Independent News & People Network Desk of News

In sticking by Trump, Republicans and rightwing evangelicals have made a devil’s pact

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T19:17:10+00:00

Trump might not embody Christian values yet is the religious right’s chosen instrument to turn the tide against liberal, godless AmericaThey had come to say a prayer for the father, the son and the holy ghost.The father was Donald Trump who, despite sending federal militias to roam Minneapolis, threatening to invade Greenland and telling lies by the dozen, remains the lord and saviour of the religious right. Continue reading...

Discussion
•••

The way, the Trump and the lies: prayer breakfast displays US right’s devil’s pact

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T19:17:10+00:00

Trump might not embody Christian values yet is the religious right’s chosen instrument to turn the tide against liberal, godless AmericaThey had come to say a prayer for the father, the son and the holy ghost.The father was Donald Trump, who, despite sending federal militias to roam Minneapolis, threatening to invade Greenland and telling lies by the dozen, remains the lord and saviour of the religious right. Continue reading...

Discussion
•••

Resignations, denials and excuses: Epstein fallout hits some harder than others

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T19:15:15+00:00

While the US president’s many mentions in the Esptein files seem to have no consequences, in the UK Starmer could be the first world leader to fallAll around Europe, the political and business elite are facing an inquest on what blinded so many to think it was permissible to consort with a known sex trafficker. As the 3m emails and 1,800 photos released on Friday by the US Department of Justice start to percolate across the continent and through to national media, questions about the moral fibre of this elite are starting to be asked at markedly different levels of intensity.Squirming business

Discussion
•••

Той самий шарм, але без натовпу туристів: названо 8 островів Греції, які варто відвідати

Source: UNIAN (General) · Published: 2026-02-05T19:11:00+00:00

Популярні острови Греції вражають неймовірними краєвидами, але багато туристів можуть завадити відпочинку, але є менш відомі місця.

Discussion
•••

Той самий шарм, але без натовпу туристів: названо 8 островів Греції, які варто відвідати

Source: UNIAN (General) · Published: 2026-02-05T19:11:00+00:00

Популярні острови Греції вражають неймовірними краєвидами, але багато туристів можуть завадити відпочинку, проте є менш відомі місця.

Discussion
•••

Calls to halt UK Palantir contracts grow amid ‘lack of transparency’ over deals

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T19:02:27+00:00

Opposition MPs urge Labour to pause public contracts with the US tech firm after attempts to probe deals blockedLabour should halt public contracts with the US tech company Palantir, opposition politicians have said, amid growing concern at the lack of government transparency over dealings with the company and Peter Mandelson.Since 2023, Palantir has secured more than £500m in contracts with the NHS and the Ministry of Defence, while it employed Global Counsel, the lobbying firm founded by Mandelson. Emails released by the US Department of Justice show Mandelson sought help from Jeffrey Epstei

Discussion
•••

Iran is betting that Trump does not have a plan for regime change

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T19:01:58+00:00

Although weakened by airstrikes, sanctions and domestic unrest, Tehran is surprisingly bullish before talks with USWhen it comes to Iran and Donald Trump, there is so much bluff, backed by military hardware, that the truth rarely makes an incontrovertible appearance.Nevertheless, it appears that a bullish Iran is going into negotiations with the US on Friday adopting maximalist positions that do not seem greatly different to those it adopted in the five rounds of talks before the negotiations were abruptly halted by the surprise Israeli attack on Iran last June. Continue reading...

Discussion
•••

Bonobos can play make-believe much like children, study suggests

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T19:00:47+00:00

An ape was able to identify the location of imaginary objects in pretend scenarios, researchers findWhether it’s playing at being doctors or hosting a toy’s tea party, children are adept at engaging in make-believe – now researchers say bonobos can do it too.While there have been anecdotal reports of apes using imaginary objects, including apparently dragging pretend blocks across the floor, experts say it is possible such instances have other explanations. Continue reading...

Discussion
•••

Magic Beach by Alison Lester named Australia’s best children’s picture book

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T19:00:46+00:00

Lester’s 1990 classic about the wonders of nature wins Guardian Australia poll ahead of Possum Magic in second placeAlison Lester interview: ‘Everything I do looks a bit like a stuffed toy’Children on their favourite picture book: ‘I also like that the dad cries’Magic Beach by Alison Lester has won Guardian Australia’s poll to find Australia’s best children’s picture book of all time.More than 100,000 votes were cast after polling opened on 27 January. Aside from the first day, when Possum Magic by Mem Fox and illustrator Julie Vivas took an early lead, Magic Beach was the most voted for book

Discussion
•••

‘Part of our biological toolkit’: newborn babies can anticipate rhythm in music, researchers find

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T19:00:45+00:00

Brain activity suggests newborns can detect and predict patterns relating to rhythm, study saysNewborn babies can anticipate rhythm in pieces of music, researchers have discovered, offering insights into a fundamental human trait.Babies in the womb begin to respond to music by about eight or nine months, as shown by changes in their heart rate and body movements, said Dr Roberta Bianco, the first author of the research who is based at the Italian Institute of Technology in Rome. Continue reading...

Discussion
•••

How We Know Iran Crushed Protests with Lethal Force

Source: New York Times - World · Published: 2026-02-05T18:59:17+00:00

The New York Times collected and analyzed hundreds of videos of a crackdown on anti-government protests that Iranians shared despite an internet blackout. Sanjana Varghese explains how the Visual Investigations team at The Times verified them.

Discussion
•••

How penis injections became a Winter Olympic talking point

Source: BBC News - World · Published: 2026-02-05T18:44:26+00:00

The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.

Discussion
•••

Покинуте туристичне місце, колись улюблене багатими та знаменитими, тепер "застигло" у часі

Source: UNIAN (General) · Published: 2026-02-05T18:41:00+00:00

Хоча в'їзд для туристів заборонений, деякі з тих, хто там жив, змогли повернутися в кілька районів курорту після відкриття пунктів пропуску між північчю і півднем у 2003 році.

Discussion
•••

Trump offers revised account of Tulsi Gabbard presence at FBI raid in Georgia

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T18:31:49+00:00

Shifting explanations of Gabbard’s presence at election center intensifies scrutiny of role she played in operationDonald Trump on Thursday offered a new and shifting account of why Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, was present last week at an FBI raid of an election center in Georgia, saying she went at the urging of the attorney general Pam Bondi.“She took a lot of heat two days ago because she went in at Pam’s insistence,” the US president said at the National Prayer Breakfast, a high-profile event of political and religious leaders. “She went in and she looked at votes

Discussion
•••

Trump offers contradictory account of Tulsi Gabbard presence at FBI raid in Georgia

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T18:31:49+00:00

Shifting explanations of Gabbard’s presence at election center intensifies scrutiny of role she played in operationDonald Trump on Thursday offered a new and shifting account of why Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, was present last week at an FBI raid of an election center in Georgia, saying she went at the urging of the attorney general Pam Bondi.“She took a lot of heat two days ago because she went in at Pam’s insistence,” the US president said at the National Prayer Breakfast, a high-profile event of political and religious leaders. “She went in and she looked at votes

Discussion
•••

Trump administration issues rule that makes it easier to fire federal workers

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T18:30:22+00:00

New rule to be published in the Federal Register on Friday would strip job protections for 50,000 federal employeesThe Trump administration is seeking to finalize its overhaul of the federal government’s civil service system through a rule issued this week by the office of personnel management (OPM) to strip job protections from 50,000 civil service employees.Under the rule, the president would have the authority to fire and hire an estimated 50,000 career federal employees. Continue reading...

Discussion
•••

Rape allegation against ex-Barclays CEO Jes Staley was raised in US Epstein investigation

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T18:29:14+00:00

Newly unsealed files claim the banker, who has denied any wrongdoing, forced a woman to touch his genitalsUS prosecutors reviewed allegations of rape and bodily harm against the former Barclays boss and former JP Morgan banker Jes Staley, according to newly unsealed files linked to the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Multiple documents in the Epstein files cite serious allegations of sexual misconduct against Staley, including that he forced a woman to touch his genitals during a massage before raping her, and left “bloody marks” on the arms of a woman he called “tinkerbell”. Continue readi

Discussion
•••

Cuba open to talks with US ‘without pressure’ after months of Trump threats

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T18:26:26+00:00

Miguel Díaz‑Canel says Cuba is willing to engage Washington amid the island’s deepening economic crisisAfter months of threats from Donald Trump, the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has said that his government is willing to talk to the United States, just so long as it is “without pressure”.Standing in front of a life-sized photograph of Fidel Castro carrying a rifle during the 1959 revolution, Díaz-Canel, the 65-year-old president, said on Thursday that his island nation had been subject to an “intense media campaigns of slander, hatred and psychological warfare”. Continue reading...

Discussion
•••

En Serbie, la justice dans le collimateur du président Aleksandar Vucic

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-02-05T18:15:23+00:00

Le chef de l’Etat a promulgué une réforme qui devrait rentrer en vigueur dans les prochains jours pour contrer des enquêtes pour corruption mettant en cause plusieurs ministres de son parti.

Discussion
•••

Zohran Mamdani suggests ‘New York City’s first free grocery store’ is PR stunt

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T18:12:14+00:00

Polymarket, the cryptocurrency-based prediction market, announced it would open store in apparent nod to mayor’s signature policyZohran Mamdani made city-operated grocery stores a key pledge of his campaign for mayor of New York City. So when one company seemed to muscle in on the idea this week, apparently as a PR stunt, Mamdani was quick to reply.Polymarket, the cryptocurrency-based prediction market, announced on Tuesday it would be opening “New York City’s first free grocery store,” seemingly a nod to the mayor’s signature policy. In a statement the firm said it hoped to “empower every Ne

Discussion
•••

Mamdani takes sardonic view of Polymarket’s ‘free grocery store’ stunt in New York

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T18:12:14+00:00

Cryptocurrency-based prediction market announced it would open store in apparent nod to mayor’s signature policyZohran Mamdani made city-operated grocery stores a key pledge of his campaign for mayor of New York City. So when one company seemed to muscle in on the idea this week, apparently as a PR stunt, Mamdani was quick to reply.Polymarket, the cryptocurrency-based prediction market, announced on Tuesday it would be opening “New York City’s first free grocery store,” seemingly a nod to the mayor’s signature policy. In a statement the firm said it hoped to “empower every New Yorker to achiev

Discussion
•••

‘If someone had pulled the trigger’: MPs rue lack of challenger to oust Keir Starmer

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T18:06:26+00:00

PM clings on to power amid damaging fallout from Mandelson row on a day Commons mutiny filled the airThe most dangerous moment of Keir Starmer’s premiership came just after lunchtime on Wednesday, when mutiny was the talk of the Commons tea room.Anger is widespread across Labour – but it was at its most palpable amongst the party’s new MPs, as the Conservatives used a humble address to force the disclosure of the vetting documents and communications linked to Peter Mandelson, disgraced by his close association with Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading...

Discussion
•••

‘If someone had pulled the trigger’: MPs rue lack of challenger to oust Starmer

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T18:06:26+00:00

PM clings to power after a day when Commons mutiny filled the air, as fallout over Mandelson appointment continuesThe most dangerous moment of Keir Starmer’s premiership came just after lunchtime on Wednesday, when mutiny was the talk of the Commons tea room.Anger is widespread across Labour – but it was at its most palpable among the party’s new MPs, as the Conservatives used a humble address to force the disclosure of the vetting documents and communications linked to Peter Mandelson, disgraced by his close association with Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading...

Discussion
•••

Shin Bet chief’s brother charged with ‘assisting enemy’ over cigarette smuggling in Gaza

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-02-05T18:01:46+00:00

Bezalel Zini accused of role in taking goods into the occupied Palestinian territory during an Israeli blockadeThe brother of Israel’s internal security chief has been charged with “assisting the enemy in wartime” for his alleged role in a smuggling network taking cigarettes and other goods into Gaza during an Israeli blockade of the occupied Palestinian territory.Bezalel Zini was one of more than 10 people charged in relation to the alleged network. His brother, David Zini, is the head of the Shin Bet, the domestic intelligence agency. He was appointed by the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyah

Discussion
•••
news

Editorial wall of the news flow

A query on the internal database produces an ordered selection of articles, ready for reading and discussion.