…
Nicolás Maduro’s U.S. defense team says the American government is blocking the Venezuelan state from paying legal bills that, under Venezuelan practice, would typically be covered for a former head of state facing foreign prosecution. In a message filed into the public record of the Manhattan federal case, attorney Barry Pollack told the judge that the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions…
The European Union’s attempt to adopt its 20th sanctions package against Russia stalled on February 23, 2026, when Hungary objected to the measures at an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels. The package, designed to tighten economic pressure on Moscow ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, could not secure the unanimous support required from all…
Lunar New Year celebrations began Tuesday with dense crowds, incense smoke, and the steady commerce of holiday markets, as communities across Asia and far beyond welcomed the Year of the Horse in the 12-animal Chinese zodiac cycle. The new year follows the Year of the Snake, and the holiday remains the most important annual observance in China and several neighboring…
On Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, Marco Rubio met Viktor Orbán in Budapest, using the visit to publicly promote the Hungarian leader’s bid to remain in power after elections scheduled for April 12. Orbán has led Hungary since 2010 and is seeking what would be a fifth straight term, after 16 years at the helm. Rubio linked the two governments’ current…
