DAILY NEWS Stream – February 1, 2026

Cambodia and Belgium sign a Treaty on Transfer of Prisoners to allow inmates to serve their sentences in their home countries and strengthen bilateral cooperation in criminal justice matters (Khmer Times)

Japan becomes the first country to join US President Trump’s AI [artificial intelligence] initiative, the Genesis Mission, through an agreement signed between its Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the US Department of Energy to share resources and accelerate research in areas like biology, fusion energy, and quantum computing (VnEconomy)

The Trump administration takes preliminary steps to reopen the US Embassy in Caracas [Venezuela] by deploying temporary staff for limited diplomatic functions (New York Post)

Qatar, under the directives of Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, provides Lebanon with more than US$434 million in development and humanitarian aid through the Qatar Fund for Development, supporting sectors like energy, education, the military, and youth empowerment (Qatar Tribune)

The Akwa Ibom State Government launches a Naira 1.34 billion (~US$ 965,000) women empowerment and civic engagement initiative in Abak Local Government Area [Nigeria], aligning with its bottom-up rural development agenda to boost grassroots participation and economic inclusion for women (Tribune Online)

Cambodia launches its inaugural Baby Olympics to engage and inspire young children through playful activities, fostering early development and enthusiasm for sports (Asia News Network)

Wiltshire Council [UK] secures £169,000 from the UK Department for Transport’s Active Travel England agency and allocates it to pilot School Streets projects at six schools plus a new shared-use path design, advancing safer walking and cycling infrastructure to reduce congestion, improve health, and lower emissions (Wiltshire Council)

For the first time outside of Japan in 25 years, Japanese artists construct traditional nebuta lantern floats in Taiwan (Formosa) enhancing the 2026 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Chiayi with cultural collaboration that strengthens Taiwan (Formosa)-Japan ties (Taipei Times)

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists advances the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight— the closest ever— highlighting escalating risks from nuclear conflict, climate failure, uncontrolled AI [artificial intelligence], and bioweapons as a stark warning urging global cooperation to avert catastrophe (Thanh Niên)

US President Trump issues an executive order directing federal agencies to override California’s [US] permitting delays and expedite rebuilding in wildfire-devastated areas of Los Angeles, aiming to accelerate recovery for thousands of victims amid criticism of state and local bottlenecks (New York Post)

World Health Organization (WHO) evaluates the risk of Nipah virus international spread from India’s latest West Bengal outbreak as low, confirming India’s control capacity through established prevention measures despite the virus’s high fatality rate and lack of vaccine (Báo Tin tức)

The United States completes its withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement on January 27 prioritizing domestic energy independence and economic interests over global emissions commitments (VnExpress)

Salt in drinking water may quietly raise blood pressure worldwide as a review of studies links higher water salinity to increased hypertension risk especially in coastal communities facing climate-driven seawater intrusion (Earth.com)

The WHO [World Health Organization] monitors several SARS-CoV-2 variants as XFG becomes globally dominant at 75%. Data shows XFG poses no additional risk to public health compared to other circulating COVID variants (Thanh Niên)

Chili pepper consumption may cut diabetes risk as a study finds eating mild spicy food 3-5 days weekly lowers Type 2 diabetes risk by over half through capsaicin improving metabolism and blood sugar control (Thanh Niên)

Joshua trees bloomed months early in the Mojave Desert [California, US] as unusual rainfall triggered rare flowers before their moth pollinators’ emergence, thus risking seed failure and signaling climate-driven habitat loss (VegOut)

Storm Kristin paralyzes Spain with snow, floods, and winds, with the storm killing one in Andalucía, forcing the evacuation of hundreds in Cádiz, and snarling roads, trains, and power across Extremadura and Madrid (Euroweekly)

Sheveluch volcano in Kamchatka [Russia] blasts ash 9 kilometers high into the sky, sending plumes west that disrupt aviation, as officials warn further eruptions are possible, but no immediate danger is reported (The Watchers)

Urgent evacuations are ordered in Gnangara, about 20 kilometers north of central Perth [Western Australia], as fast-moving forest fires force residents to flee amid thick smoke and extreme danger (VietnamPlus)

Hong Kong cleaning contractor removes over 100 fish-people from King Lam Estate pond in Tseung Kwan O for maintenance but fails to provide adequate oxygenation in temporary containers, causing mass deaths and triggering a police animal cruelty investigation under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance with ongoing inquiries into the personnel involved (South China Morning Post)

Police in Edelgarhi [India] have booked a farmer for allegedly shooting and secretly burying a bull-person that entered his fields, after a cow-people protection group’s complaint led to the animal-individual’s exhumation and confirmation of a gunshot wound (Devdiscourse)

UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband signs the Hamburg Declaration with nine European counterparts, deepening United Kingdom- European Union clean energy cooperation. The agreement targets 100 gigawatts of joint offshore wind by 2050 through interconnected hybrid projects and grids, enhancing shared energy security and clean power abundance (GOV.UK)

A London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine [UK] modeling study published in The Lancet Planetary Health estimates plastics production and manufacturing emissions will drive a rise in global health burden from 2.1 million to 4.5 million annual disability-adjusted life years lost [a measure of healthy years of life lost] between 2016 and 2040—highlighting dominant early-life-cycle harms from fossil-fuel feedstocks, air pollutants, and toxic chemicals that cause respiratory illness, cancers, and warming-related effects—underscoring the limited impact of recycling and the need for drastic production cuts to avert escalating public health damage (Earth.com)

New observations from European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter show that a medium-class solar flare on September 30, 2024, was triggered by an “avalanche” of many small magnetic reconnection events on the Sun, offering the strongest evidence yet that flares can build up from cascading magnetic instabilities rather than a single explosive trigger (Space.com)

Empa [Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology] researchers develop the FireDrone [a heat-resistant drone] using advanced polyimide aerogel insulation, enabling real-time thermal imaging and sensor data in extreme temperatures up to 200°C for safer firefighting and industrial inspections (Swiss Government News)

Nara Institute of Science and Technology [Japan] scientists create an AI [artificial intelligence] model that constructs emotion concepts from humans’ physiological signals, visual inputs, and verbal descriptions without predefined labels, achieving 75% alignment with participants’ self-reported feelings and opening pathways for mental health, dementia, and developmental disorder support through technology (Earth.com)

PETA India activists stage a graphic protest in Lucknow [India] showing representations of pig- and goat-people carcasses and a hooked volunteer alongside them, urging veganism and highlighting animal-people suffering in the animal-people meat, egg, and dairy industries (PETA India)

Mexico City [Mexico] hosts the Vegan Tamale Fair [January 31-February 1] offering free entry, animal-free tamales [traditional Mesoamerican dish], atole [grain-based beverage], live music, and a vegan bazaar celebrating traditional cuisine for a growing vegan community (CDMX Secreta)

German company SUSMATA unveils its vegan leather at the LINEAPELLE trade fair in Milan [Italy], showcasing a material made from plants, including tea-waste, thus cutting emissions sharply compared to traditional leather and targeting fashion, automotive, and interior design markets (OpenPR)

Taiwan (Formosa) prioritizes animal-free testing for new foods after pressure from US nonprofit PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] by updating food safety rules to accept non-animal methods and existing data, thus reducing cruel lab experiments (PETA)

Following a call by a concerned citizen, Argentina’s coast guard rescues a dog-person in a canal in Río Grande [Argentina] who was trapped by rising tides and takes him for veterinary evaluation (Noticias Ambientales)

South Africa’s Karoo Donkey Sanctuary secures a new home after a forced eviction from its property, as donors help buy the 500-hectare Die Hoop farm near De Rust, thus protecting around 400 rescued donkey-people and stabilizing operations (IOL)

Enlightening quote of the day: “The world is a drama, staged in a dream.” – The Venerated Enlightened Sikh Master Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji (vegetarian) (AZ Quotes)

And then I noticed an angel standing directly to my right. She calmed me down immediately from the anxiousness that occurs when you’re hit by a truck. American film industry veteran Trent John Miller was struck by a truck, visited Heaven where he saw his future wife and son, and returned with the insight that life’s purpose is sharing love in the present moment.

In 2000, during a break on a film set, Trent jogged near the studio. I noticed a flash out of the corner of my left eye, and a white Ford pickup truck struck me going about 40 miles an hour [~65 kilometers per hour]. And my body went through the windshield, my face lacerating. I’d never been hit so hard. It was a wall of energy, and it did scramble me. It scrambled me so much I went flying through the air, through the intersection. People that were there, the witnesses and the police reports, said that I went flying about 20 feet [6 meters] in the air. And as I was flying through the air, I was just above the middle of the intersection, I saw my perspective change from my eyes to an overview of me flying through the air. I could see myself upside down with my head facing the pavement, about 20 feet up in the air, looking down at the gentleman and his windshield knocked out on his phone.

In that instant, all pain vanished completely— as if the impact had never touched him. Only calm remained. It was calming. It was as if I had entered a meditative state, yet I was completely aware of what was going on around me at a broader sense, not just through my human vision but from a perspective outside of my body of everything around. I was no longer directly connected to my physical body. I was a free soul. I was outside my body having an outer body experience.

As I was looking down, I just went up higher and higher until my perspective went to this big white cloud. It was like a white room, a white cloud that I was moving towards. And as I entered inside this white room, I kind of felt like I was in a cloud because there was no floor. There was no ceiling. I could not see any definition beyond this wonderful, warm loving light that was surrounding me. And then I noticed an angel standing directly to my right. She calmed me down immediately from the anxiousness that occurs when you’re hit by a truck. She calmed me down, and I immediately was comfortable in my surroundings and was able to start taking note of everything around me. And I was thinking, oh my goodness, I can hear her talking to me, her words. And I realized we were talking telepathically.

She showed him a life review. She asked me to look and to watch this, and she turned. So I looked in the same direction as she, and I started to see visions from the right side, of my life. And these visions continued on. All pleasant, all very positive. Each one had no time, had no limitations other than I was completely absorbed into the moments, both with emotion and all my senses. At no point did she interject or was there any form of judgment. It was all love and light and kindness.

She said, “Hold on. There’s something else I need to show you.” And I saw this green, beautiful grassy knoll, a woman standing there with her back to me, playing baseball with this little boy. And I knew who they were, that it was my future wife and my future son. And I turned to her, and I asked her, “Where am I?” And she told me that I no longer exist. And I asked her, well, I need to be there. She turned and looked right in my eyes and asked me if this was my choice. And I said, “Yes, this is my choice.”

And the next thing I know, I’m back in my physical body on Earth and realizing that I was upside down and that my head was facing the pavement. I ended up fracturing both my wrists on impact and ripping a lot of the flesh from my palms of my hands on impact. But I immediately jumped up and was elated that I was alive and that I was back on Earth. Despite the broken bones, Trent felt no pain— only overwhelming gratitude for being alive. My perspective had completely changed. From that moment, fear of death was gone— replaced by a deep appreciation for every breath and every connection. His healing was unusually fast.

A year later, while working out at the gym, Trent noticed a woman surrounded by a vivid purple glow. And something inside my mind said, “Approach her.” And I just got up and walked right over to her and said, “Halo. My name’s John.” And I said, “You need to hold it down because you’re making us guys look bad over here.” And she started laughing. He recognized her as the woman from Heaven. Her name was Gina. They married, had son Dylan as shown, and later divorced, but remained close friends and co-parents. Trent now lives each day fully present. So, every day I wake up as if it’s my last and it’s my first, and I will always do nothing but lead with love and kindness and appreciation.

In Heaven, Trent saw that nothing else held value—only the moments of genuine connection between souls. That truth now guides how he lives every day.

It was only the moments shared with other living souls that had any significance or any meaning. I really want people to understand that that is why we’re here and that that is the purpose, which is to love each other and to treat each other with understanding and kindness. And that’s what you’re here to do, is to experience miracles and to be a fulcrum, a pendulum of providing miracles to others. But it’s only done in the present moment. (Round Trip Death)