DAILY NEWS Stream – February 14, 2025

Syria’s new government is considering ending its chemical weapons program, showing willingness to cooperate with OPCW [Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons] after 11 years of stalemate during a visit by OPCW Director-General Arias to Damascus (OPCW)

US President Trump sends chilling warning to Hamas calling for the release of ALL Israeli hostages by Saturday, February 15, 2025, at 12 pm, or else the Gaza ceasefire deal should be canceled and He will let “all hell break out” – adding that it is ultimately Israel’s choice (Sky News Australia)

Russia’s Putin predicts Europe will soon fall in line with US President Trump’s agenda, citing His “character” and “persistence” are helping Him “restore order” (Sky News Australia)

President Trump says Ukraine has “essentially agreed” to allow the US access to US$500 billion in rare earth minerals as payment for the military aid Washington has provided Kyiv (New York Post)

India says it prefers the US dollar, rejects the idea of a common currency for BRICS countries [Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Russia, South Africa, and United Arab Emirates]. Global finance company Binance says this is because: a) India wants to keep control of its own monetary policy, which would be difficult with a shared currency. b) Economic differences are too great between member states, especially India, Russia, and China, which all have different priorities. c) Risk of instability with an unproven, likely volatile currency. d) It’s too complicated to implement, requiring a tightly linked financial infrastructure similar to the EU’s that would take years to implement or is impossible (Báo Lao Động)

Mexico has taken in nearly 11,000 migrants deported from the US, including around 2,500 non-Mexicans, since US President Trump took office (Reuters)

President Trump imposes blanket 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the United States, effective starting March 12, 2025. The President says the measures will “ultimately” make prices cheaper for Americans (Sky News Australia)

“DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] is dead”: President Trump pledges to destroy “woke culture” in the military, begins by dismissing Biden’s Board of Visitors that had “infiltrated” military service academies with leftist ideologies (Sky News Australia)

Analysis: Leftwing news network CNN humiliated as they are forced to admit President Donald Trump’s sky-high approval ratings (Sky News Australia)

US President Trump pardons former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich after he spent 8 years in prison for alleged corruption, saying, “I’ve watched him. He was set up by a lot of bad people. Some of the same people that I had to deal with” (Fox News)

President Trump says Elon Musk and his “geniuses” at DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] have found “very fraudulent stuff” and believes their work will help address America’s enormous national debt – and corresponding interest payments – because it’s likely smaller than estimated due to fraud (Fortune)

Efficiency Commissioner Musk will find hundreds of billions of dollars in Defense Department fraud and abuse, President Trump says (Reuters)

Elon Musk blows the whistle on “largest fraud in US history,” says over US$100 billion is lost every year in entitlement scams – money that is meant for retirees, disabled individuals, survivors, etc. - and suggests a host of reforms for Treasury Department workers to stop it (Economic Times)

President Trump fires four employees of FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] after DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] discovers the agency sent US$59 million to luxury hotels for illegal immigrants in New York City, with Commissioner Elon Musk posting “[that] money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high-end hotels for illegals!” (WINS Radio New York)

American historian Victor Davis Hanson: Sorry Liberals. DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] is 100% legal. Here’s why: Elon Musk was appointed by President Trump via executive order to lead DOGE, a temporary agency lasting until July 4, 2026. His role involves identifying waste and fraud, with full executive authority. Democrats challenge this, but executive orders have long been used by both parties for similar purposes (The Daily Signal)

American journalist Tucker Carlson says Biden wanted to kill Donald Trump. His Secret Service agents intentionally ignored the roof where the gunman, an agent of the permanent government in Washington [US] or globally, took the shot that pierced the President’s ear in July 2024 (Liberty Vault)

Türkiye issues fake alcohol warning after more than 100 people are fatally poisoned in tourist hotspots Ankara and Istanbul since the start of 2025, as more and more mystery beverages are sold disguised as name-brand alcohol (New York Post)

Children under two who spend over 1.5 hours watching TV or going online daily have weaker language skills and more behavior issues at ages four and eight, with more screen time leading to worse outcomes. WHO [World Health Organization] recommends no screen time for children under two and less than one hour per day for ages 2-5 (The Telegraph)

Wild storms lash Sydney [Australia] as train stations flood and streets turn into rivers after up to 30 inches [76 centimeters] of rain falls, with residents urged to stay indoors and avoid floodwaters (Fox Weather)

Scientists issue warning: Italy is not prepared for possible eruption of Mount Vesuvius, as up to 3 million people reside in deadly “danger zone” of “one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes” that could erupt again in a matter of years (EuroWeekly)

Ocean temperatures broke heat records for 450 straight days in 2023 and early 2024, and scientists warn ocean warming rates have quadrupled since the late 1980s, driven by human-caused climate change (Earth.com)

US experiencing most intense flu season in at least 15 years, measuring by percentage of doctors’ visits, with 310,000 hospitalizations and 13,000 deaths so far, new data shows (AP)

Captive tiger named Firmin suffers permanent blindness due to tourist flash photos, highlighting tragedy of using animals for entertainment (World Animal Protection)

Analysis: Recycling old cables can help meet the copper demand for green technology, with over 627 million unused cables in UK households totaling over 38,000 metric tons of copper (The Optimist Daily)

The power of words: Virginia Tech [US] study shows words activate distinct patterns of brain chemicals based on whether they are positive, negative, or neutral, activating hidden brain processes that shape our emotions, decisions, and behavior (MedicalXpress)

Kyushu University [Japan] scientists find that an overlooked nuclear force, the “three-nucleon force,” helps keep matter stable, especially in heavier elements, potentially aiding quantum computing and nuclear fusion research (Phys.org)

Scientists discovered a mysterious ring of protons around Earth after May 2024’s solar storm, which is unusually stable compared to previous temporary radiation belts and is probably still there, new data analysis shows (Tuổi Trẻ; Live Science)

South Korea: 4 out of 10 dog-raising operations have closed voluntarily since the dog meat industry ban in August 2024, which formally takes effect in 2027 (Thanh Niên; Korea JoongAng Daily)

Uplifting quote for a Happy Valentine’s Day: “S.I.N.G.L.E. = Strong, Independent, Noticeable, Generous, Loyal and Enlightened” – Unknown