Putin Praises Friendly Russian-US Negotiations in Riyadh

Putin Praises Friendly Russian-US Negotiations in Riyadh

Sputnik

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he had been briefed on the results of talks between Russian and US delegations in Riyadh and gave a positive assessment of the negotiations.

"The assessment is positive," Putin told reporters when asked about the Russian-US talks, adding that the meeting was friendly. 

The Russian delegation told that from the US side there were those who were open to cooperation, the Russian president added.

The purpose and agenda of the conversation at the meeting in Riyadh was to restore trust between Russia and the United States, Putin pointed out.

Russia and the United States are working on the issues of economy, energy, space and other areas, Putin said.

The Russian president, commenting on Tuesday's meeting between Russia and the US in Riyadh, mentioned that the sides have taken the first step to resume work in various areas of mutual interest, including the Middle East.

"We have other issues, the economy, and our joint work in the global energy markets, space, of course... All of this was the subject of discussion, consideration at the meeting in Riyadh," Putin told reporters.

Putin said that he had been briefed on the results of talks between Russian and US delegations in Riyadh and gave a positive assessment of the negotiations.

During the telephone conversation US President Donald Trump said that Washington assumes that negotiations will take place with the participation of both Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin said.

"As for the negotiation process, President Trump told me during a telephone conversation, and I can confirm this, that, of course, the United States assumes that the negotiation process will take place with the participation of both Russia and Ukraine. No one excludes Ukraine from this process," Putin told reporters.

Putin said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump has begun to receive objective information.

"When he [Trump] started receiving information — objective information — he changed his position. This information has changed his approach," Putin said.

Hamas says Kfir and Ariel Bibas, 2 and 5, and their mom are dead, and their bodies will be sent back to Israel this week

Evil: Hamas Says Bodies Of Bibas Family to Be Returned Thursday

The Judean Staff

In a grotesque and calculated display of cruelty, Hamas has announced the deaths of its youngest hostages—two-year-old Kfir Bibas, his five-year-old brother Ariel, and their mother, Shiri. The terrorist group confirmed that their remains would be returned to Israel this week, a grim finale to the months-long torment endured by their loved ones.

This nightmarish revelation follows the family’s abduction on October 7, 2023, when Kfir was only nine months old. His short life—stolen before he could even celebrate a birthday in freedom—has become a haunting symbol of Hamas’ unrelenting barbarism.

While Israeli officials have yet to officially confirm their deaths, they have expressed “grave concerns” over the well-being of the Bibas family. Their surviving relatives, grappling with immeasurable grief, acknowledged reports of the impending return of their slain loved ones but maintained that until official confirmation is received, their painful “journey is not over.”

Hamas’ Callous Manipulation of Human Lives

The announcement was made by Hamas leader Khalil Al Hayya, who stated that four murdered hostages—including the Bibas family—would be handed over on Thursday. Adding to the perverse nature of the ordeal, Hamas revealed that six living hostages, some held in captivity for over a decade, would be released on Saturday.

The abrupt change in the terror group’s release plans remains unexplained. However, an Israeli official told the Associated Press that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had acquiesced to allowing mobile homes and construction equipment into Gaza—a move that Hamas had been exploiting as leverage to delay the hostage handover.

For weeks, Hamas has weaponized these captives, using them as bargaining chips in a sickening game of psychological warfare against Israel. The hostage exchanges have been part of a broader ceasefire agreement, under which Israel has released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were convicted of violent crimes.

A Fragile Ceasefire and Hamas’ Continued Reign of Terror

The ongoing ceasefire, initiated in mid-January, temporarily halted the bloodiest confrontation between Israel and Hamas to date. It has permitted a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza and facilitated the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians. However, the so-called truce has also allowed Hamas to reestablish its grip on the shattered enclave despite suffering severe losses among its leadership and ranks.

Israel remains steadfast in its objective: the total eradication of Hamas from Gaza. Yet, the militant organization has proven alarmingly resilient, using every available moment to reassert control. The second phase of negotiations—one that could involve the release of dozens more hostages—remains precariously uncertain, as Hamas continues to demand a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Meanwhile, the scars of this brutal war deepen. Earlier this month, the Israeli public was horrified by the sight of three hostages, emaciated and broken, as they were finally released. Disturbing revelations about captives being held in solitary confinement, barefoot, and even in chains have amplified public pressure on Netanyahu’s government to push forward with negotiations.

But time is running out. The heartbreaking fate of the Bibas family serves as a chilling reminder that every moment wasted in diplomatic deadlock could mean another innocent life lost.

Hamas’ latest monstrous declaration has only reinforced what Israelis already know: the terror group thrives on death, suffering, and the destruction of innocent lives. And as long as it remains in power, no one—man, woman, or child—is safe.

Hamas says Kfir and Ariel Bibas, 2 and 5, and their mom are dead, and their bodies will be sent back to Israel this week

Tsunami fears hit the West Coast as scientists warn of 'inevitable' earthquake

Tsunami fears hit the West Coast as scientists warn of 'inevitable' earthquake

ELLYN LAPOINTE

Scientists are sounding the alarm after a series of earthquakes rocked the West Coast last week, warning a major seismic event is 'inevitable.'

Earthquakes trigger tsunamis by causing the ocean floor to rise or fall, pushing water above to form a massive wave.

But it isn't just California at risk, Washington sits along the Cascadia Subduction Zone that is capable of a 'megaquake', they said. 

Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, said: '[The] 700-mile long fault capable of producing earthquakes up to magnitude 9 and tsunamis that will impact the entire coast.'

The quake and resulting tsunami could be devastate the Pacific Northwest, killing an estimated 14,000 people and injuring more than 100,000 in Oregon and Washington, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Cascadia Subduction Zone -that stretches from northern California to the Pacific  - last released a 9.2 magnitude 'megaquake' in 1700, and pressure has been building since.

The Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) states there is about a 37 percent chance that the Cascadia Subduction Zone will produce an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 or greater within the next 50 years.

Robert Ezelle, the director of Washington state's emergency management division, said: 'It's going to be the worst natural disaster in our country's history.'

'Washington has, second only to California, the greatest risk from earthquakes in the country, Tobin told KIRO7.

That is because the state its on active faults and fault zones, making seismic events inevitable. 

Along these faults, 'the earthquakes might be smaller, but the damage could be really much worse,' Tobin said.

Large earthquakes produced by these faults would likely cause mass property destruction, cut off access to certain neighborhoods and lead to numerous injuries and even deaths. 

'One would expect the power to be down, natural gas lines to be broken, maybe water and sewer lines to be broken,' Tobin said.

He told NBC News that if a major quake were to hit the Cascadia shaking would last five minutes, but tsunami waves would batter the coast for 10 hours.

Roads and bridges would be destroyed, along with some 620,000 buildings and about 100 hospitals and 2,000 schools. 

'We're unprepared,' Ezelle said, noting that residents would have to take care of each other due to Washington officials say they'd have to fend for themselves for at least two weeks.

And in California, the most recent large earthquakes did not stem from the San Andreas Fault, but the Salt Wells Valley and Paxton Ranch Fault Zones.

This magnitude 6.4 foreshock and magnitude 7.1 mainshock cut power to at least 3,000 residents in Ridgecrest and caused a total of 50,000 people to feel shaking.

That suggests a damaging earthquake can come from practically anywhere along the West Coast. 

Both the San Andreas Fault and the Cascadia Subduction Zone are long overdue for a major earthquake. 

School district bans pastors from Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings

School district bans pastors from Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings

Bob Unruh

A school district in the leftist enclave of Minnesota, now run by Gov. Tim Walz, the failed Democrat nominee for vice president in 2024 whose agenda has been to promote abortion and transgenderism, has decided to ban pastors from meetings of the local Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

A report from columnist Todd Starnes identified the school as Pequot Lakes Public Schools, which announced "non-school adults may not attend FCA meetings on a regular basis."

The report explained the school imposed the draconian viewpoint discrimination rule after the Freedom From Religious Foundation filed a complaint and accused a local youth pastor of recruiting students at middle school FCA meetings.

"They accused the middle school of using FCA meetings as a recruiting ground for a religious mission. They further contended that the youth pastor broke the Equal Access Act," Starnes reported.

Kyle Steinberg, a part of the FFRF team, complained, "Schools cannot constitutionally allow religious organizations to treat schools as a recruiting ground for their religious mission."

And Annie Laurie Gaylor, another FFRF member, insisted, "A pastor or other evangelists may not be allowed unobstructed access to a captive audience of public school students. The district has made the right call to abide by the Constitution."

Starnes, however, pointed out, "For the record there's nothing unconstitutional about a Christian club inviting a Christian minister to speak to Christian students."

Further, students may choose to attend FCA meetings, but are not ordered to do so.

Starnes pointed out if atheists want equal access they could start their own club.

Twin M5.1 earthquakes hit Santorini area, Ios becomes fourth island under state of emergency, Greece

Twin M5.1 earthquakes hit Santorini area, Ios becomes fourth island under state of emergency, Greece

Rishika Yadav

Ios became the fourth island in the Aegean to be placed under a state of emergency on February 15, following the trend set by Santorini on February 6, Amorgos on February 12, and Anafi on February 13, due to the ongoing seismic activity in the region since late January 2025. On January 18, two M5.1 quakes were registered between Santorini and Amorgos, shaking the area with enough intensity to be felt across multiple islands.

Two M5.1 earthquakes struck between the islands of Santorini and Amorgos early on February 18, as an intense seismic swarm continued shaking the region. The quakes, recorded at a depth of 8 km (5 miles) at 04:46 and 06:08 UTC, were the fourth strongest since the sequence began in late January.

This ongoing seismic activity has led to Ios becoming the fourth island in the Aegean to be placed under a state of emergency on February 15, following Santorini, Amorgos, and Anafi. The emergency status will remain in effect until March 14 as authorities continue to assess the region’s stability.Seismologists Dimitris Papanikolaou and Kostas Papazachos have recently dismissed concerns about the formation of a new volcano in the region.

“This is an unprecedented phenomenon,” Papanikolaou said, adding that the seismic sequence could persist for months. He clarified that while magma movement is occurring at depths greater than 5 km (3.1 miles), the likelihood of a volcanic eruption is low.

“There is no chance of a volcanic eruption right now. Both volcanoes are calm,” he added, referring to nearby Santorini and Kolumbos volcanoes.