US and Iran slide towards conflict as military buildup eclipses talks

Samia Nakhoul, Parisa Hafezi, and John Irish

February 20, 2026 2:29 PM PST

Updated 7 hours ago

Summary

• US firepower eclipses stalled Iran-US nuclear talks
• Washington and Tehran head towards a potential showdown
• Trump boxed in by his own show of force, officials say

DUBAI, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Iran and the United States are sliding rapidly towards military conflict as hopes fade for a diplomatic solution to their standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme, officials on both sides and diplomats across the Gulf and Europe say.

Child’s Play

Illustration by Max Guther

Tech’s new generation and the end of thinking

by Sam Kriss

The first sign that something in San Francisco had gone very badly wrong was the signs. In New York, all the advertising on the streets and on the subway assumes that you, the person reading, are an ambiently depressed twenty-eight-year-old office worker whose main interests are listening to podcasts, ordering delivery, and voting for the Democrats.

South Korean presidents are no strangers to prison. Another was sentenced to life yesterday for leading an insurrection

The Greek Courier

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2024 Martial Law Declaration

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday, February 19, 2026, after a Seoul court found him guilty of leading an insurrection stemming from his brief and "baffling" imposition of martial law in December 2024. [1] The ruling marks a dramatic culmination of South Korea’s most severe political crisis in decades. [2]

Turkish authorities arrest Deutsche Welle journalist for alleged President Erdogan insult

The arrest drew sharp condemnation from press freedom advocates, who described it as an attack on media independence and democratic norms.

Feb. 20, 2026

By The Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish authorities on Friday formally arrested investigative journalist Alican Uludag, charging him with insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a series of social media posts.

Morningstar Predicts Likeliest Iran Outcome

by Andreas Exarheas
Rigzone Staff

Friday, February 20, 2026

A limited U.S. strike on Iranian military or nuclear targets is the likeliest outcome.

That’s what Morningstar thinks, according to the company’s equity director Joshua Aguilar, who outlined in a note sent to Rigzone late Thursday that this scenario “would mean no impact on global physical flows, so the global surplus would remain intact”.

“Colonial Apartheid Regime”: Jeremy Scahill on Trump’s “Board of Peace” & Plans For Gaza

February 20, 2026
 Watch Full Show
Guests Jeremy Scahill co-founder of Drop Site News.

Journalist Jeremy Scahill says the Trump administration’s vision for the Gaza Strip is of a continued “colonial apartheid regime” with Israel and U.S. interests controlling the lives of millions of Palestinians in perpetuity. “Palestinians are being told that they must completely surrender,” says Scahill. President Trump chaired the first meeting of his so-called Board of Peace this week, a body established for Gaza but whose remit has already expanded.

AI hit: India hungry to harness US tech giants’ technology at Delhi summit

Narendra Modi’s thirst to supercharge economic growth is matched by US desire to inject AI into world’s biggest democracy
Robert Booth in Delhi

Fri 20 Feb 2026 17.25 GMT

India celebrates 80 years of independence from the UK in August 2027. At about that same moment, “early versions of true super intelligence” could emerge, Sam Altman, the co-founder of OpenAI, said this week.

The Supreme Court Got It Right on IEEPA—But Don’t Pop the Champagne Yet

CATO INSTITUTE

FEBRUARY 20, 2026 10:31AM

By Clark Packard
The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down President Trump’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs is a welcome victory for constitutional governance and the rule of law. But anyone hoping this spells the end of the administration’s tariff spree should think twice. Even without IEEPA, the president retains ample statutory authority to quickly recreate much of the current trade policy chaos.

Nearly 2 million highly educated Germans at risk of poverty

Louis Oelofse with dpa. 

The figures indicate that although more people earned advanced qualifications, many did not secure well-paid jobs.

Around 1.9 million people with university-level qualifications were at risk of poverty in 2025, an increase of 350,000 compared with 2022.

Supreme Court strikes down most of Trump's tariffs in a major blow to the president

The decision does not affect all of Trump's tariffs but invalidates those implemented using an emergency law.

Feb. 20, 2026, 7:03 AM PST

By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court delivered a major blow to President Donald Trump, ruling Friday that he exceeded his authority when imposing sweeping tariffs using a law reserved for a national emergency. The justices, divided 6-3, held that Trump's aggressive approach to tariffs on products entering the United States from across the world was not permitted under a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The ruling invalidates many, but not all, of Trump’s tariffs.

Forget the Epstein Files, Embrace the X-Files cause Trump is about to release documents on ‘extraterrestrial life’

The Greek Courier

Ladies and gentlemen, gather round and read all about the Peculiar Case of Extraterrestrial Distraction! Our illustrious U.S. president, in a post fit for a most curious circus, announced he will summon the Department of Defense and other fine governmental agencies to unveil a trove of documents concerning extraterrestrial life. Yes, you heard it right—aliens! And no, he did not mean himself! Unsurprisingly, he claims this decision stems from an overwhelming public fascination with little green men. Whether that's true or simply the result of fearing the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein remains to be seen.

Trump's Economic Populism Is Fueled by Data Manipulation and the Manufacturing of Lies

The Greek Courier

s the State of the Union address approaches and the Midterms are just around the corner, the king of populists, President Donald Trump, has begun propagandizing his agenda while making bold assertions about his economic record and emphasizing a narrative of improved affordability for American families. 

During his recent rally in Georgia, Trump claimed, “I’ve won affordability,” promoted his achievements, and countered criticisms of his administration over rising costs. With the help of FactCheck.org, we examined Trump's economic claims and produced a reality check that we believe is worth your attention.

Single vaccine could protect against all coughs, colds and flus, researchers say

Could a different style of vaccine mark the end of the winter cold?

James Gallagher, Health and science correspondent

A single nasal spray vaccine could protect against all coughs, colds and flus, as well as bacterial lung infections, and may even ease allergies, say US researchers.

Tired of Dystopian Sci-Fi? You Might Like Solarpunk

A recent literary genre imagines what happens when our climate changes—and so do we

Clive Thompson March+April 2026 Issue

I was doomscrolling again. It was a fall evening in 2023, and I found myself sucked into a stream of posts about our collapsing climate: droughts causing billions in Dust Bowl–style crop damage, Florida’s worst-ever coral bleaching, a record melt in Greenland.

The Year of the Billionaire Tax

By Ben Case

California billionaires are terrified of a proposal to save the state’s health care system by taking 5% of their wealth. They should be: a billionaire tax to fund health care is too simple, too necessary, and too plainly popular to be easily beaten.

Never-before-seen photos of Nazi executions in Greece surface on eBay

Shocking photographs depicting Nazi soldiers’ executions of Greek resistance fighters during World War II have been discovered on the online auction platform eBay.

 

The never-before-seen images, which show the victims both before and after their brutal executions, have sparked strong reactions in Greece, whose authorities have claimed them back and declared them a national heritage.

Issued on: 19/02/2026 - 17:45 By: Stéphanie TROUILLARD

NASA Releases Report on Starliner Crewed Flight Test Investigation

Investigators identified an interplay of combined hardware failures, qualification gaps, leadership missteps, and cultural breakdowns that created risk conditions inconsistent with NASA’s human spaceflight safety standards. 

Cheryl Warner

News Chief
Feb 19, 2026 RELEASE
NASA Headquarters

At a news conference on Thursday, NASA released a report of findings from the Program Investigation Team examining the Boeing CST-100 Starliner Crewed Flight Test as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

"Is Trump's Board of Peace a Coalition of Rogue Nations with junk credit and moral composure?"

February 19, 2026

President Donald Trump's newly established "Board of Peace" has sparked intrigue and skepticism, particularly regarding its member nations and overarching goals. As the Board convenes for its first formal meeting outside its launch event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Toby Nangle of the Financial Times questions the underlying criteria that unite its participants.