10 Things Global News - 19th February 2026
Succinct, unbiased news from around the world
Trump Weighs Iran Strike Amid Military Buildup
Trump Warns UK Over Diego Garcia Lease
No Breakthrough In Russia Ukraine Talks
US Begins Full Troop Withdrawal From Syria
Vatican Declines To Join Trump Gaza Board
Europe Holds Back As Trump Board Of Peace Meets
Merz Seeks China Partnerships As US Tariff Pressure Grows
Trump Weighs Delaying Taiwan Arms Package
Lagarde Signals Possible Early Exit From ECB
Zuckerberg Pressed On Instagram’s Youth Targeting Strategy
The US military is prepared to strike Iran as early as this weekend, though President Donald Trump has yet to make a final decision on whether he will authorise such action. The White House has been briefed that forces could be ready following a significant buildup of air and naval assets in the Middle East, including a second carrier strike group en route.
US officials have also ordered the departure of nonessential embassy staff from Baghdad and authorised voluntary departures for military families from Bahrain.
At the same time, Washington and Tehran have held indirect talks in Geneva, where negotiators agreed on guiding principles but remain far apart on key issues. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said diplomacy remains Trump’s first option, although military action stays on the table. From Tehran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that a hard and decisive answer would follow any attack.
Sources: CNN, Mercopress
In a backflip from his previous position President Donald Trump has renewed his attack on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plan to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, urging him not to proceed with a long-term lease for the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said Starmer was making a big mistake and warned: “DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!” The arrangement would see Britain transfer sovereignty while securing a 99-year lease to maintain operational control of the base.
Trump highlighted Diego Garcia’s strategic role, suggesting it could be needed for potential operations against Iran if nuclear negotiations fail. He said it may be necessary to use the base to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime that could target the United Kingdom and other friendly countries. The episode underscores tensions between sovereignty arrangements and US security priorities.
Sources: FT, South China Morning Post
The latest US-brokered talks between Russian and Ukrainian envoys in Geneva ended with no sign of a breakthrough, as the war’s fourth anniversary approaches next week.
Both sides described the negotiations as difficult, with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky saying they were “not easy” and the head of the Russian delegation calling them “difficult but businesslike.” Another round of talks is set to take place.
Some progress was reported on military issues, including the location of the front line and how any future ceasefire might be monitored, with participation of the American side. But political differences remain deep, particularly over territory in eastern Ukraine occupied by Russian forces. Russia has not shifted its demand for control of the Donbas region, while Zelensky has said Ukraine will not surrender land to Russia.
Sources: Associated Press, BBC
The United States is withdrawing all of its roughly 1,000 troops from Syria, ending a decadelong military presence that fought Islamic State. US officials said withdrawals from strategic outposts in northeast Syria and the borderlands of Syria, Jordan and Iraq have already been completed.
The remaining troops are expected to pull out from the last outposts over the next two months. US officials described the withdrawal as conditions-based, and said US forces remain poised to respond to any Islamic State threats that arise in the region.
US officials said a presence at scale is no longer needed after the near-total disbandment of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the consolidation of power by President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government, which has signalled willingness to take responsibility for addressing terrorist threats inside Syria.
Sources: Wall Street Journal, The Hill
The Holy See will not participate in President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” for Gaza, citing “certain critical issues.” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said there are “points that leave us somewhat perplexed,” including concern that at the international level it should above all be the U.N. that manages these crisis situations.
Trump is scheduled to host the board’s inaugural meeting in Washington, where more than two dozen countries have accepted invitations to join. However, key U.S. allies in Europe have declined, with some expressing concern the body would undercut the United Nations. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the Vatican’s decision “deeply unfortunate,” adding she did not think peace should be partisan or political or controversial.
Sources: Axios, Catholic Review
Dozens of national delegations will meet in Washington on Thursday for the inaugural meeting of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, as major European allies declined to join and criticised the organisation’s funding and political mandate. The summit will take place at the renamed Donald J Trump Institute of Peace, with the White House indicating it will largely function as a fundraising round.
Trump has said countries have pledged more than $5bn toward rebuilding Gaza and “committed thousands of personnel” to an International Stabilization Force and local police. The board was formed with Gaza reconstruction as its primary goal, but Trump has widened its mandate to other global conflicts.
The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen declined her invitation, and the United Kingdom, Germany and France have also said they will not join. The Vatican has said it will not participate, citing concerns that crisis situations should above all be managed by the United Nations.
Sources: Al Jazeera, The Guardian
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he will seek “strategic partnerships” with China during a trip next week, as he looks to discuss future cooperation between Europe and the world’s second-biggest economy while the United States leans on tariffs. Speaking at a CDU party event, Merz said foreign policy and economic policy could no longer be separated.
He warned Washington against igniting a tariff war, saying the United States can decide its own tariff policy but “it is not our policy.” Merz said he would not go along with US tariff pressure and argued Europeans are able to defend themselves and push back if it goes too far.
He added that the European Union would respond if Washington raised tariffs again, describing a “double strategy” of an outstretched hand and renewed partnership, alongside cohesion and unity within the EU. Merz said he will deliver the same message in Washington next month.
Sources: Reuters, Politico Europe
The White House declined to comment on reports that President Donald Trump is weighing whether to cancel or delay a US$11 billion arms package to Taiwan, as he seeks to keep an expected April summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on track. Karoline Leavitt said: “I don’t have any announcement or updates to share.”
Trump told journalists on Monday that he is discussing the potential sales with Xi. “I’m talking to him about it. We had a good conversation, and we’ll make a determination pretty soon,” he said, adding he has “a very good relationship with President Xi.”
Experts and politicians said consulting Beijing risks violating the Six Assurances, including that the US “did not agree to consult with the People’s Republic of China on arms sales to Taiwan,” and could set a “dangerous precedent” for demands on future sales.
Sources: South China Morning Post, Associated Press
Christine Lagarde is expected to leave the European Central Bank before her eight-year term as president expires in October 2027, according to a person familiar with her thinking. She wants to exit before the French presidential election in April next year, allowing outgoing French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to pick her successor.
The ECB said Lagarde is “totally focused on her mission” and has not taken any decision regarding the end of her term. Reports said the timing could be driven by politics, with fears about the rise of the far-right Rassemblement National in France and the Alternative for Germany in Germany.
European economists polled in December regarded Klaas Knot and Pablo Hernández de Cos as top picks to become the next president of the ECB. Isabel Schnabel has said she is interested in the job, and people briefed on Joachim Nagel’s thinking said he was also keen on the role.
Sources: FT, Euronews
Mark Zuckerberg testified in Los Angeles in a trial accusing his company of deliberately designing Instagram features to addict children. A plaintiff’s lawyer pointed to internal documents discussing “tweens” and “teen usage”, including a 2020 document saying 11-year-olds were four times as likely to keep coming back as older users, and a 2015 estimate that 30% of 10- to 12-year-olds in the US were using Instagram.
Zuckerberg acknowledged many users lie about their age and said enforcing age limits can be “very difficult”. He said it is a misconception that more time spent always helps the business, and argued that if people are not having a good experience they would stop using the product.
The case is linked to about 1,600 similar lawsuits. The jury will decide how far social media platforms should be held legally culpable for the plaintiff’s mental health struggles.
Sources: BBC, NPR
On this day ….
On this day in 1473 Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Toruń, then part of the Kingdom of Poland.
His later work, published in 1543, proposed that the Earth revolved around the Sun rather than the reverse, challenging centuries of accepted cosmology.
The heliocentric model would eventually underpin the Scientific Revolution, influencing astronomy, physics and philosophy.
A shift in perspective on the heavens would alter humanity’s understanding of its own place in the universe.