UK - The United Kingdom has blocked the United States from using RAF bases to launch a strike on Iran, prompting anger from President Donald Trump. The disagreement over the use of the British military sites is behind Trump's withdrawal of his support for Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a report has claimed. It comes as the White House is drawing up a detailed military plan for an attack on Iran involving the use of both Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, the site of America’s fleet of heavy bombers in Europe. Defence officials reportedly briefed Trump that the US will be ready to begin a war by Saturday, following a formidable build-up of American aircraft and ships in recent days. The UK has not yet granted permission to the US to use the military sites in the event that Trump orders an attack on Tehran, because of concerns that the strike would be a breach of international law, according to a report in the Times.

USA - President Trump is said to be considering a “fully fledged war” with Iran, having assembled a US armada in the Middle East. The USS Gerald R Ford, the largest warship ever built, is due to arrive in the Gulf in the coming days, joining the USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class carrier which shot down an Iranian drone last month. Trump appears to have been reviewing battle plans on Wednesday afternoon when he withdrew his support for Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. In a post on Truth Social he identified Diego Garcia, the US military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean, and RAF Fairford, the airbase in Gloucestershire, as possible locations from which to attack Iran. “It may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime,” he wrote.

USA - World’s biggest manufacturers write off billions as they retreat from an EV boom that never was. “I think the customer has spoken. That’s the punchline,” said Jim Farley, the chief executive of Ford. The American boss was speaking last week as his company unveiled a $5 billion (£3.7 billion) annual loss, barely two months after it had booked a shock $19.5 billion write-down. The cause? An aggressive bet on electric vehicles (EVs) that backfired spectacularly.

USA - Two massacres in a week – in Tumbler Ridge and Rhode Island – have escalated concerns over links between gender identity and mass violence. “We know the children who identify as ‘trans’ are among the most vulnerable groups – some are highly disturbed. And yet we’re not investigating this, we’re told to simply ‘affirm’ them. Davies-Arai says she is concerned about what so-called “gender affirming care” is doing to the physical and mental health of these young people. Studies have found that there is a higher rate of suicide among trans people compared to the population at large.

UK - Former duke held for hours on suspicion of misconduct, becoming first royal taken into custody in modern times. He left the police station under the cover of darkness. Slumped in the back seat of a car, wild-eyed and exhausted, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor looked like a man with the full weight of the past and the future on his shoulders. A man born in a palace as Prince Andrew spent his 66th birthday at a police station on Thursday, becoming the first member of the Royal family in modern history to be arrested. By nightfall, after nearly 12 hours in custody, he was released under caution with more questions to come. The magnitude of his fall from grace seemed etched on his face. Emails, released as part of the Epstein files, appeared to show him sharing confidential information while he worked as a British trade envoy, representing the late Queen and country overseas.

IRAN - Iran’s supreme leader threatened US military power, rejected limits on Iran’s missile program, and criticized Washington after US aircraft carriers were sent to the region. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened the US military, saying that the "strongest military force may be struck so hard that it cannot get up again," in a post on X/Twitter on Tuesday. In reacting to the US sending aircraft carriers to the region, he wrote, "Of course, a warship is a dangerous piece of military hardware. However, more dangerous than that warship is the weapon that can send that warship to the bottom of the sea."

USA - President Trump announced this afternoon the start of his “MASSIVE Trade Deal with Japan”, which he says will see over half a trillion dollars in investments, and that’s just the beginning. Here’s what he says: "Japan is now officially, and financially, moving forward with the FIRST set of Investments under its $550 BILLION Dollar Commitment to invest in the United States of America — part of our Historic Trade Deal to REVITALIZE the American Industrial Base, create HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of GREAT American Jobs, and strengthen our National and Economic Security like never before."

VATICAN - The Vatican will not participate in United States President Donald Trump's Gaza Board of Peace initiative, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's top diplomatic official, said on Tuesday, while adding that efforts to handle crises should be managed by the United Nations. Pope Leo, the first US pope and a critic of some of Trump's policies, was invited to join the board in January. Under Trump's Gaza plan that led to a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October, the board was meant to supervise Gaza's temporary governance. Trump thereafter said the board, with him as chair, would be expanded to tackle global conflicts. The board will hold its first meeting in Washington on Thursday to discuss Gaza's reconstruction. Italy and the European Union have said their representatives plan to attend as observers, as they have not joined the board.

UK - When you arrive at work this morning, or go shopping, don’t be surprised if you’re met with a cheery “Ramadan Mubarak!”. Don’t be puzzled, either, by someone wishing you, on February 17, “Happy New Year!”. It’s all part of the latest diversity craze – once prevalent only in the state sector, but now just as big in the corporate world. According to HR gurus, this is the way to make Muslim employees, clients and shoppers starting Ramadan, their fasting season, and Chinese and others from Asia, marking their new year, feel people are being friendly. Or to use HR jargon, feel they are in a “supportive environment”.

GERMANY - Donald Trump criticised Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as an “embarrassment to the nation” after she struggled to answer foreign policy questions at the Munich Security Conference. The US president labelled the prominent Democrat “incompetent” following her widely-criticised and stumbling performance at the major diplomatic event. When Ms Ocasio-Cortez was asked whether the US would send troops to Taiwan if China invaded the self-governing island, she stalled and stuttered for some 20 seconds, before offering a response that reflected Washington’s longtime policy of strategic ambiguity. “I watched AOC answering questions in Munich – this was not a good look for the United States,” Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. Turning his ire on another key rival, the US president said the performance by Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, in Munich was also “a bad look for our country”.

UK - Today, things are falling apart in Britain. People are so alienated and angry “the centre cannot hold”. A listener to my podcast Planet Normal, sent us an extraordinary email about his mother’s final days in hospital. There she was surrounded by medical staff whose English was so poor they couldn’t understand her, nor she them. The Englishwoman cannot hear English (on her deathbed) – what a tragic metaphor for chaos and national self-harm that is. Last week it was the NHS figures which revealed that, in 2025 alone, 752,730 immigrants registered with a GP. Imagine the impact of three quarters of a million new people on a healthcare system where so many are already on a waiting list – some of them dying for treatment.

USA - Legislation introduced in Oklahoma would restrict the application of certain foreign laws in state courts and limit foreign ownership or control of land and critical infrastructure, lawmakers behind the measures told Breitbart News exclusively. State Representative Gabe Woolley introduced House Joint Resolution 1040, which would prohibit Oklahoma courts from applying Sharia law or other foreign legal systems in judicial decisions. The proposal is framed in the press release as an effort to ensure courts remain grounded in the United States Constitution and Oklahoma law. Responding to critics who have raised concerns about religious liberty, Woolley told Breitbart News, “While we recognize that Americans enjoy freedom of religion, this resolution is a step to protect homeland security and Oklahomans’ constitutional rights — rights that Islam and Sharia law do not adhere to. Sharia law is a political ideology presented as a religion. It is a Trojan horse used to infiltrate free and independent nations, such as America, in order to overthrow them and instill and expand Sharia law principles.”

USA - Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat for New York) announced on Sunday that he would be “introducing federal legislation to make the Pride Flag a congressionally authorized symbol.” In a post on X, Schumer criticized President Donald Trump for attacking “not just the LGBTQ community,” but everyone who cares “about pride and equality” in New York City (NYC). Schumer added that he was “proud to stand with” people such as New York State Representative Tony Simone (Democrat) and New York State Senator Erik Bottcher (Democrat) to make his announcement. “The Stonewall Inn is sacred ground,” Schumer wrote. “Last week, Donald Trump attacked not just the LGBTQ community, but all of us who care about pride and equality in NYC when he ordered the removal of the pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument.” The move to make the pride flag a congressionally authorized symbol “would enshrine the flag with similar protections as the US flag, military flags, POW/MIA flags and others recognized by Congress,” Fox News reported.

IRAN - Iran announced the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the 1980s on Tuesday, amid a US military build-up in the Arabian Sea. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Tuesday that sections of the strategic waterway would be closed for several hours for live-fire naval drills. Iran’s supreme leader also threatened to send US aircraft carriers to the “bottom of the sea”, despite diplomatic efforts continuing in Geneva. A US official said: “The Iranians ⁠said they would come back in the next two ‌weeks with detailed proposals to address ⁠some ⁠of the open gaps in our positions.” Later on Tuesday, JD Vance told Fox News: “In some ways, it went well; they agreed to meet afterwards. But in other ways, it was very clear that the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through.

MIDDLE EAST - For several weeks now, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been on station in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Iran. Her air wing has flown continuous surveillance and training missions while the ship and her escorts have worked hard to avoid counter-detection. In the course of these operations, an F-35C fighter jet from the carrier recently shot down an Iranian drone that was out looking for the carrier in an attempt to mark her position.