Five takeaways from the Munich Security Conference
Five takeaways from the Munich Security Conference
Frank Gardner
Security Correspondent, BBC News
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance in Munich – but will not play a part in next week’s talks with Russia
A series of US declarations rocked last week’s Munich Security Conference and caused discord among the European politicians in attendance.
Now US and Russian officials are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia next week to begin negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine.
However, Ukraine and European politicians have not been invited to attend, despite insisting they must be involved for any ceasefire to be credible.
Instead, they will meet in Paris on Monday for an emergency summit to discuss the conflict and the continent’s security.
Here are five takeaways from Munich.
1. End of an era
Nato, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was formed in 1949 with the primary aim of blocking expansion in Europe by the former Soviet Union.
Now numbering 32 members, including several Eastern European countries, members agree that if one of them is attacked, the others should help defend it.
But after this week the post-World War Two security architecture for Europe is no more. America is still in Nato but Europe can no longer automatically rely on the US to come to its aid.
In Brussels, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Nato’s European members to spend much more on defence, saying they would have to provide the “overwhelming” share of military funding for Ukraine.
2. Ukraine policy upendedReuters
3. Spend more now
Europe, everyone agrees, needs to rapidly raise its defence spending if it has any hope of deterring a newly emboldened Russia.
The current Nato-mandated minimum of 2% of GDP is likely to rise to 3%. Russia currently spends more than twice that on defence in percentage terms.
In January, Trump urged Nato’s European members to spend 5% of their national income on defence. Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte has also urged member states to boost their defence spending.
But Europe as a whole has already overtaken the US in terms of aid to Ukraine. In total, it has allocated €70bn ($73bn; £58bn) in financial and humanitarian aid as well as €62bn in military aid. This compares to €64bn in military aid from the US as well as €50bn in financial and humanitarian allocations.
4. That JD Vance speech
Watch key moments from Vance’s speech in Munich
US Vice President JD Vance’s blistering attack on Europe’s policies on Friday was called “ill-judged” and “insulting” by many of the delegates at the Munich Security Conference.
They had hoped he would reassure them the US was not abandoning Ukraine.
Instead, he spent the majority accusing European governments – including the ***’s – of retreating from their values, and ignoring voter concerns on migration and free speech.
The address was met by silence in the hall, and later denounced by several politicians at the conference.
But the speech appealed to others on both sides of the Atlantic and Donald Trump called it “brilliant”.
5. Disunity and discord
While the Munich conference was occupied by the geopolitical, Donald Trump announced plans to bring in a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports from March.
It was evidence there are now very obvious rifts between Washington’s positions and Europe’s on several issues, from trade to dealing with Russia.
It is a divide that the *** is struggling to bridge, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer telling reporters both relationships were important and Britain was “not choosing between the US and the EU”.
But the Trump team’s own messaging is sometimes contradictory, rowing back on grand pronouncements the day after they have been made.
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Nine surprising facts about Indians in the US
Nine surprising facts about Indians in the US
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Indian asylum seekers from Gujarat await US border patrol after crossing into Arizona in 2024
Donald Trump has made the mass deportation of undocumented foreign nationals a key policy, with the US said to have identified about 18,000 Indian nationals it believes entered illegally.
Last week Narendra Modi said India would take back its nationals who were in the US illegally, and also crack down on the “human trafficking ecosystem”.
“These are children of very ordinary families, and they are lured by big dreams and promises,” he said during his visit to Washington.
Now a new paper by Abby Budiman and Devesh Kapur from Johns Hopkins University has shed light on the numbers, demographics, entry methods, locations and trends relating to undocumented Indians over time.
Here are some of the more striking findings.
How many ******** Indians are in the US?
Unauthorised immigrants make up 3% of the US population and 22% of the foreign-born population.
The number of undocumented Indians among them is contested however, with estimates varying widely due to differing calculation methods.
Pew Research Center and Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) estimate some 700,000 people as of 2022, making them the third-largest group after Mexico and El Salvador.
In contrast, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) puts the figure at 375,000, ranking India fifth among origin countries.
The official government data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offers yet another picture, reporting 220,000 unauthorised Indians in 2022.
The vast differences in estimates highlight the uncertainty surrounding the true size of the undocumented Indian population, according to the study.
Yet numbers have dropped from their peak
Indian migrants make up only a small share of the overall unauthorised migrant population in the US.
If Pew and CMS estimates are accurate, nearly one in four Indian immigrants in the US is undocumented – an unlikely scenario given migration patterns, the study says. (Indian immigrants are one of the fastest-growing groups in the US, surging from 600,000 in 1990 to 3.2 million in 2022.)
The DHS estimated in 2022 that the undocumented Indian population in the US dropped 60% from its 2016 peak, falling from 560,000 to 220,000.
How did the number of undocumented Indians drop so steeply from 2016 to 2022? Mr Kapur says the data doesn’t provide a clear answer, but plausible explanations could be that some obtained legal status while others returned, particularly due to COVID-related hardships.
However, this estimate doesn’t reflect a 2023 surge in Indians at US borders, meaning the actual number could now be higher.
Getty Images
A US deportation flight carried about 100 Indian nationals back home in early February
Despite rising border encounters, US government estimates show no clear increase in the overall undocumented Indian population from the US financial year (FY) 2020 to 2022, according to the study.
Encounters refer to instances where non-citizens are stopped by US authorities while attempting to cross the country’s borders with Mexico or Canada.
Visa overstays by Indians have remained steady at 1.5% since 2016.
The number of Indian recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) has also declined from 2,600 in 2017 to 1,600 in 2024. The Daca programme protects migrants who came to the US as children.
To sum up: the undocumented Indian population grew both in numbers and as a share of all unauthorised migrants, rising from 0.8% in 1990 to 3.9% in 2015 before dropping to 2% in 2022.
A surge – and shifting migration routes
The US has two main land borders.
The southern border along the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas bordering Mexico sees the most migrant crossings. Then there’s the US-Canada border spanning 11 states.
Before 2010, encounters involving Indians at the two borders were minimal, never exceeding 1,000.
Since 2010, nearly all encounters involving Indians occurred along the US-Mexico southern border.
In FY 2024, encounters of Indian nationals on the northern border surged to 36% of all Indian crossings, up from just 4% the previous year.
Canada had become a more accessible entry point for Indians, with a shorter visitor visa processing times than US.
Also, there was a surge in attempted border crossings from 2021 onwards, and the encounters at the Mexico border peaked in 2023.
“This is not specific to Indians. It is part of a larger surge of migrants trying to come into the US after Biden was elected. It is as if there was a high tide of migrants and Indians were a part of it,” Mr Kapur told me.
Getty Images
Immigrants from India walk next to the Trump-built border fence after crossing into the US in January
Where are the ******** Indians staying?
The study finds that the states with the largest Indian immigrant populations -California (112,000), Texas (61,000), New Jersey (55,000), New York (43,000) and Illinois (31,000) – also have the highest numbers of unauthorised Indian immigrants.
Indians make up a significant share of the total unauthorised population in Ohio (16%), Michigan (14%), New Jersey (12%) and Pennsylvania (11%).
Meanwhile, states where more than 20% of Indian immigrants are unauthorised include Tennessee, Indiana, Georgia, Wisconsin and California.
“We expect this because it’s easier to blend in and find work in an ethnic business – like a Gujarati working for a Gujarati-American or a Punjabi/Sikh in a similar setup,” Mr Kapur told me.
Who are the Indians seeking asylum?
The US immigration system allows people who are detained at the border who fear persecution in their home countries to undergo credible “fear screenings”. Those who pass can seek asylum in court, leading to a rise in asylum applications alongside rising border apprehensions.
Administrative data doesn’t reveal the exact demographics of Indian asylum seekers, but court records on spoken languages provide some insight.
Punjabi-speakers from India have dominated Indian asylum claims since 2001. After Punjabi, Indian asylum seekers spoke Hindi (14%), English (8%) and Gujarati (7%).
They have filed 66% of asylum cases from FY 2001–2022, suggesting Punjab and the neighbouring state of Haryana as key migrant sources.
Punjabi speakers from India also had the highest asylum approval rate (63%), followed by Hindi speakers (58%). In contrast, only a quarter of Gujarati speakers’ cases were approved.
‘Gaming the system’ – why asylum claims are rising
US data collected by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows Indian asylum requests in the US have skyrocketed.
The requests jumped tenfold in just two years, rising from about 5,000 in 2021 to over 51,000 in 2023.
While this spike is most dramatic in the US, similar trends are seen in Canada, the *** and Australia, where Indians are among the largest asylum-seeking groups, the study says.
Mr Kapur believes this is “largely a way to game the asylum system rather than an objective fear of persecution, as processing takes years”.
Given the large number of Punjabi-speakers who seek asylum, it’s unclear what has changed in the northern Indian state ruled by the Congress party (2017-22) and latterly the Aam Aadmi Party (2022–present) to drive this surge.
Under Trump’s second presidency, asylum requests are set to plummet.
Within his first week, a key app for migrants was shut down and removed from app stores, cancelling nearly 300,000 pending appointments, including asylum cases already in progress.
Getty Images
Punjabi-speakers from India have dominated Indian asylum claims since 2001
What do asylum seekers tell us about India?
US data shows most Indian asylum seekers are Punjabi and Gujarati – groups from India’s wealthier states, better able to afford high migration costs.
In contrast, Indian Muslims and marginalised communities and people from conflict zones like the regions affected by Maoist violence and Kashmir, rarely seek asylum, the study says.
So most Indian asylum seekers are economic migrants, not from the country’s poorest or conflict-hit regions.
The arduous journey to the US – whether via Latin America or as “fake” students in Canada – costs 30-100 times India’s per capita income, making it accessible only to those with assets to sell or pledge, the study says.
Not surprisingly, Punjab and Gujarat – top origin states for unauthorised Indians – are among India’s wealthier regions, where land values far exceed returns from farming.
“Even illegality takes a lot of money to pursue,” the study says.
What’s fuelling ******** Indian migration?
While rising asylum claims may seem linked to “democratic backsliding” in India, correlation isn’t causation, the authors say .
Punjab and Gujarat have long histories of emigration, with migrants heading not just to the US but also the ***, Canada and Australia.
Remittances – India received an estimated $120bn in 2023 – fuel aspirations for a better life, driven not by poverty but “relative deprivation”, as families seek to match the success of others abroad, the study says.
A parallel industry of agents and brokers in India has cashed in on this demand.
The Indian government, says the study, “has looked the other way, likely because the issue of ******** migration is much more a burden for receiving than sending countries”.
How many Indians have been deported?
Between 2009 and 2024, around 16,000 Indians were deported, according to India’s ministry of external affairs.
These deportations averaged 750 per year under Obama, 1,550 under Trump’s first term, and 900 under Biden.
Indian migrant removals spiked between FY 2023 and 2024, but the peak was in 2020 with nearly 2,300 deportations.
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Major bank continues to lower rates as competition heats up
Major bank continues to lower rates as competition heats up
Competition among mortgage providers has spurred a big four bank to cut its variable interest rates ahead of tomorrow’s RBA decision on the cash rate.
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‘SNL’ 50th anniversary special red carpet: PHOTOS – New York Post
‘SNL’ 50th anniversary special red carpet: PHOTOS – New York Post
‘SNL’ 50th anniversary special red carpet: PHOTOS New York Post How to Watch the ‘S.N.L.’ 50th Anniversary Special The New York TimesSabrina Carpenter and Paul Simon Perform “Homeward Bound” to Open ‘SNL’ 50th Anniversary Special Hollywood Reporter‘Saturday Night Live’ Adds Alec Baldwin, Billy Crystal, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and More to 50th Anniversary Special Yahoo Entertainment
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Westpac posts $1.7bn quarterly profit, flags rising unemployment
Westpac posts $1.7bn quarterly profit, flags rising unemployment
Westpac has posted a $1.7bn quarterly profit despite earnings falling almost 10 per cent.
In first quarter results posted on Monday, Westpac flagged weak demand for businesses and unemployment to peak at 4.5 per cent this year – up from the current 4 per cent.
“Cost-of-living pressures and high interest rates remain challenging for some customers, while many businesses face cost pressures and lower demand,” chief executive Anthony Miller said.
“Encouragingly, inflation has eased and we could see the Reserve Bank of Australia reduce the cash rate as early as tomorrow.
“This should provide some relief to households and, over time, support business activity. We encourage customers to call us if they need help.”
Camera IconWestpac chief executive Anthony Miller says low demand is affecting businesses NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia
Westpac’s $1.7bn net profit for the three months to the end of December is a 9 per cent fall on the average of the past two quarters.
Under-stress mortgage holders almost made sizeable dents in their repayments in the final three months of 2024. Westpac was carrying more than $5.35bn of unsecured and/or 90-days late mortgages in September. By December, that number had shrunk to $5.1bn.
Consumers are depositing and borrowing more from Australia’s oldest bank. Lending rose 5 per cent for the calendar year to $820bn and deposits climbed to $688bn, up more than 6 per cent.
Camera IconWestpac shares are up more than 30 per cent in the past year. NewsWire / Glenn Campbell Credit: News Corp Australia
However, Westpac is banking on a rise in unemployment this year, working on assumptions the benchmark would rise to 4.5 per cent by mid-year. That is above the current 4 per cent number but paired back from Westpac’s early 4.7 per cent forecast.
Westpac shares are up 33 per cent over the past 12 months. However, in the hours after the quarterly results were posted, the share price had fallen 5.4 per cent to $32.82, a ******* dip than the other major banks.
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Clarksville, Tennessee monitoring high river levels
Clarksville, Tennessee monitoring high river levels
The mayor of Clarksville urged residents to avoid sightseeing near the high water levels caused by heavy rainfall. Similar to previous severe weather events, officials are confident that the community will emerge from this situation without major issues.
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Wall Street’s China Plans in Tatters After Years of Setbacks – Bloomberg
Wall Street’s China Plans in Tatters After Years of Setbacks – Bloomberg
Wall Street’s China Plans in Tatters After Years of Setbacks Bloomberg
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Ex-Dragons player Talatau ‘Junior’ Amone spat at woman in Wollongong pub
Ex-Dragons player Talatau ‘Junior’ Amone spat at woman in Wollongong pub
A magistrate has slammed the behaviour of a former NRL star who spat on a woman at a pub, labelling his actions as “disgusting”.
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Nato at odds with Ukraine over Soviet-style tactics
Nato at odds with Ukraine over Soviet-style tactics
Nato is at odds with Ukraine over its battlefield tactics, with British defence sources accusing Volodymyr Zelensky’s army of wasting expensive weapons and equipment, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
Kyiv’s troops are understood to be combining Western-donated weapons with Soviet-style tactics, in a misstep which has led to a significant amount of squandered Nato weaponry.
Russian tactics prioritise masses of cheap firepower over Nato-style precision attacks.
A British soldier who has trained Ukrainians in Ukraine told The Sunday Telegraph that Kyiv’s troops would use ***-donated NLAWs “as if they were RPGs”, which are cheap Russian rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
NLAW is a single-use anti-tank missile that costs about £20,000 per unit, and is designed to be used for precision attacks against enemy armour. The *** has supplied more than 5,000 to Kyiv.
Russian soldier fires howitzer at Ukrainian positions – Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/AP
The source said Ukrainians were required to share videos of the weapon being used correctly, but the footage received showed Kyiv’s troops wildly firing five or six NLAWs towards Russian lines at the same time — salvos costing upwards of £100,000 each.
Russia manufactures cheap firepower in huge quantities that Nato cannot match, as the alliance produces smaller amounts of hi-tech weapons designed for combined arms, manoeuvre warfare tactics.
Combined arms is a method of warfare in which troops outflank the enemy with coordinated artillery, armour and air support. It requires highly accurate weapons, reliable communications and highly-trained commanders who have in-depth knowledge of the whole battlefield.
Russia prefers its units to act more independently of each other, with “disposable” troops pushing forward so that masses of artillery can be moved into a position to grind the enemy down. It rarely uses tanks for assaults, instead using them to bombard the enemy from a distance.
Sources said there had never been enough time to teach Ukrainians advanced Nato tactics, comparing the training given in the *** and Ukraine to the condensed courses undertaken by British reservists, which squeeze months of training into two-week packages.
Not only was there a shortage of time, it is alleged that Ukrainian troops were often reluctant to adopt Nato doctrine, arguing that it was unsuitable to conditions on the ground that Western trainers had not experienced.
These disagreements could become heated, a source said, with British Army trainers in Ukraine on one occasion reaching for their sidearms due to the threat of violence.
Nato has a “nothing gets left behind” attitude towards equipment and weapons due to their high cost and doctrinal importance.
Sources said Ukrainian troops had repeatedly abandoned Javelin missile command launch units (CLU), which can be re-used and reportedly cost more than $100,000 (£80,000), on the battlefield as Kyiv’s military allegedly retains a Soviet-style, semi-disposable outlook towards its equipment and weapons.
This has reportedly led to Russian forces capturing relatively large quantities of Javelin CLUs, as well as their missiles and launch tubes.
A Russian army source said he and his unit often come across stocks of Western-provided anti-tank weapons abandoned by Ukrainian forces.
“The Russian army probably has more Javelins than the British Army now,” a British source said, adding that although he and his colleagues supported Ukraine’s fight against Russia, the effort to support Kyiv “was built around lies”.
The *** has donated more than 10,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, “thousands” of Javelins among them. James Cartlidge, the former defence procurement minister, said in April last year that *** Javelin stocks would not be replenished until “2027 and 2028”.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky check map at Sumy – Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP
Britain has also donated hundreds of highly accurate Brimstone missiles to Ukraine, which can be used by either aircraft or troops to attack ground targets.
It is alleged that Ukrainian troops would often miss targets with Brimstones as they were using older Soviet-era mapping systems.
Sources also described instances of corruption when training Ukrainian troops in Ukraine.
Lorries carrying equipment would occasionally go missing and shipments of vehicles would arrive at units stripped of parts, “including seatbelts”.
Ukraine has requested that Western allies deliver more stocks of cheap firepower, leading European countries to scour former Warsaw Pact countries such as Bulgaria for their old stockpiles of Soviet weapons.
After Ukraine’s 155th Brigade, which was entirely Nato-trained in France, disintegrated this winter due to “complete organisational chaos” and heavy losses, some Ukrainian officers spoke out against Nato training methods.
Sergey Filimonov, commander of Ukraine’s 108th Battalion, said: “Nato’s training methods often fail to align with the realities of modern warfare.
“Foreign training, unless adapted to Ukrainian conditions and integrated within [existing] unit practices, is not only ineffective but dangerous.”
Brimstone missile in defence equipment exhibition in London – Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
He added that he knew of “10 such brigades” with similar problems to the 155th.
An analysis by the US Congressional Research Service in March 2024 concluded that adherence to Soviet-style doctrine among high-ranking Ukrainian officers had increased since the start of the war.
It noted that General Oleksandr Syrsky, who is ethnically Russian and learnt his trade at the Moscow Higher Military Command School in the 1980s, had been appointed Ukrainian commander-in-chief in 2024.
In 2023, a leaked ******* army document stated that Ukrainian forces were ignoring lessons learnt during Western training, negating the advantages of Nato weapons and tactics.
It said Ukraine was breaking up Nato-style formations into smaller units and not adapting to Western manoeuvre warfare, blaming a Ukrainian “operational doctrine” that was entrenched in its officer corps.
The Ministry of Defence said that *** support for Ukraine was “ironclad” and emphasised that it had provided more than 52,000 Ukrainian recruits with “vital battlefield skills to take back to the frontline”.
It added: “The training mission is intelligence-led and evolves as required, in line with the Ukrainian General Staff’s direction.”
The Ukrainian military has been contacted for comment. Nato declined to comment.
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Australia’s envoy to Russia honours Vladimir Putin critic one year after death
Australia’s envoy to Russia honours Vladimir Putin critic one year after death
Australia’s ambassador to Russia has made a bold move, leaving no one in any doubt his thoughts about Vladimir Putin and a very touchy subject.
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2 patients extricated, 4 hospitalized in Southern California ******
2 patients extricated, 4 hospitalized in Southern California ******
Crews rescued two trapped people from their SUV after a ****** in Ventura on Saturday.
The Ventura City Fire Department said crews responded to multiple calls reporting a ****** on Loma Vista Road and North Victoria Avenue around 1:45 p.m.
Details on what caused the ****** are limited, but VCFD said that it ultimately trapped both occupants of a pickup truck and both occupants of an SUV.
A ****** in the city of Ventura required two trapped people to be extricated from their SUV. February 2025. (VCFD)
A ****** in the city of Ventura required two trapped people to be extricated from their SUV. February 2025. (VCFD)
A ****** in the city of Ventura required two trapped people to be extricated from their SUV. February 2025. (VCFD)
Ventura police first arrived on the scene to find a pickup truck on its side with two patients who were able to self-extricate.
Officials said the second vehicle, an SUV that had crashed into a parked car, had another two patients trapped inside in critical condition.
It was not immediately made clear if the parked car was the pickup truck.
Fire crews quickly arrived and began caring for the patients.
“The vehicle was stabilized, and extrication was initiated utilizing the Jaws Of Life,” VCFD said in a release. “Though the extrication was highly technical, and multiple patients were trapped in the vehicle, all patients were freed within 30 minutes of arrival.”
VCFD said a total of four patients were taken to local hospitals where their conditions remained unknown as of Saturday afternoon.
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Trump post has critics saying he's declaring himself above the law – ABC News
Trump post has critics saying he's declaring himself above the law – ABC News
Trump post has critics saying he’s declaring himself above the law ABC NewsTrump drives Daytona 500 track as government tries to rehire fired nuclear safety staff: Live updates YahooTrump attends the Daytona 500 and says the spirit of NASCAR will ‘fuel America’s Golden Age’ The Associated PressTrump Suggests No Laws Are Broken if He’s ‘Saving His Country’ The New York Times
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Axed NRL star admits spitting on woman in pub assault
Axed NRL star admits spitting on woman in pub assault
Former St George Illawarra player Talatau Junior Amone is set to be sentenced after pleading guilty to spitting on a woman during an argument at a pub.
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Mail delivery, trash collection, other closures in Columbus
Mail delivery, trash collection, other closures in Columbus
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Presidents’ Day, a federal holiday annually observed on the third Monday of February, falls on Feb. 17 this year.
Like other federal holidays, some services, such as mail and trash collection, will be unavailable. Additionally, certain workers and students will have the day off on Presidents’ Day.
Will mail and packages be delivered on Feb. 17?
The U.S. Postal Service will not make regular mail deliveries in observance of Presidents’ Day. Post offices will also be closed, but Priority Mail Express will be operational. Customers can expect USPS service to return to normal on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.
FedEx will have modified services on Presidents’ Day, while its Freight, Office, Critical, and Logistics arms will remain open.
UPS will be open for the day.
Will banks and government offices be closed on Presidents’ Day?
Because Presidents’ Day is a federal holiday, banks will be closed. However, ATMs and online services should still be accessible. The New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ will be paused.
Federal employees will have a paid day off on Feb. 17, per the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Federal, state, county and city offices, which include courthouses, will be closed.
Is trash collected?
The City of Columbus will not collect trash on Presidents’ Day, and the color-coded collection schedule will rotate one day forward until the next holiday. Rumpke will continue to collect recycling and yard waste on schedule.
Monday, Feb. 17: NO COLLECTION
Tuesday, Feb. 18: Navy
Wednesday, Feb. 19: Pink
Thursday, Feb. 20: Ruby
Friday, Feb. 21: Gold
Monday, Feb. 24 Gray
Are buses running? Is parking free?
The Central Ohio Transit Authority will operate its regular service on Feb. 17.
The City of Columbus Parking Services is closed and parking will be free on Presidents’ Day.
Will the library be open?
The Columbus Metropolitan Library will be open on Monday, Feb. 17.
Will schools be closed?
Some, but not all, schools close for Presidents’ Day. Locally, Columbus City Schools and most other local school districts will have the day off.
Ohio State University will be closed. Columbus State Community College will be closed on Friday, Feb. 14 in observance of President’s Day and open on Monday, Feb. 17.
Do businesses close?
Most private businesses, including stores, restaurants, entertainment spaces, parks, gyms, etc. typically remain open on Presidents’ Day. It is recommended that people call ahead or check online to confirm hours.
After Presidents’ Day, the next federal holiday will be Memorial Day on May 26, 2025.
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LeBron James Won’t Play In All-Star Game – hoopsrumors.com
LeBron James Won’t Play In All-Star Game – hoopsrumors.com
LeBron James Won’t Play In All-Star Game hoopsrumors.comLeBron out for All-Star Game, ending 20-year run ESPNNBA All-Star Game live updates: LeBron James out; Rosters, format, schedule, how to watch – The Athletic The New York TimesLeBron James to sit out All-Star Game, citing ankle ‘discomfort’ AOLLeBron James to miss NBA All-Star Game, consecutive starts record snapped at 20 games USA TODAY
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High hopes for interest rate cut as RBA enters conclave
High hopes for interest rate cut as RBA enters conclave
Economists say there is unlikely to be a major reduction in mortgage rates this year, even if the Reserve Bank board delivers a widely-tipped cut on Tuesday.
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1 Stock to Buy, 1 Stock to Sell This Week: Toast, Occidental Petroleum
1 Stock to Buy, 1 Stock to Sell This Week: Toast, Occidental Petroleum
• Fed FOMC minutes, Walmart earnings will be in focus in the holiday-shortened week ahead.
• Toast, a leader in restaurant technology, is expected to deliver a strong earnings report that could propel its stock higher.
• Occidental Petroleum faces significant challenges that could hamper its near-term growth, making it a stock to approach with caution.
• Looking for more actionable trade ideas? Subscribe here for 50% off InvestingPro!
U.S. stocks closed mixed on Friday, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 still scored solid weekly gains amid bullish momentum in tech shares. For the week, the S&P 500 rose 1.5%, while the Nasdaq rallied 2.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%.
Source: Investing.com
The holiday-shortened week ahead is expected to be an eventful one as investors continue to gauge the outlook for the economy, interest rates, and inflation. U.S. markets will be closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.
In a data-light week, most of the focus will fall on the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January FOMC meeting. This could give some insight into the future path of interest rates. As of Sunday morning, traders are pricing in at least one 25 basis-point rate cut by the end of 2025, with a roughly 50% chance of an additional cut, according to the Investing.com Fed Monitor Tool.
Source: Investing.com
Elsewhere, in corporate earnings, Walmart (NYSE:WMT), Carvana (NYSE:CVNA), Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG), Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY), Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET), Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI), Block (NYSE:XYZ), Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN), Toast (NYSE:TOST), Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), and Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) are some of the notable names lined up to report results.
Regardless of which direction the market goes, below I highlight one stock likely to be in demand and another which could see fresh downside. Remember though, my timeframe is just for the week ahead, Monday, February 17 – Friday, February 21.
Toast, a leading provider of cloud-based point-of-***** (POS) systems for restaurants, is poised for a strong earnings beat when it delivers its fourth quarter update after the closing bell on Wednesday at 4:05PM ET.
Market participants predict a sizable swing in TOST stock after the print drops, according to the options market, with a possible implied move of 13.7% in either direction. Shares gapped up 16.6% after the last earnings report in November.
In a sign of growing confidence, the restaurant management software provider, which has emerged as a key player in the restaurant technology arena, has received seven upward profit forecast revisions in recent days, with zero downward revisions.
Story Continues
Source: InvestingPro
Analysts forecast earnings per share (EPS) of $0.17, marking a significant turnaround in profitability from a loss of $0.07 per share in the year-ago *******. Revenue is projected to rise by 31% annually to $1.31 billion thanks to growing user adoption, and operational efficiency improvements.
As restaurants increasingly adopt digital solutions to streamline operations, Toast’s integrated platform—offering everything from digital ordering and payroll to marketing and analytics—has garnered significant attention. Over 106,000 small-to-midsize restaurant clients rely on Toast’s all-in-one tools, creating sticky recurring revenue (85% of total sales).
Looking forward, I believe that Toast’s management will strike an optimistic tone in their forward guidance amid improving profitability trends and increased adoption of its integrated platform. Recent launches in Canada and the U.K. open a $35B+ total addressable market.
Source: Investing.com
TOST stock closed at $40.49 on Friday, earning the software-as-a-service company a valuation of $23 billion. Shares have more than doubled during the past 12 months, rising 108%.
It is worth noting that InvestingPro’s AI-powered models rate Toast with a solid Financial Health Score of 2.8 out of 5.0, indicating solid operational performance, improving cash flow and growing profit margins.
Be sure to check out InvestingPro to stay in sync with the market trend and what it means for your trading. Subscribe now and position your portfolio one step ahead of everyone else!
In contrast, Occidental Petroleum is facing an uphill battle heading into its Q4 earnings report due to a challenging energy market. Oxy is scheduled to release fourth quarter results after the market closes on Tuesday at 4:15PM ET.
According to the options market, traders are pricing in a swing of around 5% in either direction for OXY stock following the print.
The company’s outlook appears to be less optimistic, and analysts have recently revised their forecasts downward amid concerns over margin compression and slowed production growth.
Source: InvestingPro
Occidental is expected to post Q4 EPS of $0.67, falling 9.5% from the $0.74 profit recorded a year ago. Revenue is expected to decline by about 1% year-over-year to $7.1 billion. Weakness in crude oil prices (down 10% from Q3 averages) and lower chemical margins are key drags.
As a major oil and gas producer, Occidental has been grappling with persistent headwinds, including fluctuating oil prices, rising input costs, and geopolitical uncertainties.
With these pressures mounting, Oxy’s stock looks increasingly unattractive, suggesting that investors might consider selling or reducing their positions in the energy giant.
Source: Investing.com
OXY stock ended Friday’s session at $48.06, not far from a recent 52-week low of $45.17 touched Dec. 19. At current valuations, the Houston, Texas-based energy company has a market cap of $45 billion. Shares, which are trading below their key moving averages, are down 16.6% over the past year.
Be aware that Occidental currently has a below-average InvestingPro Financial Health score of 2.4 out of 5.0 due to lingering concerns about its debt-laden balance sheet, fading cash flow, and spotty revenue growth.
Whether you’re a novice investor or a seasoned trader, leveraging InvestingPro can unlock a world of investment opportunities while minimizing risks amid the challenging market backdrop.
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Disclosure: At the time of writing, I am long on the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 via the SPDR® S&P 500 ETF (SPY), and the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ). I am also long on the Invesco Top QQQ ETF (QBIG), Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP), and VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH).
I regularly rebalance my portfolio of individual stocks and ETFs based on ongoing risk assessment of both the macroeconomic environment and companies’ financials.
The views discussed in this article are solely the opinion of the author and should not be taken as investment advice.
Follow Jesse Cohen on X/Twitter @JesseCohenInv for more stock market analysis and insight.
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Benjamin Netanyahu's warning to ****** on hostage release: ‘Gates of hell will…’ – Hindustan Times
Benjamin Netanyahu's warning to ****** on hostage release: ‘Gates of hell will…’ – Hindustan Times
Benjamin Netanyahu’s warning to ****** on hostage release: ‘Gates of hell will…’ Hindustan TimesNetanyahu vows to “open the gates of hell” if all hostages in Gaza not returned CBS NewsUpdates: Israel threatens to ‘open the gates of hell’ on Gaza Al Jazeera EnglishTrump: I told Netanyahu to ‘do whatever you want’ on hostage release-ceasefire deal The Times of IsraelGaza Cease-Fire Imperiled as Netanyahu Threatens to Resume ‘Intense Fighting’ The New York Times
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Bendigo and Adelaide Bank shares lashed over profit slump
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank shares lashed over profit slump
The stock lost as much as 18 per cent after higher funding costs and increased expenses sent interim earnings 23.2 per cent lower to $282.3 million.
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Rubio in Israel says ****** must be eradicated, casting further doubt on Gaza’s shaky ceasefire
Rubio in Israel says ****** must be eradicated, casting further doubt on Gaza’s shaky ceasefire
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday fully endorsed Israel’s war aims in the Gaza Strip, saying ****** “must be eradicated” and throwing the shaky ceasefire into further doubt.
Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem at the start of a regional tour, where he is likely to face pushback from Arab leaders over President Donald Trump’s proposal to transfer the ************ population out of Gaza and redevelop it under U.S. ownership.
Netanyahu has welcomed the plan, and said he and Trump have a “common strategy” for Gaza’s future. Echoing Trump, he said “the gates of hell would be open” if ****** does not release dozens of remaining hostages abducted in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the 16-month war.
Their remarks came two weeks before the ceasefire’s first phase is set to end. The second phase, in which ****** is to release dozens of remaining hostages in exchange for more ************ prisoners, a lasting truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, has yet to be negotiated.
Rubio said ****** cannot continue as a military or government force. “As long as it stands as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible,” he said. “It must be eradicated.”
Such language could complicate continued talks with ******, which remains in control of Gaza despite suffering heavy losses in the war.
Rubio is also set to visit regional heavyweights the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The Israeli military meanwhile said it carried out an airstrike Sunday on people who approached its forces in southern Gaza. The ******-run Interior Ministry said the strike killed three of its policemen while they were securing the entry of aid trucks near Rafah, on the Egyptian border.
****** called the attack a “serious violation” of the ceasefire and accused Netanyahu of trying to sabotage the deal.
Resuming the war could be a death sentence for the remaining hostages and may not succeed in eliminating ******, which reasserted control over Gaza when the ceasefire took hold last month.
Netanyahu has signaled readiness to resume the war after the current phase and has offered ****** a chance to surrender and send its top leaders into exile.
****** has rejected such a scenario, and spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou told The Associated Press the group accepts either a ************ unity government or a technocratic committee to run Gaza. The group insists on ************ rule.
****** last week threatened to hold up the latest release of hostages because Netanyahu has yet to approve the entry of mobile homes and heavy machinery into Gaza as required by the ceasefire agreement, before proceeding with the release Saturday based on what it called assurances from Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the issue would be discussed in the coming days and that Israel was coordinating with the United States.
In another sign of the allies closing ranks, Israel’s Defense Ministry said it received a shipment of 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) MK-84 munitions from the United States. The Biden administration had paused a shipment of such bombs last year over concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza.
In a radio interview last week, Rubio indicated that Trump’s proposal was in part aimed at pressuring Arab states to come up with their own postwar plan that would be acceptable to Israel.
He also appeared to suggest that Arab countries send in troops to combat ******.
“If someone has a better plan, and we hope they do, if the Arab countries have a better plan, then that’s great,” Rubio said Thursday on the “Clay and Buck Show.”
But “****** has guns,” he added. “Someone has to confront those guys. It’s not going to be American soldiers. And if the countries in the region can’t figure that piece out, then Israel is going to have to do it.”
Rubio was not scheduled to meet with Palestinians on his ******** trip.
For Arab leaders, facilitating the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza or battling ************ militants on behalf of Israel are nightmare scenarios that would bring fierce domestic criticism and potentially destabilize an already volatile region.
Egypt will host an Arab summit on Feb. 27 and is working with other countries on a counterproposal that would allow for Gaza to be rebuilt without removing its population. Human rights groups say the expulsion of Palestinians would likely violate international law.
Egypt has warned that any mass influx of Palestinians from Gaza would undermine its nearly half-century peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of U.S. influence in the region.
“The continuation of the conflict and broadening its scope will harm all parties without exception,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said Sunday, according to a statement from his office.
Arab and ******* countries have conditioned any support for postwar Gaza on a return to ************ governance with a pathway to statehood in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel seized in the 1967 ******** war.
Israel has ruled out a ************ state and any role in Gaza for the Western-backed ************ Authority, whose forces were driven out when ****** seized power there in 2007.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia also have rejected any mass displacement of Palestinians and would be key to any regional response.
The United Arab Emirates was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords in which four Arab states normalized relations with Israel during Trump’s previous term. Trump hopes to expand the accords to include Saudi Arabia, potentially offering closer U.S. defense ties, but the kingdom has said it will not normalize relations with Israel without a pathway to a ************ state.
Rubio will not be visiting Egypt or Jordan, close U.S. allies at peace with Israel that have refused to accept any influx of ************ refugees. Trump has suggested he might slash U.S. aid to the countries if they don’t comply, which could be devastating for their economies.
Rubio is also skipping Qatar.
___
Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel. Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
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This is how much it can cost someone to live across 12 major cities
This is how much it can cost someone to live across 12 major cities
It can cost on average of $2,050 to live in Tokyo for a month as a single person, according to Numbeo’s data.
Jackyenjoyphotography | Moment | Getty Images
Moving to a major city often comes with big benefits and opportunities, but it’s important to figure out if it makes sense financially before taking the leap.
It may come as no surprise that New York City and San Francisco top the global list for having the highest cost of living when rent is included. That’s according to the 2025 Cost of Living Index (including rent) by online database Numbeo.
In New York City, the estimated monthly expenses for one person, including the price of rent in a one-bedroom located in the city center, can cost a total of $5,639, according to Numbeo’s findings, which involve a combination of user-generated data and manually gathered information from reputable sources.
In Asia, Singapore tops the list as the the city with the highest cost of living, where a single person can expect to pay about $4,000 a month for living expenses and rent, according to Numbeo, which is comparable to the price it can cost someone to live in London for a month.
Globally, following closely after New York City and San Francisco are two cities in Switzerland — Zurich and Geneva — which rank third and fourth for cost of living, including rent.
Below is a list of how much it can cost one person to live in 12 major cities around the world in 2025, according to Numbeo. All figures are in U.S. dollars after being converted from the local currency.
When reading the numbers, it may be useful to consider the 50-30-20 budgeting rule, which financial experts define as follows for every paycheck: 20% for saving and investment, 50% for essentials and 30% for things you want.
New York City
Population: 8.1 million
Estimated monthly living expenses (excluding rent): $1,687.10
Rent for a 1-bedroom in the city center: $3,926.65
Total cost of living: $5,613.75
San Francisco, California
Population: 788,000
Estimated monthly living expenses (excluding rent): $1,556.60
Rent for a 1-bedroom in the city center: $3,222.58
Total cost of living: $4,779.18
London, ***
Population: 9.7 million
Estimated monthly living expenses (excluding rent): $1,311
Rent for a 1-bedroom in the city center: $2,772.91
Total cost of living: $4,083.91
Singapore
Population: 6.1 million
Estimated monthly living expenses (excluding rent): $1,131.30
Rent for a 1-bedroom in the city center: $2,921.58
Total cost of living: $4,052.88
Chicago, Illinois
Population: 2.6 million
Estimated monthly living expenses (excluding rent): $1,287.30
Rent for a 1-bedroom in the city center: $2,325.34
Total cost of living: $3,612.64
Sydney, Australia
Population: 5.2 million
Estimated monthly living expenses (excluding rent): $1,116.70
Rent for a 1-bedroom in the city center: $2,159.11
Total cost of living: $3,275.81
Lisbon, Portugal
Population: 3 million
Estimated monthly living expenses (excluding rent): $781.70
Rent for a 1-bedroom in the city center: $1,481.93
Total cost of living: $2,263.63
Tokyo, Japan
Population: 37.1 million
Estimated monthly living expenses (excluding rent): $961.80
Rent for a 1-bedroom in the city center: $1,113.08
Total cost of living: $2,074.88
Seoul, South Korea
Population: 10 million
Estimated monthly living expenses (excluding rent): $1,073.2
Rent for a 1-bedroom in the city center: $822.97
Total cost of living: $1,896.17
Shanghai, China
Population: 29.9 million
Estimated monthly living expenses (excluding rent): $616.80
Rent for a 1-bedroom in the city center: $924.45
Total cost of living: $1,541.25
Mumbai, India
Population: 21.7 million
Estimated monthly living expenses (excluding rent): $406.70
Rent for a 1-bedroom in the city center: $650.20
Total cost of living: $1,056.90
Jakarta, Indonesia
Population: 11.4 million
Estimated monthly living expenses (excluding rent): $515.30
Rent for a 1-bedroom in the city center: $394.60
Total cost of living: $909.90
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New disturbing details on two suspects in the ******* of transgender man Sam Nordquist – KARE11.com
New disturbing details on two suspects in the ******* of transgender man Sam Nordquist – KARE11.com
New disturbing details on two suspects in the ******* of transgender man Sam Nordquist KARE11.comPerson Killed in New York Was Tortured for More Than a Month, Police Say The New York TimesNew York police find body of missing man they say was tortured for more than a month by 5 people The Associated PressGov. Hochul responds to killing of transgender man CNYcentral.comHochul responds to ‘horrific and brutal killing’ of a trans man in Canandaigua WGRZ.com
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‘What we’d been hoping for’: Chalice Mining’s shares up 32 per cent on Gonneville metallurgical ‘breakthrough’
‘What we’d been hoping for’: Chalice Mining’s shares up 32 per cent on Gonneville metallurgical ‘breakthrough’
Chalice Mining believes it has found a more efficient way to extract and separate the basket of commodities from its proposed mixed metal mine on farmland near Toodyay.
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No, these aren’t real photos showing mammoth skeleton’s excavation
No, these aren’t real photos showing mammoth skeleton’s excavation
Claim:
Four images shared in social media posts were authentic photographs of a well-preserved mammoth skeleton discovered at a North American archaeological site.
Rating:
Rating: Fake
Since 2024, a set of images has circulated online that allegedly shows the excavation of the complete skeleton of a mammoth. Mammoths were a type of large elephant that went extinct around 4,000 years ago, according to the Natural History Museum in London.
Two of the images appeared in multiple (archived) Facebook posts (archived) that paired them with a caption reading “Well-Preserved Mammoth Skeleton Unearthed at North America’s Prominent Archaeological Site.”
(Facebook user Husky Chukcha)
Other Facebook posts featured a collage that contained one of the same images alongside two different images that appeared to show the remains of mammoths emerging from the ground. The captions of these posts claimed the images showed a 15,000-year-old mammoth skeleton in North Africa.
(Facebook user DiggingInto Archaeology)
In short, none of the four images included in these posts were authentic photos of the remains of real mammoths. As a result, we’ve rated the images as fake.
Although we have not yet identified the original creator or creators of the images, they all showed signs of being the products of artificial intelligence software. The AI image detectors WasItAI and Illuminarty both found a high likelihood that someone created the images using AI.
Visual clues in the images also signaled that the images did not reflect reality. The skeletons in the images had multiple features that did not match the anatomy of real mammoth specimens held in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
Most obviously, the alleged skeletal mammoth remains in the images investigated here included trunks and ears, which are respectively highlighted in red and yellow in the collage below. In one of the images, visible in the upper right corner of the collage, the mammoth’s trunk also appeared to end in a tusklike point.
As is the case for those of modern elephants, mammoth trunks did not contain any bones, nor did they have sharp tips. Instead, real mammoth trunks consisted primarily of muscle. The external parts of mammoths’ ears were likewise boneless (although, like humans, mammoths did have bones in their middle ears).
(Facebook users HuskyChukcha and DiggingInto Archaeology )
Other anatomical features seen in the images also failed to match the real anatomy of mammoths, such as the oddly branching ribs visible in the image that appeared in all the posts linked above. The ribs in question are outlined in blue in the above collage.
In another image, which seemingly showed the mammoth skeleton from the rear, the mammoth appeared to have three separate tails emerging from its *****: one consisting of a single long, pointed bone and the other two resembling claws or talons, as can be seen surrounded by a green box in the above collage.
By contrast, real mammoths had only one tail each, and their tails were part of their vertebral columns — meaning they consisted of many smaller bones.
Finally, a real newly excavated mammoth skeleton would not stand upright on its own, as the skeletons in the images appeared to do. In order to produce the effect that a specimen is standing up, museum workers and other professionals who work with the fossils of mammoths, dinosaurs, and other animals must build and install complex mounts to support the bones and hold them in place.
Another hint that the posts about the alleged discovery did not reflect reality was the inconsistency of information included in text form in posts sharing the images. As mentioned above, some posts implied the discovery was North African, while others said the location was “North America’s Prominent Archaeological Site” — without any indication of which of the North American continent’s many archaeological sites was intended.
Some Facebook users also pointed out in comments that the scientists who excavate and study the fossilized remains of animals are called paleontologists, not archaeologists. That said, because mammoths and humans coexisted for tens of thousands of years, it’s not unheard of for archaeological sites — that is, sites that show evidence of human activity — to also contain mammoth remains.
In the past, we investigated whether another image authentically showed the preserved remains of a baby mammoth that died about 30,000 years ago.
Sources:
Clovis Mammoth Butchery: The Lange/Ferguson Site and Associated Bone Tool Technology – Center for the Study of the First Americans. [Hidden Content],Clovis%2Dperiod%20mammoth%20butchering%20event. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
Dapcevich, Madison. “Authentic Picture of 30,000-Year-Old Baby Mammoth Remains?” Snopes, 14 Apr. 2024, [Hidden Content].
“How Are Skeletal Mounts of Dinosaurs in Museum Exhibits Built?” American Museum of Natural History, July 2012, [Hidden Content].
Mammuthus Primigenius (Blumbach) | 3D Digitization. [Hidden Content]. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
published, Cameron Duke. “Woolly Mammoths Survived on Mainland North America until 5,000 Years Ago, DNA Reveals.” Livescience.Com, 22 Dec. 2021, [Hidden Content].
The Intersecting Crossroads of Paleontology and Archeology: When Are Fossils Considered Artifacts? (U.S. National Park Service). [Hidden Content]. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
The Last of the Mammoths | Natural History Museum. [Hidden Content]. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
TRUTH OR TAIL: An Elephant’s Trunk Has over 40,000 Muscles| Cleveland Zoological Society | June 26, 2023. [Hidden Content]. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
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