10 Things Global News - 23rd February 2026
Succinct, unbiased news from around the world
Iran Offers Nuclear Concessions
Trump Weighs Strike Options As Iran Talks Near Deadline
Armed Man Killed After Mar-a-Lago Perimeter Breach
Drug Lord El Mencho Killed, Retaliation Paralyzes Mexico
Hungary Threatens Veto Over EU Russia Sanctions
EU Demands Clarity After US Tariff Ruling
Russia Pounds Ukraine Energy Grid Before Anniversary
Pakistan Strikes Afghan Border Camps Amid Tensions
Arab States Condemn Huckabee Over Israel Remarks
Kim Re-Elected As Party Hails Nuclear Buildup
Iran has indicated it is prepared to make concessions on its nuclear programme in talks with the United States in return for the lifting of sanctions and recognition of its right to enrich uranium.
A senior Iranian official said Tehran would seriously consider sending half of its most highly enriched uranium abroad, diluting the rest, and taking part in creating a regional enrichment consortium. Iran has also offered opportunities for US companies to participate as contractors in its oil and gas industry.
Both sides remain sharply divided over the scope and sequencing of sanctions relief following two rounds of talks. Washington has demanded “zero enrichment”, while Iran rejects abandoning enrichment and insists nuclear materials will not leave the country. As the US builds up military capability in the Middle East Iranian officials say there remains “a good chance” of a diplomatic solution.
Sources: Jerusalem Post, The Guardian
President Trump has told advisers that if diplomacy, or any initial targeted U.S. attack does not lead Iran to give up its nuclear program, he will consider a much bigger attack in coming months intended to drive that country’s leaders from power.
Negotiators from the United States and Iran are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Thursday for what appears to be last-ditch negotiations to avoid a military conflict. Targets under consideration range from the headquarters of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the country’s nuclear sites and the ballistic missile program.
Behind the scenes, a new proposal is being considered by both sides that could create an off-ramp to military conflict, a limited nuclear enrichment program that Iran could carry out for purposes of medical research and treatments as two aircraft carrier groups mass within striking distance of Iran.
Sources: New York Times, Jerusalem Post
An armed man drove into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, early Sunday and was shot and killed by the U.S. Secret Service, authorities said. The breach occurred around 1:30 a.m. while President Donald Trump was at the White House.
Officials said the man carried a gas can and a shotgun. He entered the north gate as another vehicle was exiting and was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy. Ordered to drop the items, he put down the gas can and raised the shotgun to a shooting position, prompting the officers to fire.
Investigators identified him as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina, whose family had reported him missing. A motive has not been identified and the FBI said it is dedicating resources to the investigation, asking nearby residents to check security cameras for relevant footage.
Sources: Associated Press, BBC
Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho”, was killed in a military raid on Sunday in Tapalpa, Jalisco, Mexico’s defense ministry said. It said the 60-year-old mastermind of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel died in custody after being injured in an operation by Mexican special forces, with his body taken to Mexico City in a guarded National Guard convoy.
After reports of his death, cartel gunmen blockaded highways with burning cars and torched businesses in more than half a dozen states, paralyzing parts of the country, with no civilian deaths reported. Airlines including Air Canada, United Airlines, Aeromexico and American Airlines suspended flights in the Puerto Vallarta area.
A new U.S.-military-led task force played a role and the White House said the United States provided intelligence support. Security experts are watching whether the killing fractures CJNG leadership and triggers infighting.
Sources: Reuters, Times of India
Hungary has said it will block the approval of the European Union’s latest round of sanctions against Russia until Ukraine allows oil flows via the Druzhba pipeline. Foreign minister Péter Szijjártó said he would block the 20th sanctions package at a meeting of foreign ministers, arguing that until Ukraine resumes oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia, Budapest will not allow decisions important to Kyiv to move forward.
The package includes a ban on providing maritime services to ships carrying Russian oil, tighter measures to prevent circumvention and a prohibition on crypto transactions with Russia. For the sanctions to pass, the 27-nation bloc must reach a unanimous decision.
Hungary has also said it will block a 90 billion euro EU loan to Ukraine. EU diplomats still hope the package could be adopted in time for the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Sources: South China Morning Post, FT
The European Union’s executive arm requested “full clarity” from the United States and asked it to fulfil its commitments after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down some of President Donald Trump’s most sweeping tariffs. The European Commission said the situation is not conducive to delivering “fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial” trans-Atlantic trade as set out in the EU-U.S. Joint Statement of August 2025.
American and EU officials sealed a deal last year imposing a 15% import tax on 70% of European goods exported to the United States. The value of EU-U.S. trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros in 2024. “A deal is a deal,” the commission said, adding EU products must continue to benefit from the most competitive treatment with no increases beyond the agreed ceiling.
Washington said it plans to stand by its trade deals and expects partners to do the same.
Sources: Associated Press, The Guardian
Russia attacked Ukraine’s power grid on Sunday with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, killing at least one man in Kyiv, days before the fourth anniversary of its full-scale invasion. Ukrainian officials said strikes hit Kyiv and the surrounding region, the Black Sea port of Odesa and parts of central Ukraine.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 50 missiles and 297 drones overnight, shooting down or neutralising 33 missiles and 274 drones. In the Kyiv region, one person was killed and five were wounded, with damage reported in five districts and more than a dozen houses affected. Officials said the main target was the energy sector, though residential buildings and railway infrastructure were also damaged.
The latest wave came after U.S.-mediated talks in Geneva concluded with little concrete progress. President Volodymyr Zelensky said a further round is expected by early March.
Sources: New York Times, Reuters
Pakistan’s military carried out air raids early Sunday in Afghanistan, targeting what it described as “camps and hideouts” belonging to armed groups behind recent attacks inside Pakistan. A deputy interior minister said at least 70 militants were killed, while state media later reported the toll had risen to 80. The strikes followed a suicide bomber attack on a security convoy in Bannu that killed two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel.
Afghan authorities said the raids hit “various civilian areas” in Nangarhar and Paktika, including a religious school and residential homes. Officials in Nangarhar said at least 17 people were killed and six were missing, while others reported dozens killed and wounded, including women and children. Afghanistan summoned Pakistan’s ambassador and called the strikes a violation of its sovereignty.
The attacks threaten a fragile ceasefire negotiated after deadly border clashes in October.
Sources: NPR, Al Jazeera
Arab and Muslim governments have condemned remarks by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee after he suggested Israel would be justified in taking over a vast stretch of the Middle East on Biblical grounds. In an interview, he said “it would be fine if it took it all” when asked about land described as extending across much of the region, though he added Israel was not seeking to do so.
In a joint statement, more than a dozen governments, including Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, expressed “strong condemnation and profound concern”, calling the comments “dangerous and inflammatory”. The statement said the remarks violated international law and directly contradicted efforts to create a political horizon for a comprehensive settlement that ensures Palestinians have their own independent state.
The governments reiterated their rejection of any attempts to annex the West Bank and opposition to settlement expansion.
Sources: BBC, NBC News
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was re-elected as general secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party on the fourth day of its congress, held every five years. State media said the decision reflected the “unshakable will and unanimous desire” of delegates and credited him with building up nuclear forces capable of handling “any threat of aggression” and “any form of war.”
The congress also confirmed a new roster for the powerful Central Committee and adopted revisions to party rules, though details were not provided. The reshuffle excluded several senior figures, including aging military chiefs and the head of the Supreme People’s Assembly.
During the meeting, Kim assessed the past five years and outlined new strategies for the next five-year period. He said the party faced “heavy and urgent historic tasks of boosting economic construction and the people’s standard of living,” while vowing a more active and persistent struggle.
Sources: Associated Press, Al Jazeera
On this day ….
On this day in 1903, Cuba and the United States signed an agreement leasing Guantánamo Bay to the U.S. for use as a naval station, an arrangement later made effectively perpetual unless both governments agree to end it.
While initially strategic in purpose, the base took on new global significance after 2002, when the United States established a detention facility there for individuals captured in counterterrorism operations.
Detainees were held as “enemy combatants”, many transferred through rendition, and the site became central to debates over indefinite detention, military tribunals and the reach of U.S. law. More than a century after the lease was signed,
Guantánamo remains a focal point of legal and geopolitical controversy - what does its endurance reveal about the balance between security and rights?