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Israel Says Will 'Definitely' Stop Iran from Getting Nuclear Weapon

From left to right, Israel foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi, Cypriot foreign minister Nicos Chrisodoulides, Anwar Gargash of the United Arab Emirates and Greek foreign minister Nikos Dendias pose for a photo before the meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and United Arab of Emirates in city of Paphos, Cyprus, Friday, April 16, 2021. (Iakovos Hatzistavrou/Pool via AP)
From left to right, Israel foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi, Cypriot foreign minister Nicos Chrisodoulides, Anwar Gargash of the United Arab Emirates and Greek foreign minister Nikos Dendias pose for a photo before the meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and United Arab of Emirates in city of Paphos, Cyprus, Friday, April 16, 2021. (Iakovos Hatzistavrou/Pool via AP)
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Israel Says Will 'Definitely' Stop Iran from Getting Nuclear Weapon

From left to right, Israel foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi, Cypriot foreign minister Nicos Chrisodoulides, Anwar Gargash of the United Arab Emirates and Greek foreign minister Nikos Dendias pose for a photo before the meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and United Arab of Emirates in city of Paphos, Cyprus, Friday, April 16, 2021. (Iakovos Hatzistavrou/Pool via AP)
From left to right, Israel foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi, Cypriot foreign minister Nicos Chrisodoulides, Anwar Gargash of the United Arab Emirates and Greek foreign minister Nikos Dendias pose for a photo before the meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and United Arab of Emirates in city of Paphos, Cyprus, Friday, April 16, 2021. (Iakovos Hatzistavrou/Pool via AP)

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said Friday that his country was determined to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon, after Tehran promised to step up its uranium enrichment process.

“We will do whatever it takes to prevent the extremists (in Iran) from succeeding, and definitely will prevent this regime from having a nuclear weapon,” Ashkenazi told reporters on a visit to Cyprus.

Iran has begun 60% uranium enrichment at its Natanz plant, the country's nuclear chief said on Friday, days after an explosion at the site that Tehran blamed on Israel.

Askenazi met with the foreign ministers of Cyprus and Greece, Nikos Christodoulides and Nikos Dendias, as well as Anwar Gargash, a top presidential aide in the United Arab Emirates.

Ashkenazi said discussions centered around possibilities for building on prosperity and stability in the region.

"We also took time to discuss challenges that Iran and Hezbollah and other extremists pose to the stability of the Middle East and to the regional peace," he said. "

Israel and the UAE normalized relations in a landmark deal last year, and the four countries represented at the meeting Friday promised to boost cooperation in defense, energy, tourism, and other sectors.

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World

First European Flight Lands in Venezuela Since Maduro’s Ouster 

A man holds up a Venezuelan flag while taking part in a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners and to mark Youth Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026. (Reuters)
A man holds up a Venezuelan flag while taking part in a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners and to mark Youth Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026. (Reuters)
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First European Flight Lands in Venezuela Since Maduro’s Ouster 

A man holds up a Venezuelan flag while taking part in a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners and to mark Youth Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026. (Reuters)
A man holds up a Venezuelan flag while taking part in a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners and to mark Youth Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026. (Reuters)

A plane from Spain's Air Europa landed in Venezuela Tuesday, according to a flight tracking monitor, the first European commercial flight to arrive in the country since the United States toppled president Nicolas Maduro.

A slew of international carriers stopped flying to Venezuela after the United States warned of possible military activity there in late November -- a prelude to its surprise attack on January 3.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner landed at Simon Bolivar International Airport, which serves the Venezuelan capital Caracas, at 9:00 pm (0100 GMT).

Since US forces raided Venezuela and captured Maduro, US President Donald Trump has struck a cooperative relationship with interim president Delcy Rodriguez.

Late last month he called for flights to resume to the country.

Spanish airline Iberia is evaluating security guarantees before announcing a return, according to the Spanish press.

Portugal's TAP has said it will resume flights. Colombian airline Avianca and Panama's Copa have already restarted operations.

Hoping to prompt US flights, the Trump administration has lifted a 2019 ban on US airlines flying to the country.

World

Fireworks Shop Explosion Kills 12 in China

Fire performers carry a dragon during a molten iron fireworks performance known as "fire dragon steel flowers" ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations at an amusement park on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Fire performers carry a dragon during a molten iron fireworks performance known as "fire dragon steel flowers" ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations at an amusement park on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
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Fireworks Shop Explosion Kills 12 in China

Fire performers carry a dragon during a molten iron fireworks performance known as "fire dragon steel flowers" ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations at an amusement park on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Fire performers carry a dragon during a molten iron fireworks performance known as "fire dragon steel flowers" ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations at an amusement park on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

An explosion at a fireworks shop in central China killed 12 people on Wednesday, the second day of the Lunar New Year holiday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Setting off fireworks and firecrackers is common during holiday celebrations in China, especially around Lunar New Year, which fell on Tuesday.

While many larger cities, including the capital Beijing, have banned the practice in recent years -- in part due to pollution -- towns and rural areas are often filled with the sounds of exploding firecrackers and "missile" fireworks for days on end during the holiday period.

"At approximately 2 pm on the 18th, there was a fire and explosion at a firework and firecracker shop in Zhengji town" in Hubei province, CCTV said, citing local authorities.

"The fire covered an area of around 50 square meters and has already resulted in 12 deaths."

The cause of the explosion is under investigation, CCTV added, according to AFP.

On Sunday, an explosion at a fireworks shop in eastern China's Jiangsu province killed eight and injured two.

In response to that incident, the Ministry of Emergency Management urged fireworks enterprises nationwide to strengthen supervision and undertake a "full inspection" of safety risks and hazards.

It also warned citizens against unsafe practices like test-firing or smoking outside of shops.

Industrial accidents are common in China due to lax safety standards.

An explosion at a biotech factory in northern China's Shanxi province killed eight people this month.

And in late January, an explosion at a steel factory in the neighboring province of Inner Mongolia left at least nine people dead.

World

Vatican Says It Will Not Participate in Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ 

Pope Leo XIV speaks after leading a Mass during a visit to the parish of Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido, Rome, Italy, February 15, 2026. (Reuters)
Pope Leo XIV speaks after leading a Mass during a visit to the parish of Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido, Rome, Italy, February 15, 2026. (Reuters)
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Vatican Says It Will Not Participate in Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ 

Pope Leo XIV speaks after leading a Mass during a visit to the parish of Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido, Rome, Italy, February 15, 2026. (Reuters)
Pope Leo XIV speaks after leading a Mass during a visit to the parish of Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido, Rome, Italy, February 15, 2026. (Reuters)

The Vatican ‌will not participate in US President Donald Trump's so-called "Board of Peace" initiative, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's top diplomatic official, said on Tuesday while adding that efforts to handle crisis situations should be managed by the United Nations.

Pope Leo, the first US pope and a critic of some of Trump's policies, was invited to join the board in January.

Under Trump's Gaza plan that led to a fragile ceasefire in October, the board was meant to supervise Gaza's temporary governance. Trump thereafter said the board, with him as chair, would ‌be expanded to ‌tackle global conflicts.

The board will hold its ‌first ⁠meeting in Washington ⁠on Thursday to discuss Gaza's reconstruction.

Italy and the European Union have said their representatives plan to attend as observers as they have not joined the board.

The Holy See "will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States," Parolin said.

"One concern," he said, "is that ⁠at the international level it should above all ‌be the UN that manages ‌these crisis situations. This is one of the points on which we have insisted."

The ⁠Gaza truce has been repeatedly violated with hundreds of Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers reported killed since it began in October.

Israel's assault on Gaza has killed over 72,000, caused a hunger crisis and internally displaced Gaza's entire population.

Multiple rights experts, scholars and a UN inquiry say it amounts to genocide. Israel calls its actions self-defense after Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages in a late 2023 attack.

Leo has repeatedly decried conditions in Gaza. The pope, leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, rarely joins international boards. The Vatican has an extensive diplomatic service and is a permanent observer at the United Nations.