While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Feb 1, 2026
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A photo of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos being arrested by ICE officials in his blue bunny hat went viral on social media.
PHOTOS: X, NYTIMES
Judge orders release of dad, son detained by ICE
A federal judge has ordered the release of Adrian Conejo Arias and his five-year-old son, Liam Conejo Ramos, whom immigration officers detained during a Minnesota raid.
The boy - seen in a now viral photo that showed him wearing a blue bunny hat outside his house as federal agents stood nearby - was one of four students detained by immigration officials earlier this month in a Minneapolis suburb, according to the Columbia Heights Public School District.
“The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatising children,” US District Judge Fred Biery wrote in a ruling published on Jan 31.
The Ecuadorean boy and his father, who entered the US legally as asylum applicants, were sent to a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, their attorney Marc Prokosch previously told Reuters.
Gas leak caused blast in Iran’s Bandar Abbas
An explosion that hit a building in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on Jan 31 was caused by a gas leak, according to a preliminary assessment, the local head of the fire department said.
Earlier, Iranian state media reported that at least one person had been killed and 14 injured in the blast, which comes amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s crackdown earlier this month on nationwide protests and over the country’s nuclear programme.
“This (gas leak) is the preliminary assessment. My colleagues will give more details in the next few hours,” Mr Mohammad Amin Liaqat, the fire department chief, said in a video published by Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency.
Malaysia seizes tankers with $160m worth of crude
PHOTO: MALAYSIAN MARITIME ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
Malaysia has detained two tankers suspected of illegally transferring crude oil estimated to be worth US$129 million (S$160 million), authorities said on Jan 31.
The South-east Asian nation, which has come under scrutiny over oil transfers linked to sanctions evasion in its waters, pledged in 2025 to crack down on illegal activities in its maritime zones.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said two tankers anchored north of the port of Penang were intercepted on Jan 29 following a tip-off.
I’m no angel, Italy’s Meloni says, amid fresco row
PHOTOS: AFP, REUTERS
Italy’s prime minister, Ms Giorgia Meloni, joked on Jan 31 she does not look like an angel, after a row blew up in the media over a restored fresco in a Rome church.
Some of Italy’s press have been asking whether the premier served as inspiration for a celestial being painted in a chapel in the San Lorenzo in Lucina basilica, located a few metres from the main building of the Italian government.
The newspaper La Repubblica noted that, following recent renovations, one of the painted angels bears a resemblance to the blonde, diminutive leader.
Liverpool crush Newcastle for first league win in a month
PHOTO: EPA
Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike struck twice in two minutes to spark Arne Slot’s side to a 4-1 comeback win over Newcastle United on Jan 31 for the champions’ first Premier League victory in over a month.
Florian Wirtz and Ibrahima Konate scored in the second half to help Liverpool climb to fifth in the table with 39 points, 14 behind leaders Arsenal, as Newcastle fell to 10th on 33.
Newcastle started briskly and Anthony Gordon scored his first league goal in open play for more than a year in the 36th minute.
