News Digest

‘It can be survivable’: Inside Keir Starmer’s efforts to stop a coup

U.S. President Barack Obama is in the middle of a meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron in Washington. The White House says the meeting is to discuss ways to improve relations between the U.S and Britain.

Starmer and McSweeney battled to keep sleazebags out of power. Then they hired Mandelson

European officials are ‘assessing’ whether the PM contravened the EU’s code of conduct. The European Commission is also looking into whether the EU has broken its own rules in the past.

Shein’s Donald Tang messaged Epstein multiple times, documents show

The fast-fashion giant has survived the sex-doll fiasco unscathed so far, but more legal disputes loom. Europe’s failure to mine the icebound Danish territory looks increasingly like a mistake.

Push by lawmakers to ban Russian steel sets up clash with EU capitals

The EU imported more steel from Russia in 2025. The European Parliament now sees a unique chance to ban it. A majority of EU member countries on Friday voted in favor of signing the long-awaited agreement.

MEP Fidias Panayiotou announces he will run for Cypriot parliament

The coast guard vessel had its camera switched off when it collided with a boat carrying migrants. Fidias stirred controversy last May when he attended Russia’s “Victory Day” celebrations.

EU targets Russian energy, banks, goods and services in latest sanctions package

Brussels and Canberra are reviving trade talks that collapsed at the end of 2023. A plenary vote on removing tariffs on U.S. industrial goods and lobster is now likely in March.

Russian offensive appears to be slowing after Musk blocks Starlink access, Ukraine says

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff described the latest trilateral negotiating round in Abu Dhabi as “detailed and productive” Ukraine’s Plan B is to be able to protect itself if allied security guarantees prove worthless. “They are like blind kittens,” a Ukrainian General Staff commander tells POLITICO.

De Wever, Meloni, Merz to host pre-summit competitiveness meeting

The defendants allegedly arranged around 16,000 deliveries to Russia worth at least €30 million. A Russian pacifist who fled the Ukraine front now faces deportation under tougher asylum rules. A three-day trip to Arab Gulf states underscores Berlin’s pivot to ‘middle powers’

Former Norway PM under corruption investigation over Epstein files

Miroslav Lajčák communicated with Jeffrey Epstein when he served as a foreign minister in Slovakia. Thorbjørn Jagland was in touch with Epstein while he was chair of the Nobel Prize committee and head of the Council of Europe.

Trump backs Orbán ahead of key Hungary election

Thorbjørn Jagland was in touch with Epstein while he was chair of the Nobel Prize committee and head of the Council of Europe. The Hungarian prime minister is lagging behind former ally Péter Magyar in election polls ahead of the April vote.

Poll: Two-thirds of National Rally supporters prefer Bardella to Le Pen as their candidate

“If you want to call and have a serious conversation, then call. Putin will always pick up the phone,” he said. The French presidential election is set to be held on May 7.

Polish court orders arrest of fugitive ex-minister Ziobro

Ambassador Tom Rose denounced “outrageous and unprovoked insults” by Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty. Zbigniew Ziobro, who is under investigation over the alleged misuse of public funds, was granted political asylum in Hungary in January.

US Democrats urge EU to defy Trump on oil and gas rules

Wind turbines are for “losers,” says Trump. Europe’s leaders beg to differ at a high-level meeting in Hamburg. The European Union moved to close a sanctions loophole on third-country oil refineries.

EU tells TikTok to change its addictive design

TikTok told to change features such as infinite scroll or face big fines. EU law demands X provide data to assess risks including foreign interference. French President Emmanuel Macron wants the ban in place from Sept. 1.

Britain’s trade chief races to Brussels to avoid ‘Made in Europe’ shutout

U.K. officials fear that planned industry act could lock British firms out of key European supply chains. Reform UK leader has a “massive advantage in that he’s a genuine piss artist,” pub boss Tim Martin says.

Labour anger at Mandelson scandal ‘off the scale’

David Neuberger says the unelected House of Lords should be circumvented to pass the controversial bill if it runs out of time. Keir Starmer faces mounting fury from within his own ranks over the way he has handled scandal over former ambassador’s links to Jeffrey Epstein.

China signals readiness for dialogue after Lithuanian PM calls Taiwan office ‘a mistake’

Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė described the decision to open a Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius as “a mistake” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the door to communication between China and Lithuania remains open.

Lithuanian municipalities allocate €50,000 for generators and heaters for Ukraine

Lithuania’s Association of Local Authorities has allocated €50,000 to provide generators and heaters for Ukraine. The funds will support the Warm Ukraine initiative, launched by the NGO Stronger Together in cooperation with Lithuanian National Museum of Art.

Lithuanian, European Council presidents discuss EU competitiveness, single market

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda held a phone call with European Council President António Costa on Friday. The conversation was held ahead of an informal EU leaders’ meeting in Belgium on February 12.

Lithuanian FM meets Moldovan president to discuss EU integration, Russian threats

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys met Moldovan President Maia Sandu in Chisinau on Friday. The two discussed bilateral relations, European integration, and ways to strengthen resistance to Russian hybrid attacks. The meeting also covered support for Ukraine.

Lithuanian opposition secures signatures for no-confidence vote against parliament speaker

Opposition MPs in Lithuania have collected the necessary amount of signatures needed to initiate a no-confidence vote against Parliament Speaker Juozas Olekas. The opposition criticises Olekas for what it calls an unconstitutional proposal to appoint fellow party member Julius Sabatauskas as a judge of the Constitutional Court.

Lithuanian MP Bagdonas found guilty in ‘receipt case’

Andrius Bagdonas was fined €5,000 by a regional court in Klaipėda. Prosecutors accused the lawmaker of abuse of office, document forgery and fraud. The court heard that in 2020 he falsified five expense reports.

Volkov case assessed in broader context, says Lithuania’s intelligence chief

Russian opposition figure Leonid Volkov fled Russia in 2019 after criminal charges were brought against him. Volkov appeared to welcome the reported killing of Denis Kapustin, commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps. He also made critical remarks about senior Ukrainian officials.

Austria’s Kapsch TrafficCom to install Lithuania e-toll system for €16.2m

Kapsch TrafficCom will install Lithuania's electronic road tolling system for heavy vehicles for 16.2 million euros. The system will be leased for five years and is expected to provide fairer road charging. Lithuania has been attempting to introduce e-tolling since 2021, but repeated legal disputes have delayed the system’s launch.

Despite debate on warmer ties, Lithuania's stance on Belarus among EU’s toughest, says FM

Lithuania’s position on European Union sanctions against Belarus is clear and unchanged, says Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys. His comments come amid domestic debate over whether restrictions on Belarus could be eased and relations with Minsk cautiously improved. The EU has imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Belarus over human rights abuses, its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and hybrid attacks against the bloc. Lithuanian government approved the extension of national sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens until 2028.

Lithuania urges ‘finally ambitious’ EU sanctions package against Russia

Kęstutis Budrys said the EU must go further in increasing pressure on Moscow. He said the United States had, in some respects, taken a tougher approach. The 20th package is expected to be approved on 24 February, the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion.

LRT English Newsletter: Epstein’s Lithuanian trail

Lithuania will have a record defence budget this year, with the military planning to acquire some of the most expensive – and lethal – tech, like the HIMARS systems. The US approved over 200 million US dollars in defence assistance to the Baltic states. Several dozen people detained in wide sweep against criminal smuggling networks. Arrests also made as part of an international human and drug trafficking bust. Foreign nationals are struggling to rent apartments in Vilnius.

Epstein’s money trail in Lithuania: dozens of bank transfers since 2008

Jeffrey Epstein transferred at least €152,000 in 25 payments from 2008 to Lithuanian bank accounts at SEB, Swedbank, and the then-DNB. The purpose of, or justification for, the payments remains unclear. Panevėžys Regional Prosecutor’s Office this week launched a pre-trial investigation following the release of the data. Documents suggest it covered the cost of the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) language exam. Valdas and Simona Petreikiai withdrew from public life after links to the sex offender emerged.

Cover Story newsletter: The dangerous dollar

America may be reaching peak Spanish

Who might succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Britain’s prime minister?

Lawsuits over transgender medicine for minors could be huge

Does being induced lead to a medicalised birth?

Meet the leader of Japan’s hard-right populist movement

All in: America bets on prediction markets

What to watch this week

Inside the crisis at the Kennedy Centre

The US in brief: Showing seniors the door

Elon shot: will Musk’s mega-merger work?

How regional powers are thinking about a war in Iran

Britain’s trade-union laws are returning to the 1970s

Generative AI in German firms: Diffusion, costs, and expected economic effects

Over half of firms surveyed currently use generative AI or expect to use it by the end of the year. GenAI-related spending is expected to rise markedly from 2024 to 2026. But spending forecasts point to diminishing returns once easily scalable applications have been implemented.

Immigration restrictions and natives' intergenerational mobility: Evidence from the 1920s US quota acts

Immigration restrictions reduced intergenerational mobility among US-born white men. In counties more exposed to the quotas, white sons were less likely to surpass their fathers in occupational status. Negative effects of the quotas were larger in counties that lost more immigrants who were less English-proficient.

Bitcoin investor’s company helped draft law to enable libertarian Caribbean development

Privatising the Fed’s balance sheet

Tech wreck signals a market reset

Mexico’s extortion crisis casts a shadow over Super Bowl avocados

The three-way race for Brazil’s rare earths heats up

US launches antitrust review of $83bn Netflix deal for Warner Bros

US tech stocks rally strongly after three days of heavy selling

The disappointing randomness of currency hegemony

AI.com bought by Crypto.com founder for $70mn in biggest-ever website name deal

Why Rio Tinto walked away from Glencore

EU pushes for full ban on services tied to Russia’s oil trade

How prediction market traders reinvented the bond

Kalshi chief Tarek Mansour: ‘We’re pricing the future’

How a long-standing pledge to protect the Amazon began to fall apart

So what does Bill Gurley make of Figma’s IPO now?

The triangle of confusion