International

• Tuesday, February 17th 2026 - 23:37 UTC

  China showcases humanoid robots at its Spring Festival Gala with kung fu routines for a mass audience

  

  China put humanoid robots front and centre at its Spring Festival Gala —the country’s biggest annual television event— featuring a choreographed martial-arts routine with traditional weapons such as swords and nunchucks, acrobatics and tightly synchronised sequences alongside human performers.

• Tuesday, February 17th 2026 - 04:06 UTC

  US, Canada and Mexico face measles outbreaks months before World Cup 2026

  

  With fewer than four months to go before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off, the United States, Canada and Mexico —the tournament’s three host countries— are reporting significant measles resurgences, a highly contagious disease that had been pushed back across the region through routine immunization. Health authorities and international bodies are urging stronger vaccination and surveillance as public trust in vaccine guidance frays.

• Monday, February 16th 2026 - 13:35 UTC

  Opus Dei briefs the Pope on Argentina “controversies” amid labor exploitation allegations

  

  Pope Leo XIV on Monday met with Opus Dei Prelate Fernando Ocáriz, as the organization’s leadership presented its “institutional perspective” on “certain controversies” in Argentina, against the backdrop of ongoing allegations involving domestic servitude and human trafficking.

• Monday, February 16th 2026 - 00:14 UTC

  Regional News Monitoring Gains Urgency as Venezuela Crisis and US Migration Policy Reshape Latin America

  

  Latin America is facing renewed geopolitical and humanitarian pressure as developments in Venezuela and evolving migration policies in the United States reshape regional dynamics. Governments across the hemisphere are recalibrating responses as migration flows, border enforcement measures, and political rhetoric shift almost in real time.

• Sunday, February 15th 2026 - 16:28 UTC

  Lagarde says Trump’s ‘kick in the butt’ has pulled European leaders closer

  

  European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said on Sunday at the Munich Security Conference that a shift in US President Donald Trump’s stance toward Europe has acted as a political jolt, pushing European leaders into closer coordination.

• Saturday, February 14th 2026 - 03:17 UTC

  US redeploys USS Gerald R. Ford from Caribbean to Middle East amid Iran pressure

  

  The United States is shifting the USS Gerald R. Ford, its largest aircraft carrier, from the Caribbean Sea to the Middle East in a move that would place two US carrier strike groups in the region as President Donald Trump presses Iran to reach a deal over its nuclear programme.

• Friday, February 13th 2026 - 23:59 UTC

  Uruguay cancels Cardama OPV deal over “serious breaches,” moves toward legal action

  

  Uruguay’s government has terminated its contract with Spain’s Cardama shipyard for the construction of two offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Uruguayan Navy, citing “serious contractual breaches,” and said it will seek damages through legal action.

• Thursday, February 12th 2026 - 22:20 UTC

  UK cabinet chief removed after Epstein-linked backlash

  

  UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday agreed that Sir Chris Wormald would step down as Cabinet Secretary and head of the Civil Service, the most senior administrative role in the British state, as political pressure intensified over the Epstein controversy and the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson.

• Thursday, February 12th 2026 - 09:09 UTC

  Hundreds of tractors roll into Madrid as farmers protest CAP cuts and EU-Mercosur accord

  

  Thousands of farmers and ranchers, alongside hundreds of tractors, rallied in central Madrid on Wednesday to protest expected cuts in the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and to denounce the European Union’s trade agreement with Mercosur, according to organisers and authorities.

• Wednesday, February 11th 2026 - 23:34 UTC

  Poland and Italy decline to join Trump’s Board of Peace, citing doubts and constitutional limits

  

  Poland and Italy said they will not join U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, adding to the list of Washington allies that are staying on the sidelines, at least for now.