For Tashkent, the London meeting comes after a burst of bilateral engagement that has put finance and infrastructure at the center of the relationship. Mirziyoyev also flagged potential projects spanning energy, finance, geology, and transport, and the sides agreed to prepare a joint roadmap. According to the Uzbek government, talks focused on transport and logistics infrastructure—rail and road projects, airport modernization—alongside green energy and public–private partnerships. Uzbekistan represents an additional layer within this evolving framework, increasingly positioning itself as an aspiring participant in diversified mineral supply chains. If the new C5–UK meeting produces only generalized communiqués, it will be filed away as another well-meaning initiative.

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In several states, Democratic lawmakers want applicants to think twice about taking part. Bills introduced in recent weeks in the legislatures of at least four Democratic-led states would impose long-term consequences on new ICE employees by rendering them ineligible for jobs in law enforcement, public education, and, in their most expansive form, the entire state civil service. The bills nonetheless underscore Democratic state lawmaker’s determination to undermine Trump’s hardline immigration policy, even as a similar effort in Congress that has resulted in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutting down faces uncertain prospects. “If you’re an ICE agent, you’re signing up to engage in unlawful conduct. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin accused the lawmakers proposing these bills of “falsely casting federal law enforcement as villains while ICE officers are being targeted, threatened, and doxxed simply for doing their jobs.”“To most Americans, ICE officers are heroes,” she said.

There were 30,657 people staying in such accommodation while they were awaiting a decision on their asylum claims at the end of December. Labour has pledged to no longer be using asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament, which would be 2029, if not earlier. The latest data from the Home Office showed December levels were 15% lower than the previous quarter at the end of September when there were 36,273 people in hotels. Figures for hotels, which represent the total population at that point in time rather than across the three-month period, date back to December 2022. The figures also show the number of people in so-called contingency accommodation other than hotels had fallen to its lowest level since the end of December 2022.

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy noticeSarah Palin's eight-year-old defamation claims against The New York Times are being heard anew by a Manhattan jury this week, following their revival by an appeals court last year. Sarah Palin leaves Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in New York ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. In February 2022, Judge Jed S. Rakoff rejected Palin’s claims in a ruling issued while a jury deliberated. It also cited flaws in the trial, saying there was erroneous exclusion of evidence, an inaccurate jury instruction and a mistaken response to a question from the jury.

Some of the fastest players in NFL history could have been track stars during the draft combine in Indianapolis. Fastest 40-yard dash times in NFL Combine history include former Olympian and receiver drafted ahead of MahomesThe 40-yard dash is the ultimate test of an NFL prospect's speed. Here are the quickest 40-yard dash times that this year's budding wide receivers, cornerbacks and running backs will be looking to beat. The former Baylor standout actually ran an unofficial 4.21 second 40-yard dash, which would have beaten the all-time record. He posted a 4.27 second 40-yard dash in 2013 and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills.

A WOMAN who works at a care home was thrown off her moped when she hit a pothole in Henley. Wendy Fricker, 65, had been travelling in Station Road at 20mph when she hit the crater following her shift at Acacia Lodge on February 3. She fell from her machine and landed in the road, suffering a cracked rib, which kept her off work for almost three weeks. I live in Goodall Close, so I come down Greys Road to go to work but the bottom of Greys Road is like a minefield. “The one in Station Road caught me out good and proper.

Almost 18,000 emergency calls: That is the number handled by Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) during 2025 – an increase of more than 1,600 calls than 2024. Of those calls, the service attended a record 10,024 incidents – dealing with everything from fires and water rescue to height/confined space rescue, animal rescue and public safety incidents, such as dangers on the highway or with dangerous structures. NFRS emergency call handlers answered 17,744 calls in 2025, the highest number on record. Fire and rescue service 2025 call-outs data revealed. FInally, in 2025 NFRS attended 1,231 ‘fires in the open’ – fires which affect grassland, heathland, woodland and crops.

As unmanned and AI-enabled defence systems become central to modern warfare, it’s becoming clear that a partnership between machines and humans is essential to optimal outcomes. To learn more about what value meaningful human control can add to the efficiency of autonomous systems, read the article. About Business ReporterBusiness Reporter is an award-winning company producing supplements published in The Guardian and City AM, as well as content published on Business Reporter online hubs on Bloomberg.com, Independent.com, Business Insider Germany and Le Figaro, delivering news and analysis on issues affecting the international business community. www.business-reporter.co.ukAbout Quantum SystemsQuantum Systems is Europe’s highest valued dual-use scale up and a global leader in the development of intelligent unmanned systems. Quantum Systems products combine proven hardware, AI, and interoperable software to deliver persistent, reliable intelligence where it matters most.

Education development centres are experiencing an identity crisis, write Claire Gordon and Sam Smidt. Moreover, many academics remain sceptical that educational development is a distinct academic domain. Educational developers themselves may reject the characterisation of their work as service and be resistant to engaging in certain kinds of service work. When an educational development initiative succeeds, the visible outcomes may be improved student experience, enhanced teaching quality, or curricular innovation. Level 3 – Building education leadership: EDCs convene networks of education leaders at different levels across the institution to discuss strategic, operational, and regulatory issues, facilitating practice exchange, collaboration, and mentoring education-focussed academics.

26 February 2026 13:07Jeffrey Epstein, a notorious financier and paedophile, repeatedly arranged flights transporting young women from the US to the UK and back, using a British airport as a transit point for human trafficking, according to documents from the “Epstein files” released by the US Department of Justice. Records of bookings, fuel receipts, and flight logs reveal Jeffrey Epstein’s arrivals and departures from the UK prior to his death in a Manhattan jail in 2019, The Times reports. The documents also indicate that the convicted sex trafficker continued to arrange commercial flights for young women either from or via the UK up until June 2019, just a month before his final arrest. These findings emerge as six UK police forces investigate claims of trafficking linked to Epstein’s private jet, nicknamed the “Lolita Express.”Authorities are scrutinising the aircraft’s movements at UK commercial airports as well as Royal Air Force bases, including RAF Northolt. In an interview with The New Statesman, he noted that the released files indicate 90 flights to or from UK airports, including 15 after Epstein’s conviction in 2008.

Pakistan claims to have killed at least 70 militants in strikes along the Afghan border https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-afghanistan-militants-strikes-border-b849ad97b462de8067d1b7f20ffd9f9e2. Afghanistan promises ‘appropriate response’ after deadly Pakistani strikes https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/22/pakistan-carries-out-strikes-in-afghanistan-after-islamabad-suicide-attack3. Earthquake of magnitude 5.3 strikes Afghanistan https://www.malaysiasun.com/news/278888234/earthquake-of-magnitude-53-strikes-afghanistan5. Gunmen kill five Pakistani police, two civilians near Afghan border, police say https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/gunmen-kill-five-pakistani-police-two-civilians-near-afghan-border-police-say/ar-AA1WYOst6. Trump’s State of the Union may test appetite for Iran strikes https://www.iranintl.com/en/20260224667113.

Scientists earlier this month said that we are closer than ever to the point after which global heating cannot be stopped. Yet Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin, the head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, recently announced the elimination of the Obama-era endangerment finding that underpins federal climate regulations. Never mind insurance or health care costs; a recent report found that U.S. earnings would be 12% higher without the climate crisis. In the same week as this reckless and destructive U.S. decision, it emerged that China had recorded its 21st month of flat or slightly falling carbon emissions. There is also a vacuum in climate diplomacy that China shows no signs of filling.

TLDRAustralia is rolling out a new $132m emergency alert system, AusAlert, to warn citizens of natural disasters and other serious events through smartphone alerts. The system will replace state-based text messaging systems and is expected to be fully operational by October 2026. Alerts will be sent for bushfires, floods, biosecurity threats, and other life-threatening events, with the capability to be targeted down to individual streets. A national test is planned for 27 July 2026, aiming to reach about 23 million smartphones. The system is designed to work for most phones released since 2019 and will not allow opting out of the highest-level threat alert.

A guest of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, was arrested by Capitol police during the State of the Union address. That’s why I didn’t move,” Rahman told officers as they pulled her from the car at the time. During Donald Trump’s speech, Rahman “started demonstrating”, which violated rules for the event, according to the Capitol police. “The guest was told to sit down, but refused to obey our lawful orders,” the police said in a statement. Photograph: Tim Evans/ReutersRahman told the Democracy Now broadcast on Wednesday that she had been standing silently before she was arrested.