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Bilal Erdoğan Visits New Bangladesh Prime Minister
Politicsnewsbeast22h ago

Bilal Erdoğan Visits New Bangladesh Prime Minister

Bilal Erdoğan, son of the Turkish President, was the first visitor to the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Tarique Rahman, less than 24 hours after his inauguration, sending a message from Turkey to Dhaka that is being interpreted in diplomatic circles.

Singapore busker ‘stunned like a vegetable’ after ex-PM Lee spotted at performance
CultureSCMP5d ago

Singapore busker ‘stunned like a vegetable’ after ex-PM Lee spotted at performance

Singapore street performer Bryan Wong may have performed all around the world, but few gigs can compare to the one where Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong randomly turned up in the audience. The 29-year-old acrobatics artist was performing his Circles In Circus act at Rainforest Wild Asia when he spotted Lee and his wife, Ho Ching, watching from the crowd. In a video later posted to social media, Wong zoomed in to Lee’s face, joking: “Sir, I’m sorry, I’m going to zoom in to your face, thank you...

The secret Afghan women’s book club defying the Taliban to read Orwell
CultureThe Guardian6d ago

The secret Afghan women’s book club defying the Taliban to read Orwell

Banned from education, a clandestine reading circle meets every week to pour over novels by Abbas Maroufi, Zoya Pirzad and Ernest Hemingway Four young women sit together, waiting for the phone to ring. When the call finally comes, their friend’s voice is crackly and hard to make out, but they wait patiently for the signal to improve so they can start discussing their chosen book. Every Thursday, the five friends come together away from the disapproving gaze of the Taliban for a reading circle. They read not for entertainment but, as they put it, to understand life and the world around them. They call their group “women with books and imagination”. Continue reading...

Ukraine's Former Energy Minister Charged With Money Laundering As 'Operation Midas' Expands
PoliticsFTFrance 24zerohedge9d ago3 sources

Ukraine's Former Energy Minister Charged With Money Laundering As 'Operation Midas' Expands

Ukraine's Former Energy Minister Charged With Money Laundering As 'Operation Midas' Expands Months after Ukraine was shaken by a sweeping corruption probe into state nuclear giant Energoatom, and subject of international embarrassment given it even touched Zelensky's office, former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko has now been formally charged - after authorities detained him while he was allegedly attempting to leave the country. Halushchenko had been suspended by Zelensky in mid-November, when news of the scandal first hit global headlines. On Monday, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced that Halushchenko faces formal charges of money laundering and participation in a criminal organization tied to what investigators call the Midas case or Operation Midas. The former Minister of Energy, Herman Galushchenko, Creative Commons "The former minister of energy (2021–2025) has been exposed for money laundering and participation in a criminal organization," the joint statement said, adding that investigators have "expanded the circle of suspects." The investigation is focused on members of the alleged network which established an investment fund in Anguilla (the British Overseas Territory in the Eastern Caribbean) in February 2021. The vehicle was marketed as raising roughly €118 million in "investments" - with Halushchenko’s family listed among the contributors - after which millions flowed directly into accounts controlled by the family.  For example, authorities claim part of the funds paid for the education of Halushchenko’s children at elite Swiss institutions, while other sums were deposited into his ex-wife's accounts, also with a big portion of the money allegedly invested further, "earning extra income for the family's personal use." Halushchenko was energy minister from 2021 to 2025 before being appointed justice minister in July 2025. In November, NABU agents conducted raided offices and properties connected to him as the investigation intensified. Western mainstream media had almost immediately launched into damage control in the wake of the massive energy scandal, with one op-ed in Bloomberg having tried its best to say it's not at all Ukraine's fault, but is actually somehow... the Kremlin behind it(!). Here's how it began: There are at least two legitimate responses to allegations that a group of highly placed Ukrainian officials have skimmed $100 million from contracts to repair and protect their nation’s critical energy infrastructure, even as Russian attacks plunge the nation into darkness and cold. One is to despair, the other to celebrate. The second, strange as it may sound, is more logical. This episode goes to the heart of why Ukrainians are fighting at all. The war began in 2014, after then President Viktor Yanukovych was toppled by mass protests against the epic scale of his corruption and the captivity to Moscow this created. Graft was the glue with which the Kremlin had held... So even with high officials in Zelensky's government are caught red-handed by a Ukrainian internal investigation, the ultimate fault lies in Moscow, according to some MSM accounts. It must be remembered that earlier last year, Zelensky himself found himself at the center of EU pushback and controversy when he attempted to eliminate NABU's independence, sparking outrage in Brussels some sectors of the Ukrainian populace. Ukrainians, currently enduring a harsh winter in subzero temperatures and with rolling power outages due to the war, are outraged. But Americans might also need to wake up and take note of how billions in US funds are going into the coffers of a deeply corrupt Ukrainian system. Tyler Durden Mon, 02/16/2026 - 09:25

KP living in the stone age, says Punjab CM Maryam
WorldDawn9d ago

KP living in the stone age, says Punjab CM Maryam

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Monday said that the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was living in the stone age, critising the province’s government for not taking steps for development in the age of technology. Addressing a laptop distribution scheme at a Gujrat university, CM Maryam highlighted that students in Punjab had access to Honhaar scholarships, laptop schemes, Parwaz Card, green buses and technical training programmes. “So there is Honhaar here, and incitement there, but this is nothing to rejoice about,” she said, adding that she was extremely upset that the “people of KP were still living in the stone age”. Maryam stated: “They do not know what development is. They do not realise that Honhaar scholarships also exist if one does not have the resources for their child’s studies. “They do not know that you must have a gadget or a laptop or an iPad or a computer in your hands if you are to meet global standards in today’s age.” Indirectly noting that the PTI had been in power in KP for the past “13 years”, she said the public there “does not even know what development is”. The chief minister quipped that the KP government’s response to every need was that it was providing them “awareness”. Maryam emphasised that blocking major roads in KP did not affect the businesses in Punjab but rather the economic activity of KP itself. During her address, Maryam also recalled the time when her mother Kulsoom Nawaz was hospitalised due to cancer in 2017 and 2018, as well as when her father and ex-premier Nawaz Sharif was ill during his imprisonment in 2019. Noting that Nawaz was in his 70s when he was jailed, the Punjab CM said, “He got sick after multiple heart attacks and his platelets dropped. He had cardiac pain [but] such a joke was made out of his ailment.” She continued: “When my father and I were in jail, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and her disease was ridiculed so much; it was even said that she was not sick and it is all a drama.” Maryam then recalled that Kulsoom was on a ventilator in a London hospital when certain individuals “entered the ICU through deception by wearing doctors’ uniforms to verify whether it was true or false”. “When my mother passed away, my father said, ‘One has to die to prove their innocence here’,” she said, adding that she was in a jail cell when Nawaz informed her about Kulsoom’s death. The PML-N leader then played some old video clips of ex-premier Imran Khan from when he was in power. In the clips, the PTI founder threatened to get the TV and air conditioner removed from the prisons of the PML-N leadership. Maryam asserted: “I am swearing by God that till today, neither I nor Nawaz Sharif or Shehbaz Sharif even thought of removing his AC or shutting off his food and TV. “In fact, Nawaz Sharif said one day that he (Imran) has one AC, give him two ACs as he should not face any problems.” She further said she was the “first woman” to be locked in the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) jail and a cell had to be vacated for her as they did not have a dedicated women’s prison. The Punjab CM then played another video of ex-PM Imran, wherein he commented on the “long list” of health issues Nawaz was facing. “You can have differences on policies and policies, but you cannot turn political disagreements into personal enmities,” Maryam emphasised. “My children, you must never do this,” she told the audience, referring to the actions taken by the PTI government of jailing PML-N leadership and “making fun” of the ailments. “The time circles back, but my father was telling me at dinner the other day to never wish bad for even one’s political opponents,” she said. “You all must not do what he or his party is doing,” the politician stressed. “Those who are ill, we pray that God may give them recovery soon,” she added. Speaking on Imran’s current health issues, Maryam said, “The kind of facilities and the doctors he needs are being provided to him, and I am telling you this on oath that no one wishes ill for him.” She called for lies, accusations, incitement, vandalism and fitna to be “thrown out” of politics.

Norm Dutot retires after 56 years serving North Dakota sports
SportYahoo1h ago

Norm Dutot retires after 56 years serving North Dakota sports

Feb. 25—GRAND FORKS — When it dawned on Norm Dutot that his 56 years of sports service were coming to an end, he took out a highway map of North Dakota and started circling. Bismarck. Grand Forks. Fargo. Mandan. Fifty-seven cities were circled by the time he was finished. Communities big and small, east and west, north and south. Circles sprinkled across the expanse of the state. A similar ...

Demetrious Johnson claims Dana White’s $15m Conor Benn deal is about ‘flexing’
SportYahoo23h ago

Demetrious Johnson claims Dana White’s $15m Conor Benn deal is about ‘flexing’

Demetrious Johnson is not sold on the idea that Conor Benn’s reported $15 million Zuffa Boxing deal is a reflection of his market value, suggesting it might be more about Dana White making a statement. White made headlines earlier this week by adding ‘The Destroyer’ to the growing roster of Zuffa Boxing, a move that instantly grabbed attention across both boxing and MMA circles.

Falling giants? Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg and Gladbach circle Bundesliga drain
SportThe Guardian2d ago

Falling giants? Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg and Gladbach circle Bundesliga drain

Threat of relegation looms over former league champions who can still be accused of living off past glories “We currently have zero self-confidence,” lamented Marco Friedl, “and it shows.” Werder Bremen had just come to the end of a 13th successive winless game and there was a sense that they didn’t realise that the bottom was quite this low – if indeed they are quite there. “I often have the right words, but today I’m pretty much speechless because I couldn’t have imagined the game ending li...

Conservative Georgia town pushes back against ICE detention center: ‘We are Americans after all’
PoliticsThe Guardian7d ago

Conservative Georgia town pushes back against ICE detention center: ‘We are Americans after all’

Social Circle, a mostly Maga town, builds strange bedfellow coalition against plans to convert warehouse On a recent morning Eric Taylor, city manager for a small Georgia town of about 5,000 residents called Social Circle, was contacted by a staffer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “They asked me to turn on the water,” he said of a 1m sq ft warehouse nearby that the federal government recently purchased for $128m, with plans to use it for locking up as many as 10,000 detainees as part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation plan. Continue reading...

When Both Sides Go Quiet
PoliticsFox NewsYahoozerohedge+1Tehran Times7d ago4 sources

When Both Sides Go Quiet

When Both Sides Go Quiet Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance There is a political instinct that I’ve developed over the last few decade or so: when both parties are shouting, it’s business as usual. When both parties go quiet, pay attention, because something ugly is probably getting passed or covered up, and the American taxpayer is likely footing the bill of consequences. Few public controversies in recent memory have generated as much bipartisan distrust as the handling of the Epstein files. Republicans accused Democrats of failing to pursue full transparency while President Biden was in office. Now Democrats accuse Republicans of withholding or slow-walking the release of the complete records. The blame shifts with political control, but the underlying fact pattern remains the same: both parties have figures of influence whose names have surfaced in connection with Epstein’s orbit. That reality complicates the politics of accountability and fuels public suspicion that neither side is entirely comfortable with full disclosure. What should have been a straightforward matter of transparency, identifying networks of power, influence, and possible criminal complicity, has instead unfolded as a slow humiliating drip of redactions, procedural delays, partial disclosures and cagey congressional testimony. Each release seems to raise more questions than it resolves. These questions revolve around sex trafficking, exploitation, abuse of minors, coercion and manipulation, elite complicity, obstruction of justice, etc. But the deeper damage taking place now is not only about the crimes associated with Jeffrey Epstein. It is about institutional response. If only one political party had meaningful exposure to the scandal, the other would likely have been far more relentless in demanding transparency. But this is different. Despite Democrats harping on the files now, they were quiet in the years prior to Trump’s second term and, because Epstein’s connections span media, finance, academia, and politics, the discomfort still appears bipartisan. And that is precisely what unsettles me. When both political parties fail to press aggressively on something meaningful, especially something morally explosive, it often suggests that the issue cuts deeper than surface narratives allow. Bipartisan hesitation can signal overlapping vulnerability. Silence across the aisle is rarely accidental. The horror here is not just what may have occurred in private circles of power, but the perception that the institutions tasked with accountability are reluctant to fully illuminate it. Justice delayed in cases involving elites feels less like procedural caution and more like reputational risk management. Whether or not that perception is entirely fair, it is corrosive. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs’ chief legal officer Kathryn Ruemmler announced her resignation after new emails with Epstein came to light, prompting internal pressure at the firm. British political figure Peter Mandelson resigned from the House of Lords and the Labour Party, and Scotland Yard has opened a criminal investigation into his ties with Epstein. In Norway, parliament has launched an external inquiry into prominent diplomats for their connections to Epstein, and police are investigating corruption allegations against former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland and others. 🔥 50% OFF FOR LIFE: Using this coupon entitles you to 50% off an annual subscription to Fringe Finance for life: Get 50% off forever Across Europe, these disclosures have triggered formal probes, resignations, and institutional reviews that contrast sharply with the relative lack of accountability for high-profile figures in the United States, where calls for investigations and resignations have largely stalled. I mean, is Les Wexner really allowed to just walk around free at this point? How can that be possible? How are Kimbal Musk and Elon Musk allowed to remain on Tesla’s board? Why isn’t Bill Gates being hauled in front of congress? I have long argued that Americans should apply the same “when both parties agree, the American public is getting screwed” scrutiny to monetary policy for a similar reason. It is one of the few areas where both major political parties display remarkable convergence. While they wage visible battles over cultural issues and tax rates, they tend to align on central banking frameworks, large scale liquidity interventions, and deficit tolerance. Like other cover-ups, that alignment deserves examination. Monetary policy operates largely outside daily partisan warfare, yet it shapes purchasing power, asset prices, debt burdens, and wealth distribution. When balance sheets expand aggressively and markets are repeatedly stabilized during downturns, the effects are uneven. Asset holders often benefit first and most. Meanwhile, wage earners experience the lagging side effects such as inflationary pressure, higher living costs, and diminished purchasing power. Supporters of Modern Monetary Theory argue that sovereign currency systems provide more fiscal flexibility than traditionally assumed. Critics counter that, in practice, repeated interventions risk entrenching a cycle in which gains are privatized and losses are socialized. When markets rise, the wealth effect accrues to those with substantial exposure. When markets falter, public backstops prevent collapse. The middle class absorbs the inflationary residue. And the wealth gap widens: The structural similarity matters. When both parties avoid aggressive debate on a policy that materially burdens the average American, it raises the same instinctive question of what incentives are being protected. Monetary policy may not carry the visceral grotesqueness of the Epstein scandal, but it carries long term economic consequences that most Americans don’t know they are bearing, and don’t understand that they are being lied to about. The comparison is not moral equivalence. It is structural parallel. In one case, alleged networks of power may be shielded by mutual hesitation. In the other, a financial architecture persists with limited democratic scrutiny because challenging it would destabilize shared political comfort. In both cases, bipartisan alignment dampens confrontation. Two forms of silence. Two different domains. Both revealing. Foreign policy, particularly the authorization and funding of wars, has often followed a similar pattern. While domestic issues produce loud partisan divides, military interventions abroad frequently pass with overwhelming support from leadership in both parties. Public debate may flare at the margins, but institutional consensus tends to solidify quickly once action begins. History shows that major military engagements, from post 9/11 authorizations to prolonged overseas conflicts, have often been backed by broad congressional majorities. The initial votes are decisive. The funding continues year after year. Only later, when costs mount and public opinion shifts, does meaningful dissent emerge. By then, strategic commitments and financial obligations are deeply entrenched. Again, the pattern is not about moral equivalence between policy domains. It is about incentives. When both political parties converge quickly on matters involving immense money, immense power, or immense liability, scrutiny tends to narrow rather than widen. And when scrutiny narrows at the highest levels, the public’s role shifts from participant to spectator. When both political parties fail to address something meaningful, when they close ranks instead of competing for exposure, the public should not assume the issue is trivial. More often, it suggests the truth behind the surface may be larger and more consequential than advertised. Democracies depend not just on disagreement, but on adversarial pressure. When that pressure disappears, citizens are right to lean in, not tune out. When both sides go quiet, the story is rarely over. As the Epstein files are showing, it may simply run far deeper than we are being shown. Now read: Today's Epstein’s Records Destroy Official Narratives Our Liquidity Addiction Continues Do DOJ Docs Show Epstein Death Notice A Day Early? The Hijacking Of Bitcoin: Epstein’s Hidden Network Why America’s Two-Party System Will Never Threaten the True Political Elites QTR’s Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. This post represents my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have been hand selected by me, have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author, reprinted under a Creative Commons license with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I’m bullish without owning things, sometimes I’m bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I’m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won’t update my positions. All positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. If you see numbers and calculations of any sort, assume they are wrong and double check them. I failed Algebra in 8th grade and topped off my high school math accolades by getting a D- in remedial Calculus my senior year, before becoming an English major in college so I could bullshit my way through things easier. I am an investor in Mark’s fund. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important. Tyler Durden Tue, 02/17/2026 - 14:00

Australian Comedic Drama ‘Kangaroo Island’ Hops to Blue Harbor for U.S. Release (EXCLUSIVE)
Culturevariety8d ago

Australian Comedic Drama ‘Kangaroo Island’ Hops to Blue Harbor for U.S. Release (EXCLUSIVE)

Blue Harbor Entertainment has acquired all U.S. rights to “Kangaroo Island,” Timothy David’s directorial debut that received recognition from the Film Critics Circle of Australia with four nods including best film. The Australian production also ranked among the country’s 10 highest-grossing releases last year. The distributor will launch the title theatrically April 24, beginning with […]

Rosebush Pruning review – dysfunctional rich family move in strange circles
CultureThe Guardian9d ago

Rosebush Pruning review – dysfunctional rich family move in strange circles

Jamie Bell and Elle Fanning lead a starry cast in this clumsy satire that provides little fascination in a wealthy family’s suffocating lives Since Jesse Armstrong’s Succession and Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn, wealthy, spoilt, dysfunctional siblings are the new rock’n’roll, and now here is a film from Greek screenwriter Efthimis Filippou (co-author of Yorgos Lanthimos’s Alps and Dogtooth) and directed by Karim Aïnouz. It is a weird-wave contrivance concerning a messed-up US plutocrat clan living in Spain, freely remade from Marco Bellocchio’s 1965 film Fists in the Pocket. Their bizarre and cartoony secrets, involving sex abuse, manipulation and self-harm, are satirically symptomatic of capitalism and the patriarchy, and how the rich, however entrepreneurial and smart, create a next-gen class of useless drones, on whose behalf all this wealth has supposedly been accumulated. I have to admit to finding it heavy-handed and clumsy more often than not, although there are some good performances, notably from Jamie Bell and Elle Fanning. A strange extended family lives in a luxurious modernist house; the father (Tracy Letts) is a blind widower haunted by the memories of his late wife (Pamela Anderson) who was savaged by wolves in a nearby forest. His grownup children, infantilised by wealth, all live there: highly strung Robert (Lukas Gage) has epilepsy, and is entrusted with supervising his father’s horse riding; Anna (Riley Keough) is a talentless singer-songwriter; and Ed (Callum Turner) is a would-be fashionista. First among equals is Jack (Jamie Bell), who has the intimate honour of helping his father with his nightly teeth-cleaning; their mother’s teeth were always dazzlingly white. Continue reading...

Delhi Confidential: Debut Meet
Politicsindian-express17h ago

Delhi Confidential: Debut Meet

A report from Delhi Confidential details a 'Debut Meet', likely a significant first gathering or event in political or social circles in Delhi.

Dinesh Lal Yadav confesses he never loved his wife in 26 years of 'forced' marriage
CultureTimes of India20h ago

Dinesh Lal Yadav confesses he never loved his wife in 26 years of 'forced' marriage

Bhojpuri superstar Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly known as Nirahua, has once again grabbed headlines — this time for his candid remarks about his personal life. The actor, who has been married to Mansha Devi since 2000 and is a father to two sons, opened up about his marriage and his views on love during a recent interaction, sparking conversations across social media and entertainment circles.

Emergency Landing for Bucharest-Hurghada Flight
Worlddigi24hotnews2d ago2 sources

Emergency Landing for Bucharest-Hurghada Flight

A HiSky aircraft operating a flight from Bucharest to Hurghada, Egypt, returned to Otopeni Airport shortly after takeoff due to a cabin pressurization sensor activation. The plane, carrying nearly 200 people, circled to burn fuel before landing safely.

Deadly Nigeria Crash Raises Hard Questions as Anthony Joshua Mourns Fallen Friends
SportYahoo8d ago

Deadly Nigeria Crash Raises Hard Questions as Anthony Joshua Mourns Fallen Friends

Anthony Joshua is mourning his friends with fresh ink. But behind the tattoos lies a crash that never should have happened. The former heavyweight champion recently had the names of Sina Ghami and Kevin “Latif” Ayodele tattooed on his arm, a permanent tribute to the two men killed in a violent car crash in Nigeria on December 29. The accident left Joshua injured and his inner circle shattered. It also exposed a chain of reckless decisions with fatal consequences. The Lexus SUV carrying Joshua an

My rookie era: I attempted only the easiest Australian Women’s Weekly birthday cakes. Then came the duck cake
CultureThe Guardian9d ago

My rookie era: I attempted only the easiest Australian Women’s Weekly birthday cakes. Then came the duck cake

When I shared my attempt online, my duck cake was described as ‘Big Bird on crack’ Read more summer essentials I assume no parent aspires to give their offspring an unmemorable and vanilla childhood. I wanted to be a fun mum, creating love-soaked memories and quirky family traditions for my children right from the get-go. I wanted to be Bluey’s parents before Bluey even existed. The Australian Women’s Weekly birthday cakes were destined to be a pillar of my perfectly imperfect parenting rituals. One child quickly became three, and that iconic recipe book was in constant rotation. In the early years, I would simply choose a cake that matched my very basic baking skills. I also only owned a round tin, so my kids’ early cakes were circle-shaped, or circle-adjacent: the swimming pool (a round cake filled with jelly), the cat (a round cake with ears) and the race track (two round cakes with the centres removed). Continue reading...

‘Dust’ Review: A Stylish Saga of Friendship and Fraud That Slowly Plateaus
CultureThe GuardianvarietyKorea Herald+3rolling-stoneignscreen-rant9d ago6 sources

‘Dust’ Review: A Stylish Saga of Friendship and Fraud That Slowly Plateaus

In Anke Blondé’s latest feature, two friends — middle-aged men in expensive suits — walk in step through offices and banquet halls for much of the first act. You might expect their strides to be scored by a power ballad or an upbeat hip-hop track, but “Dust” is a film of financial fraud brought to […]