Move aside, Melania -- Donald Trump's White House is celebrating Valentine's Day with some cheeky cards that applaud the administration's accomplishments ... while mocking the left.

Check out the V-Day cards the White House posted to ring in the holiday -- the first shows handcuffed and blindfolded Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro being flown out of Venezuela after the U.S. captured him in January, with the saying ... "You captured my heart."

BHP has accused coal miner Simon Turner of making “wild accusations” but refuses to say what they are. Michael West, also named in the court case, reports.

Simon Turner, a coal miner who has locked horns with mining giant BHP in the courts over wage theft, cannot afford a lawyer. 

In fact, he sleeps on his garage floor and has to get the train down from Newcastle to Sydney to tackle BHP, and the five other large corporate defendants, and their phalanx of lawyers. 

It was some ten against one – one man without legal counsel – at the hearing before Justice Needham in the Federal Court last Thursday.

Angus Taylor ousting Sussan Ley as leader of the Liberal Party reinforces longstanding perceptions about the Party’s treatment of women. Aleta Moriarty reports.

The 2025 election showed a widening chasm in the composition of two-party preferred voting, with the Coalition attracting 9% more votes from men than women, with women voters less likely to vote for the Coalition than at any time in recent history. 

In particular, young and middle-aged women have abandoned the party; only 19.8% voted Coalition (less than 1 in 5). 

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said he had a conversation with a dog during his latest trip to Kiev, as he argued for continued military aid for Ukraine. He made the remarks during a joint panel with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

Rutte visited the Ukrainian capital in early February, where he vowed that Western nations would continue their support, potentially including deploying troops to Ukraine – which Moscow has called unacceptable.

On Saturday, he recalled his visit, including a meeting with a bomb-sniffing dog named Patron – whose name means ‘bullet cartridge’ in Ukrainian.

The Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival for the Chinese people. As it approaches, the joy of reunion and anticipation for the future are transforming into the most vivid expressions across China: the millions of travelers heading home in the great Spring Festival migration, the bright red couplets adorning every household door, and the warm greetings of "Happy New Year" exchanged among neighbors.

The Spring Festival brings a touch of warmth to the world: Global Times editorial

By Global Times

Amazon's doorbell camera producer Ring has ended their partnership with Flock Safety, a tech surveillance company, as the two firms face a backlash over privacy. The trigger? A Super bowl commercial about a lost dog.

Ring cuts surveillance firm ties amid Super bowl ad outcry
Darko Janjevic with AP material, DW sources

Why do you only criticize Western imperialism?

You are asking the wrong question to the wrong person.

You are talking to someone who grew up on the receiving end of Western power, not someone who learned geopolitics from Netflix.

I do not have a problem condemning imperialism "from all sides."

I have a problem pretending that all "sides" are equal when one bloc:

Built 800+ military bases abroad.

Controls the global reserve currency.

Runs the main sanction machinery.

Overthrew dozens of governments on every continent.

And backs the last open-air concentration camp in Gaza while calling it "self-defense."

That bloc is not Russia.

That bloc is not China.

That bloc is the U.S., its European vassals, and its little settler attack dog in West Asia.

The Australian government’s response to Gaza, and its handling of President Isaac Herzog’s visit, has blurred the line between antisemitism and criticism of Israel. The result is deeper division, weaker democracy and greater risk to Jewish communities.

John Menadue

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Volodymyr Zelensky should hurry up because Russia is willing to make a deal, otherwise, an opportunity will be missed.

"Zelensky is going to have to get moving. Russia wants to make a deal. And so let's get moving. Otherwise, he's going to miss a great opportunity," Trump told reporters.

As Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reported earlier on Friday, peace negotiations will continue on February 17-18 in Geneva. The Russian delegation will be led by Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky. The two previous rounds were headed by Igor Kostyukov, Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.

A temple to the sea goddess Mazu has become a focal point in Taiwan's debate over engagement with China. Temple leader Chen Ming‑kun urges cross‑strait peace, but his ties to China raise concerns about political influence. As Beijing steps up pressure, Taiwan is countering with outreach to religious communities to resist infiltration. Many worshippers object, saying faith shouldn't be politicized.

Lawmakers from both parties on Capitol Hill have demanded answers from the US Department of Justice over its monitoring of congressional investigators’ search activity while they reviewed sensitive, unredacted documents connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The controversy erupted after Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday with printed material listing specific files and queries that Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal had accessed.

Wohin geht Amerika?
Deutschland ist in Vielem von einem guten Verhältnis zu den USA abhängig. Deshalb ist das Bemühen verständlich, auf politischer und wirtschaftlicher Ebene einen möglichst guten Konsens mit dem Präsidenten zu suchen, den sich die Mehrheit der Amerikaner bei der Wahl im November 2024 geleistet hat.

Homo stupidus

Russi, Florian

The US Republican Party has accused Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of “calling for the execution” of President Donald Trump, after she called him a “pedophile” and suggested that he would be put to death if he were in her native Somalia.

“Last night, Ilhan Omar tweeted, calling for the execution of the President of the United States,” the Pennsylvania branch of the GOP stated on Wednesday. Pointing out that “calling for the execution of a federal official is a felony under United States law,” the party urged Democrats to “take responsibility” for the apparent threat to Trump’s life.