Winter Olympic games opened in Milan and Cortina amid geopolitical tensions, with jeers directed at the Israeli delegation and US Vice President JD Vance during the opening ceremony, according to Sky News. The opening ceremony, held on February 7, 2026, became an outlet for expressions of anger, despite pleas for respect from International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Kirsty Coventry.
Meanwhile, in the Middle East, tensions remained high. Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, stated that Israel had "killed international law in Gaza," according to Al Jazeera. Barghouti made the statement at the Al Jazeera Forum, which focused on geopolitical shifts in the region.
Also on February 7, 2026, the United States transferred a third group of ISIL (ISIS) detainees from Ghwayran prison in Syria's Hasakah province to Iraq, Al Jazeera reported. This transfer was part of a trilateral arrangement, following deadly clashes. Activity around a US military base in the region suggested possible operational changes.
In other international developments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the US had set a June deadline for Ukraine and Russia to reach an agreement to end the nearly four-year war, as reported by Euronews. These comments followed US-brokered trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, which did not produce a breakthrough. Russia continued to demand that Ukraine cede the Donbas region, a condition Kyiv refused to accept. The announcement came after overnight Russian strikes on energy infrastructure forced nuclear power plants to cut output.
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