POLITICS & POLICY

The United States and Israel launched coordinated military strikes on Iran early Saturday, targeting key leadership, military facilities and nuclear sites in a dramatic escalation that President Donald Trump described as the start of "major combat operations" aimed at dismantling Tehran's regime and eliminating its nuclear capabilities.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began her closed-door deposition Thursday before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee as part of a congressional investigation into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, marking a high-profile moment in the ongoing probe into his network of influence and alleged crimes.

Cuban border guard troops fatally shot four people and wounded six others aboard a Florida-registered speedboat that entered Cuban territorial waters Wednesday morning, the country's Interior Ministry said, describing the incident as a foiled "armed infiltration with terrorist purposes" by Cuban nationals living in the United States.

The evacuation of families and dependents of Australian diplomats have been ordered to evacuate in several countries in the Middle East.

The Australian Army, as the land warfare component of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), holds a strong position in global military rankings, placing the nation's overall conventional military strength at 17th out of 145 countries in the 2026 Global Firepower Index, according to the latest annual assessment released in early 2026.

Mexican army forces killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the longtime leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel known as "El Mencho," during a military operation Sunday in the western state of Jalisco, the country's Secretariat of National Defense confirmed.

Mexican army forces killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the elusive leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel known as "El Mencho," during a military operation Sunday in the western state of Jalisco, Mexican officials confirmed.

MIAMI — Federal prosecutors have filed a civil complaint to revoke the U.S. citizenship of former North Miami Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime, accusing the Haiti-born politician of using false identities, a fraudulent marriage and repeated lies to immigration authorities over nearly three decades to unlawfully obtain permanent residency and naturalization.

President Donald Trump said Friday he is considering a limited military strike on Iran as a means to compel Tehran to negotiate a new deal curbing its nuclear program, escalating tensions amid a U.S. military buildup in the region and indirect talks that have yielded no breakthroughs.

Australia's political landscape in 2026 features a mix of career politicians with modest parliamentary salaries and a handful of figures whose pre-politics business empires or family wealth place them among the nation's affluent elite.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down President Donald Trump's expansive tariffs imposed on imports from nearly every trading partner, ruling that he exceeded his authority under a 1977 law meant for national emergencies.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) scrambled U.S. fighter jets Thursday to intercept and escort five Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), a standard buffer area outside U.S. and Canadian sovereign airspace.

Sarah Ferguson, the 66-year-old former Duchess of York commonly known as Fergie, remains a polarizing figure in British public life.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, Duke of York, marked his 66th birthday on February 19, 2026, under dramatically different circumstances than in years past.

A Seoul court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment with hard labor on Thursday after finding him guilty of leading an insurrection through his short-lived declaration of martial law in December 2024, marking the most severe punishment ever imposed on a South Korean head of state in the democratic era.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office

The U.S. Air Force is implementing a striking new paint scheme for the presidential aircraft fleet, including the next-generation Air Force One jets, featuring a palette of red, white, dark blue and gold — a design championed by President Donald Trump that breaks from the iconic light blue and white livery in place since the Kennedy administration more than six decades ago.

As Americans observe Presidents' Day on Feb. 16, 2026 — officially Washington's Birthday — the legacy of George Washington endures as the nation's foundational figure.

Presidents' Day on Monday, February 16, 2026, delivers a mid-winter three-day weekend for millions of Americans. Officially known as Washington's Birthday in federal law, the holiday honors George Washington and has evolved to celebrate all U.S. presidents.

A leaked immigration policy by the Liberal Party seeks to ban migrants from Gaza, Somalia, and certain parts of the Philippines.

Australia's food ministers are expected to take a step closer to making mandatory nutrition labels a reality.

Conservative lawmaker Sanae Takaichi led Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to a resounding landslide victory in the February 8, 2026, general election, securing a historic supermajority of 295 seats in the 465-member House of Representatives and ending more than a year of political uncertainty that followed the LDP's 2024 snap-election setback.

A high-profile critic of China, Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in jail in a landmark national security trial.

President Donald Trump on Friday removed a video from his Truth Social account that included a racist clip depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, following intense criticism from Democrats, Republicans and civil rights leaders.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have signed a new security treaty in Jakarta

In an all-hands meeting with Apple employees, CEO Tim Cook promised that he will lobby Washington regarding immigration.

Ryan Wesley Routh, the 59-year-old Hawaii man who opened fire on former President Donald Trump during a golf outing in September 2024, was sentenced to life in federal prison without parole on Feb. 5, 2026, concluding one of the most high-profile political violence cases in recent U.S. history.

A restored angel fresco bearing a striking resemblance to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was painted over and effectively "scrubbed" from a historic church wall on the orders of the parish priest, following days of political controversy, clerical dismay and public curiosity that drew crowds to the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed that the Afghan embassy located in Canberra will close on June 30, 2026.