Feb. 13, 2026 - Daily News Digest
On this day in 1649, John Milton published his first political tract, The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, in response to the execution of King Charles I. In it he urged the abolition of tyrannical kingship and the execution of tyrants.
QotD: "In the era of great power rivalry, even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone. Dear friends, being a part of NATO is not only Europe’s competitive advantage. It is also the United States' competitive advantage. So let’s repair and revive transatlantic trust together,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said at the Munich Security Conference.
US/INFLATION – Inflation slowed to 2.4% in January, helped by lower gasoline prices.
https://www.wsj.com/economy/consumers/cpi-inflation-report-january-2026-65833c36?mod=hp_lead_pos1
Annual inflation slowed in January, falling more than economists expected, helped by declining prices for gasoline and used vehicles.
Cooler price increases overall represent positive news for the economy, easing concerns that the Trump administration’s steep tariffs will lead to broader ongoing inflation. Yet there are still some signs—such as January price increases for products like clothing, televisions and airfares—that inflation is continuing to weigh on consumers exhausted by price hikes.
Friday’s Labor Department reading follows a better-than-expected January jobs report two days earlier. Combined, they are unlikely to budge the Federal Reserve from its current wait-and-see approach to interest rates.
Consumer prices rose 2.4% in January from a year earlier, cooler than the 2.7% recorded in December, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected inflation of 2.5%.
Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy items, rose 2.5% in January from a year earlier. Economists also expected those prices to rise 2.5%.
GERMANY/US/GLOBAL ORDER – Germany’s Merz calls for reset with US as old global order crumbles.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday called for a stronger Europe to reset its ties with the United States, wanting Washington to "repair and revive trust" in a dangerous new era of great power politics as the old global order crumbles.
In a speech to open the Munich Security Conference, Merz warned the U.S. could not go it alone but also said Europe must beef up its own defences and mentioned confidential talks with France on nuclear deterrence.
The speech underscored how European leaders are increasingly looking to carve an independent path after a year of unprecedented upheaval in transatlantic ties, while also striving to maintain their alliance with Washington.
Taking his cue from those warning that the international rules-based order was about to be destroyed, Merz said: "I fear we must put it even more bluntly: This order, however imperfect it was even at its best, no longer exists in that form."
Switching to English at the end, Merz said: "In the era of great power rivalry, even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone. Dear friends, being a part of NATO is not only Europe’s competitive advantage. It is also the United States' competitive advantage."
"So let’s repair and revive transatlantic trust together," he added.
SWITZERLAND/DEMO/IMMIGRATION – Switzerland to vote on capping population at 10 million.
https://www.dw.com/en/switzerland-swiss-population-cap-limit-referendum/a-75941387
Switzerland will hold a referendum on whether to cap the country's population at 10 million.
The "No to 10 million Switzerland" initiative was put forward by the right-wing, anti-immigration Swiss People's Party (SVP).
The proposal has received enough signatures to be put to a vote, the government said on Wednesday, and it will go to the ballot box on June 14.
Switzerland is home to around 9.1 million people. People from abroad, mostly from European Union countries, are believed to be around 30% of the population.
The proposal seeks to change Switzerland's constitution so that if the population — including both Swiss citizens and foreign nationals with residency papers — reaches 9.5 million before 2050, the government must take steps to limit population growth.
These steps would include changes regarding asylum rights, family reunification and residency permit issuance.
The Swiss government would also "seek to renegotiate international agreements that drive population growth," under the proposal.
And if the 10-million threshold is crossed, authorities would be required "to take all available measures" to comply with the population limit, including terminating Switzerland's free movement agreement with the EU.
CANADA/SEPARATISTS – Alberta separatists step up efforts to leave Canada after meeting with Trump officials.
Separatists in Alberta are ramping up a petition campaign aimed at triggering an independence vote in the western province that has long complained its economy is being held back by the rest of Canada.
Volunteer canvassers are hoping to collect by May 2 approximately 177,000 signatures, or 10% of the province's registered voters, the threshold required to launch a citizen-led referendum on separation from Canada.
While unlikely to result in an independent Alberta, the campaign poses a challenge to Prime Minister Mark Carney's efforts to show a united Canadian front in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and threats to annex the country.
US/RUS/NUKES – Russia pushes back hard against prospect of US-built nuclear plant in Armenia.
Senior Russian officials have challenged the viability of U.S. proposals to build a nuclear power plant in Armenia, in a sign of Moscow's concern about the risk of losing a lucrative energy deal in a country it sees as part of its sphere of influence.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, on a visit to Armenia this week, signed an agreement that could pave the way for the plant's construction and open what Vance called "a new chapter in the deepening partnership between Armenia and the United States".
Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia's Security Council, said on Friday that Soviet technology had enabled Armenia's existing nuclear plant to withstand a devastating 1988 earthquake. He said the U.S. plan raised safety concerns.
"Armenia, as we know, is a seismically active region," state news agency RIA quoted Shoigu as saying.
"If the construction of small reactors using American technology in Armenia moves into the practical phase, we, like all other states in the region, and the people of Armenia itself, will be forced to consider these new nuclear safety risks."
US/IRAN/MIL – Second US aircraft carrier is being sent to the Middle East, AP source says, as Iran tensions high.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-aircraft-carrier-military-8db3fab10476949acda8b973be416204
The United States will send the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Middle East to back up another already there, a person familiar with the plans said Friday, putting more American firepower behind President Donald Trump’s efforts to coerce Iran into a deal over its nuclear program.
The USS Gerald R. Ford’s planned deployment to the Mideast comes after Trump only days earlier suggested another round of talks with the Iranians was at hand. Those negotiations didn’t materialize as one of Tehran’s top security officials visited Oman and Qatar this week and exchanged messages with the U.S. intermediaries.
ISRAEL/MIL/BETTING – 2 Israelis charged with using classified military information to place bets.
Two Israelis have been charged with using classified military information to place bets on how future events will unfold, Israeli authorities said Thursday, accusing the individuals of “serious security offenses.”
A joint statement by the Israeli Ministry of Defense, domestic security service Shin Bet and police said that a civilian and a reservist are suspected of placing bets on the U.S.-based prediction market Polymarket on future military operations based on information that the reservist had access to.
Israel’s Attorney General’s Office decided to prosecute the two individuals following a joint investigation by police, military intelligence and other security agencies that resulted in several arrests. The two face charges including bribery and obstruction of justice.
Authorities offered no details on the identity of the two individuals or the reservist’s rank or position in the Israeli military but warned that such actions posed a “real security risk” for the military and the Israeli state.
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan had reported earlier that the bets were placed in June ahead of Israel’s war with Iran and that the winnings were roughly $150,000.
BANGLADESH/ELECTIONS – Bangladesh Nationalist Party claims victory in country’s first election since 2024 uprising.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has claimed victory in the country’s first election since the 2024 uprising, positioning itself to form the next government and potentially reshape Bangladesh’s political landscape after years of intense rivalry and disputed polls.
The party’s media unit said on X Friday that it had secured enough seats in Parliament to govern on its own, though rival group Jamaat-e-Islami raised concerns over delayed results.
The final tally has not yet been announced by the Election Commission, but several local media outlets reported the BNP crossing the 151-seat threshold needed for a majority in the 350-member Parliament.
The Election Commission said Friday the voter turnout in Thursday’s election stood at 59.44%. More than 127 million voters were eligible.
Akhter Ahmed, a senior secretary of the Election Commission, said Friday that a majority of voters backed a proposal for constitutional reforms that was held alongside the election. The proposal included prime ministerial term limits and stronger checks on executive power.
JAPAN/CHINA – Japan seizes Chinese fishing boat and arrests captain.
Japan seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its skipper, authorities said Friday, an incident that could worsen an already tense relationship between the Asian giants.
The episode on Thursday off southern Japan came three months after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Japan would intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take Taiwan by force.
Takaichi said Monday that under her leadership Japan – which hosts some 60,000 US military personnel – would bolster its defences and "steadfastly protect" its territory.
China swiftly reacted to the seizure, the Japanese fisheries' agency first since 2022 of a Chinese fishing boat, by urging Japan to protect the rights of Chinese crew.
"It is hoped Japan strictly respects the China-Japan fisheries agreement, fairly enforces the law and safeguards the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese crew members," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news conference on Friday.
Japan's fisheries agency said the vessel's captain was ordered to stop for an inspection, but the boat "failed to comply and fled".
"Consequently, the vessel's captain was arrested on the same day," the agency said in a statement.
The boat was inside Japan's exclusive economic zone 166 kilometres south-southwest of Meshima island in the Goto archipelago, Japan's statement said – not a disputed area.
DPRK/POL – Kim Jong Un’s daughter set to be his successor, Seoul says.
https://www.dw.com/en/north-korea-kim-jong-un-daughter-successor-kim-ju-ae/a-75937480
Kim Jong Un's teenage daughter is close to being designated as his successor to lead North Korea, according to South Korea's spy agency.
South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun on Thursday shared details from a closed-door briefing with Seoul's National Intelligence Agency (NIS).
"In the past, the NIS described Kim Ju Ae as being 'in study as successor' but today the expression used was that she 'was in the stage of being internally appointed successor'," he told reporters.
Lee said the NIS is "taking into account a range of circumstances — including her increasingly prominent public presence at official events."
Little information has been officially confirmed about Kim Ju Ae, but she has increasingly appeared beside her father at high-profile engagements in North Korea, beginning with a long-range missile test in 2022.
Her name was made known in the West by American basketball icon Dennis Rodman, who visited Pyongyang in 2013.
She is believed to be around 13 years old.
Comments (2)
Where can I find the recording of Michael’s Q&A?
U.S. inflation stats have been faked for decades now. Typically, you can add 4-6% on to whatever the government says. They started faking it when COLA adjustments started eating up corporate and government treasuries.