HANOI, Vietnam, Feb 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Vietnam confirmed on Tuesday that its top leader To Lam will attend the first meeting of President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" in the United States this week. Two sources briefed on the trip told AFP last week that Lam would travel to the US to join the meeting of world leaders. Lam accepted Trump's invitation to join the "Board of Peace" as a founding member state, Hanoi said last month. Lam said he was committed to working with the US and the international community to make "positive contributions" toward Middle East peace, state media said last month. Vietnam and the US are currently negotiating a trade deal after Washington imposed 20 percent tariffs on Vietnamese goods last year.

Benfica coach Jose Mourinho insisted he is capable of saying no to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez as he played down rumours of a return to the Spanish giants on Monday. Mourinho's Benfica host Real Madrid in a Champions League play-off round clash on Tuesday, before the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next week. "I gave everything to Real Madrid, everything that I had, I did good things, I did bad things, but I gave absolutely everything and that's all," said Mourinho. "I think he's a coach with a lot of capability and a boy who has Madrid within him, and with the personality to coach Madrid, which isn't something anyone can do." "The Real Madrid I expect tomorrow is the Real Madrid who are number one favourites to win the Champions League," added Mourinho.

At least two killed in northeastern US ice rink shootingPAWTUCKET, United States, Feb 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - At least two people were killed and three wounded in a shooting at an ice rink in the northeastern US town of Pawtucket on Monday, authorities said, with social media footage showing frightened teenagers fleeing the sound of gunshots. Mass shootings are common in the United States, where lax gun control laws mean that access to weapons is relatively easy. Monday's shooting, which occurred at a high school ice hockey game, came two months after a mass shooting at Brown University, located just 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) away. Footage shared on social media, which has not been verified by AFP, showed players, students and spectators at Pawtucket's Dennis M Lynch Arena fleeing for cover as shots rang out over the indoor ice rink. At least 12 shots can be heard on the social media footage, which appears to have been taken from a livestream of the game.

Los Blancos beat Real Sociedad on Saturday to overtake the Catalans and Hansi Flick's side could not defeat Girona in an gripping derby clash to reclaim the lead. "In the end Girona deserved it, they had a lot of chances, we defended very badly," admitted Flick. Ferran Torres fired a good chance wide for Barca and Raphinha drove against the upright as Flick's side pushed for the opener. "The (officials) do their job, sometimes it's not a good job, but they are on the same level as we played, so it's maybe not a good level." "Three points against Barca are more than three points, normally they beat almost all teams," said happy Girona coach Michel Sanchez.

According to DMP’s media wing, vehicular movement will remain restricted on Manik Mia Avenue and in the Lake Road area from 8am to 7pm. 2) Dhanmondi to FarmgateVehicles from Dhanmondi-27 will travel via Asadgate – Protibedha Gap (right turn) – China-Bangladesh Friendship Conference Center – Urojahaj Crossing – Bijoy Sarani Crossing, then turn right towards Farmgate Crossing. 3) Asadgate to Farmgate CrossingFrom Asadgate, vehicles will turn left and proceed through Ganabhaban Crossing (July Smriti Museum) – Protibedha Gap (right turn) – China-Bangladesh Friendship Conference Center – Urojahaj Crossing – Bijoy Sarani Crossing, then turn right to reach Farmgate Crossing. Guidance for Elevated Expressway usersTo avoid congestion during the ceremony, drivers have been advised to use the FDC (Hatirjheel) ramp instead of the Farmgate exit ramp. The DMP has urged all motorists to avoid Manik Mia Avenue and Lake Road between 8am and 7pm and to follow the designated alternative routes.

SYDNEY, Feb 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Australian resources giant BHP reported Tuesday a jump in half-year net profit boosted by demand for copper to meet the world's need for electrical power. BHP says it is the world's largest copper producer after raising output by about 30 percent in the past four years, including from its vast Escondida mine in Chile. "This is allowing us to maximise increased earnings from the recent run up in copper prices as well as gold," BHP chief executive Mike Henry said. The red metal is now the biggest contributor to overall earnings at BHP, Henry said. "With four compelling growth options across Chile, Argentina, Arizona and South Australia, we are well positioned to capture the forecast higher long term copper prices," he said in a statement.

MILAN, Italy, Feb 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara pulled out the best performance of their careers to move from fifth overnight to grab Olympic figure skating pairs gold on Monday. Their routine earned the Japanese personal best scores in both the free skate (158.13 points) and overall, with 231.24 points. Miura, 24, and 33-year-old Kihara had helped Japan win team silver for the second consecutive Olympics earlier in the Games. Yesterday they were heartbroken," the Japanese pairs' coach Bruno Marcotte told journalists. Their free skate route at the Milan-Cortina Games was, in fact, meant to illustrate their struggle against these difficulties.

Ahead of Russia-Ukraine talks, Trump says Kyiv must negotiate 'fast'ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Feb 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump said Monday he hopes Ukraine reaches a deal with Russia "fast" ahead of Tuesday's Washington-brokered talks in Geneva between Moscow and Kyiv. "Ukraine better come to the table, fast," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while en route to Washington. Trump is pushing to end the conflict, unleashed when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but two previous rounds of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi did not yield any signs of a breakthrough. Moscow has stuck to its demands in the talks for sweeping territorial and political concessions from Ukraine -- rejected by Kyiv as tantamount to capitulation. Rustem Umerov -- the head of Ukraine's National Security Council -- will represent Kyiv, along with a host of other officials.

GUATEMALA CITY, Feb 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - UN experts on Monday called for an investigation into Guatemala's Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras for possible involvement in illegal adoptions of Indigenous children in the 1980s, during the country's civil war. The allegation came in a statement released in Geneva on Monday, the same day that Porras, whose term as attorney general ends in May, failed in her bid to be elected to Guatemala's Constitutional Court. The UN experts said they had received information about "at least 80 Indigenous children who were subjected to illegal international adoptions" after "their capture and forced disappearance between 1968 and 1996." The experts called for independent investigations into the allegations that public officials, including Porras, were allegedly involved in the adoptions. The attorney general has also been accused by the government and NGOs of protecting criminals, which she denies.

MEXICO CITY, Feb 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Hundreds of Canadian business leaders visited Mexico on Monday, aiming to deepen commercial ties despite the recent kidnapping and killing of several employees of a Canadian mining firm. About 400 Canadian industry representatives -- billed as one of the largest-ever Canadian delegations to visit Mexico -- were joined by a senior minister in Mexico City. Ottawa is pushing hard for deeper trade ties with other mid-sized economies to pivot away from its dependence on the United States. But the Canadian visit was overshadowed by deep security concerns. Just weeks ago, ten miners working for a Canadian firm in Mexico were kidnapped.

A blockade of oil deliveries to Cuba has forced emergency rationing, kneecapping the country's critical tourism and tobacco sectors even as remittances are under threat and income earned from sending doctors abroad has been all but cut off. Foreign governments pay Havana directly for the doctors' services, but Washington has taken aim at the program it claims amounts to forced labor. Guyana, which has had agreements with Havana for decades, said it will in future pay doctors directly. The oil dearth also threatens to deal a fatal blow to tourism, the island's second source of foreign income after doctors. - Tobacco -Cuba is known as a producer of high-quality tobacco and cigars.

PARIS, France, Feb 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman died Monday, a representative confirmed to AFP. Wiseman died peacefully at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to a statement from his production company, Zipporah Films. For more than a half century, Oscar-winner Wiseman patiently observed some of America's most familiar institutions through his dozens of documentaries that shine a rare light on people's daily lives. This approach got him such classic scenes as the ending to one of his most celebrated documentaries, "Welfare" (1975), set in a New York welfare office. But for Wiseman, on the back of all those hours of shooting, such extraordinary scenes always came.

Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban -Photo: WikipediaDHAKA, Feb 17, 2026 (BSS)- All 296 newly elected members of parliament (MPs) of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (JS) will take oath at Jatiya Sangsad (JS) here today. The lawmakers will first take oath as the members of parliament (MPs) and then as the members of Constitutional Reform Council, said a press release of JS Secretariat on Monday. At first the lawmakers elected from Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) including party Chairman Tarique Rahman will take oath. Later, lawmakers from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party (NCP), Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis, Khelafat Majlish, Gano Odhikar Parishad, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Ganosamhati Andolon and independent MPs will take the oath. President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath to the new cabinet members at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad tomorrow afternoon.

GENEVA, Feb 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - President Donald Trump warned Iran of potential consequences should it fail to strike a deal with the United States, as negotiators prepare for the latest round of talks in Geneva on Tuesday. Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily against Iran, first over a deadly crackdown on protesters last month and then more recently over its nuclear programme. A previous attempt at diplomacy collapsed when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran in June, beginning a 12-day war that Washington briefly joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi in Geneva on Monday to discuss his country's position "regarding nuclear issues and sanctions relief". The foreign minister also said he was meeting in Geneva with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, "for deep technical discussion".

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