DAILY NEWS Stream – February 6, 2025

Israel and Hamas complete fourth prisoner exchange, their smoothest one yet, and the crucial Rafah border crossing has reopened just days before phase two negotiations are set to begin (AP)

Yarden Bibas, father of Hamas’ youngest hostages, is released - but his wife, Shiri, and two young children, Ariel and Kfir, remain in Hamas captivity, with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu pledging to bring them home (Fox News)

Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy accuses Putin of being “afraid” of peace talks and “strong leaders” like President Trump amid increasing US pressure on both sides to end the violence (NBC News)

UN Children’s Fund [UNICEF] calls for urgent assistance in Democratic Republic of the Congo, appealing for US$22 million to provide emergency assistance to 282,000 children amid escalating violence in the country’s east (UNICEF)

US President Trump cuts aid to South Africa, saying they are doing “horrible things,” including “confiscating land and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” and will not continue US funding until a “full investigation” is completed (Sky News Australia)

“They treated us so terribly”: US President Trump declares He will impose tariffs on the European Union in retaliation for longstanding trade imbalances (Sky News Australia)

Analysis: US President Trump has a “mandate for tariffs” on goods from other countries that comes directly from the American people, as he promised them many times on the campaign trail and then won the popular vote, all seven key swing states, and bringing the House and Senate with Him, says former Trump economic advisor Everett Eissenstat (Sky News Australia)

US President Trump pauses 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days after their leaders agree to help curb fentanyl smuggling and illegal immigration but keeps 10% tariffs on China, warning they could rise sharply without a deal (BBC)

CEO of Canada’s Shopify Tobi Lutke defends US President Trump’s tariff demands of stopping fentanyl and illegal immigration trade, saying Canadian citizens want those things too, and blasts Prime Minister Trudeau for not cooperating sooner and risking a trade war: “America will shrug it off. Canada will decline” (Sky News Australia)

“Weak and vulnerable”: Canadians blast Prime Minister Trudeau’s initial retaliatory tariffs against the United States (Sky News Australia)

President Trump says Canada would have no tariffs as the 51st US state, adding that Canadians would enjoy “much lower taxes and far better military protection” if the countries merged, whereas Canada “ceases to exist as a viable country” if the US ends subsidies to it (Fox News)

President Trump says Venezuela has agreed to receive illegal migrants captured in US, and will also supply transportation for them, following successful diplomatic mission by special envoy Richard Grenell, who returned with six American hostages (Reuters)

President Trump’s administration aims to lower US immigration detention standards to encourage more local sheriffs to aid crackdown on illegal migrants (Reuters)

Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency moves to seize control of “viper’s nest” federal agency USAID [United States Agency for International Development], which President Trump says has been run by “a bunch of radical lunatics” and His administration is “getting them out” and merging it into the State Department for greater accountability (Fox News)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he is now “acting head” of USAID, confirming President Trump’s plans for the agency to join the State Department (CNN)

“I love to see rapists and human traffickers deported”: Latina American singer Joy Villa praises President Trump’s deportations of illegal immigrants across America, saying it will make the country free “for all colors, for all people. That’s what makes America great again” (Sky News Australia)

Pro-life protester Bevelyn Williams is pardoned by President Trump after facing years in prison for ministering in front of an abortion clinic and practicing her right to free speech under the Biden administration, saying she is “still trying to register” the fact that the President knew about her case and set her free (Fox News)

US: Republican Congress members will continue appealing to black and Latino voters, building on these key groups’ resounding support for President Trump in 2024, to hold onto their majority in Congress for the entirety of the President’s four-year term, says House of Representatives Republican elections chair Richard Hudson (Fox News)

President Trump acknowledges Americans may feel “some pain” in the short-term from sweeping tariffs on foreign goods, but will prosper in the long-term as America stops getting “ripped off by virtually every country in the world” (Reuters)

Belgium has a new government after 236 days of waiting, forming coalition after over half a year of negotiations following June 9 national elections, with self-sufficient regional governments running the country in the meantime (Brussels Signal)

EU invests over €1.2 billion in cross-border energy infrastructure, including 8 electricity grid projects and 21 green hydrogen development studies (European Commission)

Mali gold mine accident kills more than a dozen people, including women and children, after tunnel flooded, highlighting deadly risks of this common West African industry (Reuters)

World Health Organization [WHO] deploys emergency medical team to support Uganda’s response to new Ebola outbreak that killed a health worker in capital Kampala (Tuổi Trẻ)

Conflict in Democratic Republic of the Congo has spawned a “full-scale public health emergency,” fueling mutation of the monkeypox virus with potential for major pandemics, warns African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention [Africa CDC] (Barrons)

Vietnam: 483 people suffered from food poisoning or drunkenness during the 6-day Tết [Lunar New Year] holiday (Báo Mới)

Global clean energy investment reaches a record US$2.1 trillion in 2024, marking 11% growth from 2023 totals, UK research firm BloombergNEF reports (pv)

Russian scientists create new material for storing data using electrons’ magnetic spin, based on cadmium arsenide interspersed with chrome, with potential uses for next-generation communications, sensors, and microelectronics that utilize magnetic information storage (Globe Energy Prize)

Tesla electric cars are now driving from production line to loading docks unsupervised, marking “next step” toward fully autonomous self-driving technology, Tesla announces (Carscoops)

In an “impressive” rescue, more than 1,200 sea turtles saved from cold Florida [US] waters by wildlife personnel (Tampa Bay Times)

Uplifting quote of the day: “Conquer the angry one by loving-kindness; conquer the wicked by goodness; conquer the stingy by generosity, and the liar by speaking the truth.” – The Worshipped Shakyamuni Buddha (vegan)