While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Feb 12, 2026
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US President Donald Trump (right) welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Feb 11, in a photo released by Israel. Mr Netanyahu’s visit was more muted than usual.
PHOTO: X/@ISRAELIPM
Trump tells Netanyahu he will continue talks with Iran
President Donald Trump held talks with Benjamin Netanyahu on Feb 11 to discuss renewed US nuclear talks with Iran, and said he told the Israeli prime minister that negotiations with Tehran would continue to see if a deal can be reached.
Mr Netanyahu, who had been expected to press Mr Trump to widen diplomacy with Iran beyond its nuclear programme to include limits on Tehran’s missile arsenal, stressed “the security needs of the State of Israel in the context of the negotiations,” his office said in a statement.
In their seventh meeting since Mr Trump returned to office in 2025, Mr Netanyahu - whose visit was more muted than usual and closed to the press - was looking to influence the next round of US discussions with Iran following nuclear negotiations held in Oman on Feb 6.
The two leaders spoke behind closed doors for nearly three hours in what Mr Trump described as a “very good meeting” but said no major decisions were made.
Canada school shooter was 18, with mental health issues
PHOTO: REUTERS
Canadian police on Feb 11 identified the person who carried out a school massacre as an 18-year-old woman with mental health issues but did not give a motive for one of the worst mass shootings in Canada’s history.
The killer, who police named as Jesse Van Rootselaar, committed suicide after the shooting on Feb 10 in Tumbler Ridge, a remote community in the Pacific province of British Columbia.
Police revised the death toll down to nine from the initially reported 10.
Ukraine will only hold elections after ceasefire: Zelensky
PHOTO: AFP
Ukraine will only hold elections once it has security guarantees in place and a ceasefire with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Feb 11, pushing back at suggestions he was planning to stage fresh ballots under US pressure.
Elections in Ukraine have been effectively suspended since Russia invaded in 2022, due to martial law.
“We will move to elections when all the necessary security guarantees are in place,” Mr Zelensky told reporters, including AFP journalists, in a voice note.
BMW recalls cars worldwide over fire risk
PHOTO: EPA
German carmaker BMW is to recall hundreds of thousands of cars worldwide over a potential risk of engine starters sparking a fire, a company spokesman confirmed to AFP on Feb 11.
A global recall would affect a “mid-six-figure number” of cars, the spokesman said, adding that the company would write to owners to replace potentially faulty starters.
Sixteen models equipped with a starter produced between July 2020 and July 2022 could be affected due the electromagnet showing excessive wear over time, BMW said in a statement.
AI cracks Roman-era board game
PHOTO: AFP
A smooth, white stone dating from the Roman era and unearthed in the Netherlands has long baffled researchers.
Now with the help of artificial intelligence, scientists believe they have cracked the mystery: the stone is an ancient board game and they have even guessed the rules.
The circular piece of limestone has diagonal and straight lines cut into it.
