While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Feb 15, 2026
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Feb 14.
PHOTO: REUTERS
US ‘too often’ asks Ukraine, not Russia, for concessions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced hope on Feb 14 that US-brokered peace talks in Geneva next week would be substantive, but he said Ukraine was being asked “too often” to make concessions.
He also accused Moscow of seeking to delay decisions by changing its lead negotiator.
Ukrainian, Russian and American delegations are due to meet in the Swiss lakeside city on Feb 17 and 18 as US President Donald Trump seeks to push through a deal to end Europe’s biggest war since 1945.
“We truly hope that the trilateral meetings next week will be serious, substantive, helpful for all us but honestly sometimes it feels like the sides are talking about completely different things,” Mr Zelensky said, in a speech at the annual Munich Security Conference.
Son of Iran’s last shah urges US military intervention
PHOTO: REUTERS
Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi on Feb 14 said US military intervention in Iran could save lives, and urged US President Donald Trump’s administration not to spend too long negotiating with Tehran’s clerical rulers on a nuclear deal.
The exiled son of Iran’s toppled shah told Reuters in an interview that there were signs that the Iranian government was on the brink of collapse, and that an attack could weaken it or accelerate its fall.
Mr Pahlavi was speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where officials from the Iranian government are banned.
French prosecutors announce team for Epstein files
PHOTOS: AFP
The Paris prosecutor’s office on Feb 14 announced it was setting up a special team of magistrates to analyse evidence that could implicate French nationals in the crimes of the convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
With Epstein’s known circle now extending to prominent French figures after the release of documents by the US authorities, the prosecutor’s office said it would also thoroughly re-examine the case a former French modelling agency executive Jean-Luc Brunel, a close associate of the American financier, who died in custody in 2022.
The new team will work closely with prosecutors from the national financial crimes unit and police with a view to opening investigations into any suspected crimes involving French nationals, the Paris prosecutor’s office told AFP.
Dart frog poison killed Navalny, European allies say
PHOTO: REUTERS
Five European allies on Feb 14 blamed Russia for killing late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny using toxin from poison dart frogs while he was held in an Arctic penal colony two years ago.
In a joint statement, Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said analyses of samples from Navalny’s body “conclusively” confirmed the presence of epibatidine, a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America and not found naturally in Russia.
The Russian government has repeatedly denied any responsibility for Navalny’s death.
Muchova ends six-year title drought with Qatar win
PHOTO: EPA
Former French Open finalist Karolina Muchova ended a six-year trophy drought on Feb 14, when she beat Canadian Victoria Mboko 6-4 7-5 to win the Qatar Open and clinch her first WTA 1000 title.
The Czech Republic’s Muchova, who has struggled with multiple injuries and was sidelined for 10 months after a wrist injury suffered in 2023, had not won a title on the WTA tour since the Korea Open in September 2019.
But the 29-year-old Muchova kept mistakes to a minimum as she switched up the rhythm against Mboko to clinch victory in an hour and 34 minutes.
