On Iran, the threat of renewed war looms over the talks. The United States has increased<\/a> its military deployments in the region, while Iran conducted military drills yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran\u2019s foreign minister met with the UN nuclear chief yesterday ahead of the Geneva talks. While Tehran seeks a narrow deal on its nuclear program as well as sanctions relief, Washington has signaled it seeks a more expansive agreement that could also address Tehran\u2019s missile stockpile. Trump also suggested on Friday that \u201cthe best thing that could happen\u201d would be regime change in Tehran. The sentiment was echoed by hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in cities worldwide this weekend, who gathered to protest<\/a> Iran\u2019s current regime and its recent crackdown on dissent.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Ukraine, talks have zeroed in on outstanding disputes over territory. A Kremlin spokesperson said yesterday that Russia would press for territorial concessions as well as other unspecified demands. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with<\/a> backers including the United States in Munich and said he hoped today\u2019s talks would be \u201cserious\u201d and \u201csubstantive.\u201d Russia launched<\/a> a large volley of missile and drone strikes at Ukraine last night, after Ukrainian forces last week recaptured<\/a> almost as much territory as Russia seized in December, according to AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War. Its analysts attributed that progress to Russia\u2019s loss of Starlink access.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRussia stands little chance of winning the war and achieving their maximalist territorial, political, and military objectives. The trouble, however, is that Ukraine and its Western allies have no coherent strategy for winning the war either…Thus far, the [Trump] administration is unwilling to provide Ukraine with the material support required to change the correlation of forces on the ground and force Putin\u2019s hand.\u201d<\/p>\n Across the Globe<\/p>\n Rubio\u2019s message in Munich\u2026 In his Munich Security Council address, Rubio called European countries the United States\u2019 \u201ccherished allies and our oldest friends.\u201d While that marked<\/a> a shift in tone from Vice President JD Vance\u2019s speech at the conference last year, multiple European leaders used their own speeches to signal differences with Washington. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested<\/a> European countries need not engage in U.S. culture wars, while French President Emmanuel Macron called<\/a> for Europe to maintain its own policies on digital regulation.<\/p>\n \u2026and in Budapest. While visiting Budapest yesterday, Rubio endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n\u2019s bid for a fifth term in upcoming elections in April. \u201cIt\u2019s in our national interest that Hungary be successful,\u201d Rubio said<\/a>, also referencing a \u201cpersonal relationship\u201d between the two countries\u2019 current governments. Rubio also signed<\/a> a nuclear cooperation agreement<\/a> with Hungary.\u00a0<\/p>\n China\u2019s tariff relief for Africa. China will remove tariffs on goods from fifty-three African countries beginning May 1, the country\u2019s foreign ministry announced<\/a>. Beijing previewed<\/a> these plans last year but hadn\u2019t specified a start date. The announcement came<\/a> after Trump signed<\/a> a one-year extension earlier this month of duty-free U.S. access for many African goods.<\/p>\n Board of Peace pledge. Members of the Trump-led Gaza Board of Peace on Thursday will announce more $5 billion in aid and postwar reconstruction funds and pledge thousands of personnel to an international stabilization force for the enclave, Trump wrote<\/a> on social media Sunday. Last year, the European Union, United Nations, and World Bank jointly estimated<\/a> rebuilding Gaza would take $70 billion.<\/p>\n A micro-reactor takes flight. The U.S. Department of Defense transported a small-scale nuclear reactor across the country via airplane for the first time<\/a> on Sunday. It said<\/a> the flight demonstrated the deployability of such mini reactors across the United States, which could ensure military bases are not dependent on the civilian power grid or susceptible to power cuts during overseas missions. Some critics have called for more safety testing before the reactors are widely deployed.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s new team on U.S. issues. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney named<\/a> longtime public official Janice Charette as the new top trade negotiator to the United States yesterday, ahead of a scheduled review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal. In other personnel news, businessman Mark Wiseman assumed his post<\/a> as Canada\u2019s new ambassador to Washington on Sunday.<\/p>\n Jesse Jackson remembered. U.S. civil rights leader and former two-time presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, whose activism earned him global recognition, has died<\/a> at 84, his family said today. Jackson marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement. In addition to his social justice advocacy, Jackson worked to help secure the release of detained Americans around the world.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s Next<\/p>\n Today, Macron is visiting India<\/a>.Today, Mumbai<\/a> Climate Week begins.Tomorrow, King Frederik of Denmark begins a three-day state visit to Greenland<\/a>.<\/p>\n What You Missed: 2026 Milan-Cortina<\/p>\n Surprising firsts. Brazil became<\/a> the first South American country to win a Winter Olympic gold medal on Saturday with Lucas Pinheiro Braathen\u2019s victory<\/a> in the giant slalom. Pinheiro Braathen, a Brazilian-Norwegian dual national who lived in Brazil as a child and formerly competed for Norway, celebrated his gold medal by samba dancing<\/a> on the medal podium. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan\u2019s Mikhail Shaidorov won<\/a> first in men\u2019s figure skating Friday after favorites Ilia Malinin of the United States and Yuma Kagiyama of Japanfell during their routines. Malinin acknowledged<\/a> on social media afterwards that athletes sometimes contend with \u201cinvisible battles\u201d and \u201cinsurmountable pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n Increasingly rare creatures. The mascot of this year\u2019s Olympics\u2014a stoat, the tube-shaped relative of the weasel\u2014has become so popular<\/a> that small plush dolls of it are almost completely sold out across the Milan and Cortina areas. The doll shortage is perhaps a fitting metaphor for the fact that the real-life stoat population is at risk<\/a> due to climate change. Each winter, stoats change from brown to white to camouflage with the snow. In recent years, however, their fur has often turned white before later-than-usual snowfall, making them vulnerable to predators.<\/p>\n The tournament and local strains. In an effort to address Milan\u2019s affordable housing shortage, this year\u2019s athlete\u2019s village is slated<\/a> to become university housing after the Games are over. In recent years increasing numbers of international students and migrants of all kinds\u2014from asylum seekers to ultra-rich individuals attracted by tax incentives\u2014have moved<\/a> to Milan<\/a>, and rents have sharply increased. Most of the 1,175 units in the repurposed athletes\u2019 housing will be slightly above the city\u2019s average rent, according to a real estate platform, with a portion designated as affordable housing.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/template_email_0217_384366c03f0.png\")
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