A study published Feb. 4, 2026 in Science Advances finds long-term exposure to fine particulates (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke contributed to an average of about 24,100 deaths per year across the contiguous United States from 2006–2020. Researchers at Mount Sinai linked satellite-derived wildfire smoke PM2.5 estimates with federal mortality records from 3,068 counties, examining all-cause and cause-specific deaths. The analysis found the strongest associations for neurological diseases, followed by circulatory, respiratory and endocrine conditions; every 0.1 µg/m3 rise in wildfire PM2.5 corresponded to roughly 5,594 additional deaths annually. Effects were more pronounced in rural counties, during cooler periods, and among younger populations. The study used negative-control outcomes (car accidents and falls) to test robustness but notes limits including county-level exposure averages, dynamic smoke plumes, and unmeasured individual risk factors (for example smoking). Authors say the figure likely underestimates true harm and argue for urgent mitigation, improved monitoring, local response plans and stronger climate and land-management policies.

French MPs unanimously approved a bill in the National Assembly at the end of January to end the long‑standing notion of “marital duty” by clarifying that cohabitation creates no obligation for spouses to have sexual relations. Backed by more than 120 deputies and co‑authored by Green MP Marie‑Charlotte Garin and Horizons lawmaker Paul Christophe, the text amends the Civil Code (article 215) to bar fault‑based divorce claims grounded on refusal of sex. Approved on Jan. 28, the bill now goes to the Senate under an accelerated procedure and could become law by the summer if passed. Supporters say the change aligns civil law with a 2025 European Court of Human Rights ruling and France’s expansion last year of the criminal definition of rape to include absence of consent. Campaigners say the move will help deter marital rape and end judicial ambiguity after cases such as a 2019 divorce granted over lack of sex. Advocates also point to surveys and domestic‑violence statistics showing high prevalence of unwanted marital sex and violence within couples.

A jury at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin is hearing the trial of Luke Donnelly, 29, who has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of his mother, 62-year-old Catherine Henry, at her apartment in Dundalk between May 23 and 24, 2023. Donnelly, an amateur kickboxer of no fixed abode, told jurors he had been "groomed" into a life of drugs and violence by his mother and that he snapped after she threatened him, saying he feared for his life and "lost all control" when he stamped on her head. He admitted using a cocktail of drugs in the hours before the killing. Prosecutors say Donnelly crushed the victim's skull in multiple places and described the attack as savage and effectively a summary execution; they urged jurors to convict of murder. Defence counsel have portrayed a complex history of abuse, mental-health issues and substance use. Evidence heard includes testimony about past threats and a timeline placing Donnelly in Dundalk; the trial heard closing speeches on Feb. 4, 2026, after earlier testimony on Jan. 30.

The New START treaty between the United States and Russia formally expired in early February 2026, eliminating the last legal bilateral limits on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals. The 2010 agreement capped deployed strategic warheads at about 1,550 each and placed limits and verification measures on intercontinental delivery systems; those verification inspections were suspended in 2020 and Moscow froze participation in 2023. In September 2025 President Vladimir Putin offered a voluntary one-year adherence to the caps, but Washington did not negotiate an extension. Moscow has said it is “no longer bound” by the treaty limits while vowing to act “responsibly,” and Washington has reiterated that any future arrangement should include China, whose arsenal has expanded rapidly. Both countries are undertaking major nuclear modernisation programmes and US officials have signalled a willingness to resume testing and develop new defensive systems. Analysts and campaigners warn the treaty’s demise risks triggering a renewed arms race, undermining verification regimes and increasing proliferation pressures on other states and alliances.

Global K‑pop supergroup BTS will mark its full‑group return with a major Netflix partnership in March 2026. The band’s fifth studio album, Arirang, is due March 20, followed by a live, one‑night concert — BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE | ARIRANG — at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square on March 21 streamed exclusively worldwide on Netflix. Netflix will then release a feature documentary, BTS: THE RETURN, directed by Bao Nguyen, on March 27, chronicling the making of Arirang and the septet’s reunion after completing South Korea’s mandatory military service. The livestream production is being helmed for broadcast by veteran director Hamish Hamilton and is part of a wider comeback that includes a large global tour beginning in April (promoters cite roughly 79–82 shows across over 30 markets). HYBE/BIGHIT Music have positioned the rollout as a cultural homecoming; industry reports expect significant streaming and ticket demand, and HYBE has flagged BTS’s return as central to its 2026 revenue recovery. Netflix’s exclusive rights to both the live event and the documentary underline the platform’s push into high‑profile live content and music programming.

The Night Manager’s second series concluded in early February 2026 with a dramatic, spoiler-heavy finale that left viewers and critics reeling. The six-episode run, a decade after the original, ended with the apparent deaths of key characters: Olivia Colman’s Angela Burr is shot at her French home, Diego Calva’s Teddy Dos Santos is executed by his father Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie), and Tom Hiddleston’s Jonathan Pine is left wounded and alone in the jungle as Roper escapes. Cast and crew reacted on social media, including behind-the-scenes posts from Camila Morrone, while Hiddleston and writer David Farr have reflected publicly on the creative choices. The BBC and Prime Video had already confirmed a three-season plan in 2024; Hiddleston, an executive producer, and Farr say seasons two and three were conceived as a single 12-episode arc and that work on season three is underway though no release date is set. The series is available on BBC iPlayer and Prime Video and has generated intense online discussion and critical acclaim for its tonal risks and storytelling.

The Irish government has moved to outlaw scrambler motorcycles in all public places following the death of 16-year-old Grace Lynch in Finglas, Dublin in late January. Cabinet has approved preparations for regulations – to be drafted by Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien – that ministers say will be in force within weeks and will provide a clear legal definition of scramblers. The measures aim to close gaps in 2023 legislation and strengthen Garda powers to seize and permanently dispose of seized bikes; ministers and the Taoiseach have signalled seized machines will not be returned. Officials also flagged tougher rules for e-scooters and e-bikes, including mandatory helmets and high-visibility clothing, and new enforcement tactics such as targeted intelligence work and drone use. A man has been charged in relation to Grace Lynch’s death. Ministers acknowledged operational and legal issues around police pursuit and disposal of vehicles and said the changes are intended to remove ambiguity and reduce antisocial and dangerous riding in communities.

Queen’s University Belfast has removed the name of former US senator George J. Mitchell from its Institute of Global Peace, Security and Justice and taken down his bust and portrait after newly released US documents linking him to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein emerged this week. The Justice Department files include multiple references to Mitchell and email records showing attempts by Epstein’s team to arrange meetings between 2010 and 2013, including a calendar entry for a November 6, 2013 appointment; it is not clear whether that meeting took place. Mitchell’s office says he “declined or deflected” invitations after Epstein’s 2008 conviction and denies any contact with accuser Virginia Giuffre or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. The US‑Ireland Alliance has also removed Mitchell’s name from its scholarship programme. Local bodies including Cork City Council have so far declined to say whether civic honours will be revoked. Queen’s said there have been no findings of wrongdoing against Mitchell but judged it inappropriate for institutional spaces to continue to bear his name, citing duty of care to survivors and the university’s reputation.

A Republican-led US House Judiciary Committee released a 160-page interim report in early February 2026 alleging a decade-long European Commission campaign to pressure social media platforms into censoring political speech worldwide. The report, published Feb. 3, cites thousands of pages of internal communications from major tech firms and claims more than 100 closed-door meetings since 2020 guided platforms to suppress content on Covid-19, migration and transgender issues. Committee chairman Jim Jordan held hearings in Washington on Feb. 4-5, where witnesses including Irish lawyer Lorcán Price and writer Graham Linehan testified, arguing the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and related enforcement have extra-territorial effects on American speech. The report points to a December 2025 €120 million fine against X as evidence of European coercion. Brussels dismissed the allegations as “pure nonsense,” saying the DSA protects freedom of expression. Irish regulators and national election interventions are singled out in the report, which frames EU engagement with platforms ahead of Ireland’s 2024 and 2025 elections as evidence of bias.

Reporting in early February 2026 shows the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has used administrative subpoenas to press major tech and telecom firms for identifying information about people who criticized President Donald Trump and his policies online. Unlike judicial warrants, administrative subpoenas are issued by agencies without prior court approval; they cannot compel email contents but can seek subscriber details, IP logs and metadata that can unmask anonymous posters. Targets described in multiple accounts include an anonymous Instagram account known as @montcowatch that shared local ICE activity and a 67‑year‑old retiree who emailed a DHS attorney and was later visited by agents. At least some subpoenas were withdrawn after legal challenges; the American Civil Liberties Union is representing affected users. Companies named in reporting include Meta and Google, and some firms have resisted or flagged such demands in transparency reports. Civil liberties groups warn the practice risks chilling protected speech by turning routine investigative tools into a mechanism for identifying political critics.

Northern Ireland police officers affected by a major 2023 data breach were offered a one‑off payment of £7,500 each this week as settlement talks advance, while dozens of claimants’ names briefly appeared on the NI Courts public online list. The August 2023 incident — when a spreadsheet released under a freedom of information request exposed the initials, surnames, ranks and roles of roughly 9,500 PSNI officers and staff — prompted an ICO fine (£750,000) and measures including changed service numbers and relocations. Stormont has ring‑fenced about £119 million to fund compensation from April. Court lists that showed the names were taken down on Feb. 3–4, 2026 after concerns they might put officers, some in covert roles, at renewed risk and reports of their circulation on social media. PSNI says the published names were supplied by legal representatives and that settlement discussions continue; unions and political figures have demanded stronger safeguards and clarity on procedures for anonymity in legal cases.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has said she would submit to genetic or sex testing conducted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) if required to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, following remarks made in interviews on Feb. 4-5, 2026. Khelif, 26, who won women's welterweight gold at Paris 2024, revealed she took hormone treatments to lower testosterone ahead of the Games and confirmed she carries the SRY gene. She was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) over sex chromosome tests but was cleared to compete in Paris after the IOC stripped IBA of recognition. A new body, World Boxing, granted provisional IOC recognition in 2025, has introduced mandatory genetic testing; Khelif has appealed that policy at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and said she would only accept testing administered by the IOC. She is also awaiting a French professional boxing licence and has said she intends to defend her title in 2028. The statements come as the IOC is moving toward clearer, potentially stricter gender-eligibility guidance across sports.

A Democrat, Taylor Rehmet, overturned decades of Republican control in Texas’ 9th State Senate District in a special runoff held at the end of January, beating GOP candidate Leigh Wambsganss by roughly 14 points after securing about 57% of the vote. The district voted for Donald Trump by about 17 points in the 2024 presidential election, producing a net swing of roughly 30 points toward Democrats. Turnout was low: local reports put ballots cast well below general-election levels (under 100,000 and roughly 15% of registered voters). Rehmet, an Air Force veteran and union leader, will be the first Democrat to represent the seat in about four decades. Republican figures — including Sen. Ted Cruz, Rep. Tony Gonzales and other state and national conservatives — described the result as a “wake-up call,” flagging poor GOP turnout and erosion among Hispanic voters. Democrats cast the win as part of a broader pattern of off-year overperformance that they say bodes well for the 2026 midterms.

Italian prosecutors have formally identified and summoned an 80-year-old man as the first suspect in an investigation into alleged "sniper tourism" carried out during the 1992-95 siege of Sarajevo. The Milan office opened the probe in November 2025 after a complaint by author Ezio Gavazzeni, spurred by the 2022 documentary Sarajevo Safari. Authorities say foreigners, including Italians and nationals from several European countries, paid organized groups to shoot at civilians from hills around Sarajevo; payments were reported to have reached the equivalent of €80,000-€100,000. The elderly suspect, a former truck driver from near Pordenone, has been called to testify and faces multiple counts described by Italian media as premeditated or repeated voluntary homicide, with prosecutors considering aggravating "abhorrent motives." Carabinieri searches reportedly uncovered several legally owned firearms. The inquiry is understood to have links to parallel probes in France, Switzerland and Belgium; prior testimony has alleged participants from the United States and Russia and suggested awareness by Serbian services, which deny involvement. Some 11,000 civilians were killed by shelling and sniper fire around Sarajevo during the war.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and several foreign missions have warned of an acute humanitarian crisis in Cuba as the island faces severe fuel shortages, rolling blackouts and rising prices for food and transport. The deterioration follows recent U.S. moves to block oil shipments to Cuba and threats by President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on any country that supplies fuel to the island. The U.S. embassy in Havana has advised American citizens to prepare for “significant disruption,” citing unstable power supply, limited fuel for generators and a spike in government-organised anti-U.S. demonstrations; it also reported incidents of U.S. citizens being denied entry. Russia’s ambassador to Cuba, Viktor Coronelli, told state agency RIA that Moscow has repeatedly supplied oil to the island and expects to continue doing so. Mexico has signalled efforts to use diplomatic channels to keep crude flowing and to send humanitarian aid. UN spokesmen said Cuba risks a humanitarian “collapse” if oil needs go unmet, warning that hospitals, water and communications are vulnerable to prolonged outages.

Human Rights Watch released its World Report 2026 on Feb. 4, warning the global human-rights system is “in peril” as democracy has eroded to levels not seen since 1985 and 72% of the world’s population now lives under autocracy. HRW executive director Philippe Bolopion singled out the United States under President Donald Trump for a “broad assault” on democratic checks and human rights, citing hardline immigration enforcement, masked ICE raids, domestic deployments of federal agents and national guard units, threats to voting rights, retaliatory measures against critics, and the deportation of migrants to a harsh El Salvador prison. The report also documents systemic repression in China and an intensifying crackdown in Russia, and accuses Israeli forces of grave crimes in Gaza. Bolopion urged a strategic alliance of rights-respecting “middle powers.” The launch was accompanied by staff resignations at HRW and a sharp White House rebuttal accusing the group of bias.

A worker has died following an incident at Newmont’s Tanami underground gold mine in the Northern Territory, Australian authorities and the company said on Feb. 5, 2026. Newmont confirmed an employee fatality after emergency response procedures were activated and relevant regulators were notified. All activities at the remote site — about 540–550 km north-west of Alice Springs — have been suspended while NT WorkSafe leads a formal investigation. Initial inquiries cited by regulators indicate a potential winch failure during a lift may have been a contributing factor. The Tanami operation, owned and operated by Newmont since 2002, is one of Australia’s largest underground gold mines, extending more than 1.7 km below surface and employing roughly 1,800 fly-in fly-out staff. The mine produces about 400,000 ounces (more than 11 tonnes) of gold annually and recently completed expansion work that included the country’s deepest hoisting shaft. Newmont said it will fully support the investigation and assist the worker’s family, colleagues and the regulator.

South Australian anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe sparked an investigation after posting on social media an image she said showed a 16-week foetus taken inside Townsville’s hospital Butterfly Room. Howe claimed the foetus, named “Samuel,” had been “born alive” after an abortion; she provided no evidence to support that claim. Instagram blocked automatic display of the image and warned viewers it could be upsetting. In follow-up videos Howe published detailed medical information from hospital records — including dates, times, birth weights, medications and other details — which hospital officials say could identify patients despite blurred names. The Townsville Hospital and Health Service has opened inquiries into the alleged confidentiality breach, and Queensland’s Office of the Health Ombudsman said complaints would be managed under the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 and the Information Privacy Act 2009. Medical representatives, including the president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, condemned the publication as exploitative and harmful. Howe, a migration law academic previously accused of spreading misinformation and banned from the South Australian parliament for confrontational tactics, has campaigned for tighter abortion laws and worked with politicians on repeal efforts.

A 36-year-old Deutsche Bahn conductor died after being assaulted during a routine ticket inspection on a regional train in Rhineland‑Palatinate, German authorities and the operator said. The incident occurred on Monday evening as the service left Landstuhl station in the Kaiserslautern district. Passengers and a Bundeswehr soldier administered first aid before the victim, named locally as Serkan C., was resuscitated and taken to hospital, where he died the following day. Police arrested a 26‑year‑old man at the scene; authorities described him as a Greek national without a registered residence in Germany and have issued an arrest warrant on suspicion of manslaughter. Deutsche Bahn held a nationwide minute’s silence and chief executive Evelyn Palla condemned the “senseless” attack. The Railway and Transport Union (EVG) and regional politicians called for stronger protections for frontline staff, noting a rise in assaults on ticket inspectors and other railway employees in recent years. Police said the investigation into the motive and the exact circumstances, including whether a weapon was used, was ongoing.

Satellite imagery and witness testimony released in February 2026 show Israeli forces bulldozed parts of the Gaza War Cemetery in al‑Tuffah, Gaza City, destroying dozens of Commonwealth and allied First and Second World War graves. Images from 8 August and 13 December 2025 show systematic earthworks and an earth berm across the cemetery’s southern corner; a former caretaker said two bulldozing operations took place around late April or early May 2025. The damage reportedly affected sections holding British, Australian and New Zealand servicemen — the cemetery contains more than 250 Australian burials and CWGC records show whole plots of First World War British graves and a plot for Canadian UN peacekeepers were razed. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has reported damage to headstones and memorials and said it will secure and repair the site when safe. The Israel Defence Forces said the area had been an active combat zone and that underground militant infrastructure was located and dismantled. Australian officials have vowed to seek repairs to Australian graves; veterans groups and the Royal British Legion have expressed distress and called for formal remediation.

A City of London Corporation report warns that women in the UK’s technology and financial services sectors face disproportionate risk of job losses as AI and automation spread. The taskforce found “mid‑career” women — those with five or more years’ experience — are being sidelined by rigid and often automated CV‑screening tools that penalise career breaks for caring responsibilities and narrow definitions of experience. The study estimates about 119,000 clerical roles across tech, finance and professional services, many held by women, could be displaced over the next decade. More than 12,100 digital vacancies in those sectors went unfilled in 2024, the report says, and retraining at‑risk staff into digital roles could save employers up to £757 million in redundancy costs. Separate ILO/NASK research cited by the report shows higher automation exposure for female‑dominated roles in high‑income countries. The City of London calls on employers to adopt skills‑based hiring and scale reskilling to retain talent and avert a widening gender gap and long‑term drag on economic growth.