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Israeli security cabinet expands powers in occupied West Bank
The Israeli security cabinet has approved a series of far-reaching changes expanding the powers of Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank and making it easier for Jewish settlers to buy land in the Palestinian territory. The moves are the latest in a string of steps taken by Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government to tighten Israel’s grip on the West Bank, which Palestinians seek as the heart of a future state but which Israel has subjected to a military occupation for more than half a century. Israel’s ultranationalist finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has long called for Israel to annex the territory, said the moves would “fundamentally change the legal and civil reality” in the West Bank and that the government was “burying the idea of ​​a Palestinian state”. The changes, approved on Sunday, abolish a provision preventing Jewish private citizens from buying land in the West Bank and remove Palestinian officials from decisions on building permits in the Jewish settlement in Hebron, including at a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews. They also give Israeli authorities powers to take action - such as carrying out property demolitions - against people deemed responsible for environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority. Financial Times, February 9

Hong Kong sentences pro-democracy mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison
A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison on Monday for national security crimes, a punishment rights groups condemned as "effectively a death sentence" and a symbol of the city's shrivelling press freedoms. Lai, a British citizen and founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty in December of urging foreign countries to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and for publishing "seditious" articles in his paper. The 78-year-old's sentence is by far the harshest handed out under the Beijing-imposed national security law, surpassing the previous record of 10 years given to legal scholar Benny Tai in 2024. France 24, February 9

Global economy must move past GDP to avoid planetary disaster, warns UN chief
The global economy must be radically transformed to stop it rewarding pollution and waste, UN secretary general António Guterres has warned. Speaking to the Guardian after the UN hosted a meeting of leading global economists, Guterres said humanity’s future required the urgent overhaul of the world’s “existing accounting systems” he said were driving the planet to the brink of disaster. “We must place true value on the environment and go beyond gross domestic product as a measure of human progress and wellbeing. Let us not forget that when we destroy a forest, we are creating GDP. When we overfish, we are creating GDP.” For decades, politicians and policymakers have prioritised growth - as measured by GDP - as the overarching economic goal. The Guardian, February 9

Universities told to report foreign interference on campus to MI5
University bosses have been told by ministers to report threats of foreign interference directly to the government and security services. Skills Minister Jacqui Smith said UK universities had become "a prime target for foreign states and hostile actors". She said the government did "not take this lightly" and would spend £3m on measures, including a new secure platform for vice-chancellors and designated security leaders at universities to report suspicious approaches or interference. It comes after senior leaders at 70 universities attended a briefing with MI5 director general Sir Ken McCallum to discuss what interference might look like, such as censoring research and intimidating staff. A report published last August said Chinese students in the UK were being pressured to spy on their classmates. The UK-China Transparency think tank said its survey of China studies academics had found reports of Chinese government officials warning lecturers to avoid discussing certain topics in their classes. BBC news, February 9

Netflix receives £130m in tax breaks for making Bridgerton in UK
Netflix has received almost £130 million in tax breaks from the government in return for making four series of its period drama Bridgerton in the UK. Analysis of the streaming company’s accounts shows it had spent £509 million making the show by the end of 2024. The government’s reimbursement reduced Netflix’s net costs to £381 million over seven years. Based on books by the American author, Julia Quinn, Bridgerton is narrated by Julie Andrews and set during the Regency era. It charts the romantic exploits and rivalries of the eponymous family of eight siblings as they rise through the ranks of London’s high society. The fourth series was released last week and drew 40 million views in its first four days. The Times, February 8

Venezuela legislature advances amnesty bill for political detainees
Venezuela’s legislature on Thursday advanced an amnesty bill proposed by acting President Delcy Rodríguez that could lead to the release of hundreds of opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons. Such an amnesty is a central demand of the country's opposition and human rights organisations with backing from the United States. But the contents of the bill have not been released publicly, and rights groups have so far reacted with cautious optimism - and with demands for more information. The bill, introduced just weeks after the US military captured then president Nicolas Maduro, still requires a second debate that has yet to be scheduled. Once approved, it must be signed by Rodríguez before it can go into effect. France 24, February 6

Russian general shot multiple times in Moscow attack
A Russian general has been rushed to hospital after being shot several times in Moscow, officials said. Russia’s Investigative Committee said “an unidentified individual fired several shots” at Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, who has a senior role in Russia’s general staff, before fleeing the scene. “The victim has been hospitalised,” the agency added, without giving any details about the perpetrator. Several high-ranking military officials have been killed since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Kyiv has claimed responsibility for some of those attacks. The Times, February 6

US and Iran to start nuclear talks in Oman
Senior Iranian officials arrived in Oman for crunch talks with the US over the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme as part of a diplomatic push to avert a new war between the arch-enemies. The negotiations, scheduled to begin on Friday, come as US President Donald Trump has been weighing military options against Iran. He has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group, fighter jets and air defences to the region after the Islamic regime brutally cracked down on nationwide protests. Financial Times, February 6

Deepfake fraud taking place on an industrial scale, study finds
Deepfake fraud has gone “industrial”, an analysis published by AI experts has said. Tools to create tailored, even personalised, scams - leveraging, for example, deepfake videos of Swedish journalists or the president of Cyprus - are no longer niche, but inexpensive and easy to deploy at scale, said the analysis from the AI Incident Database. It catalogued more than a dozen recent examples of “impersonation for profit”, including a deepfake video of Western Australia’s premier, Robert Cook, hawking an investment scheme, and deepfake doctors promoting skin creams. These examples are part of a trend in which scammers are using widely available AI tools to perpetuate increasingly targeted heists. Last year, a finance officer at a Singaporean multinational paid out nearly $500,000 to scammers during what he believed was a video call with company leadership. UK consumers are estimated to have lost £9.4bn to fraud in the nine months to November 2025. The Guardian, February 6

Statin pills much safer than advertised, major review finds
Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, used by millions, are far safer than previously thought, a major review has found. Leaflets in packs should be changed to reflect this and avoid scaring people off using the life-saving pills, say the authors. Statins do not cause most of the possible side effects listed, including memory loss, depression, sleep disturbance, weight gain and impotence, says the team funded by the British Heart Foundation. Meanwhile, they can slash a person's risk of heart attacks and strokes. The results, in The Lancet journal, come from trials involving more than 120,000 people comparing statins with a dummy drug or placebo. Statins are highly effective at lowering "bad" LDL cholesterol levels and have been repeatedly proven to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease - a condition that causes some 10 million deaths worldwide and a quarter of all deaths in the UK, say the researchers from Oxford University. As with any medicine, there can be side effects, but these are few. Reports of adverse effects were almost identical in the placebo group that was not on the medication, suggesting statins are not the cause. None of the patients in the trials knew if the pill they were taking was real or a pretend one. BBC news, February 6