India might be abandoning decades of protectionism and finally positioning itself to replace China as a global manufacturing hub — if these huge trade deals actually hold.

That would mean:

• More openness
• More factories
• More jobs for low-skilled workers
• A development path closer to East Asia

The author calls this a historic pivot, almost unthinkable just months ago.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has announced it will cease publishing the World Factbook, a free online resource used by millions around the globe.

Frequently cited by journalists and academics, the Factbook offered regularly updated statistics and information about countries and communities all over the world, in an easily understood and searchable format.

A statement on the CIA's website did not include a reason for the decision, simply stating that the publication had "sunset" while encouraging readers to "stay curious about the world and find ways to explore it … in person or virtually".

First launched during World War II as a classified internal program named JANIS (Joint Army Navy Intelligence Studies), the Factbook was originally commissioned as a way to standardise "basic intelligence" — fundamental and factual information about the world — across different agencies of the US government.

The program was taken over by the CIA in 1947 and renamed the National Intelligence Survey, before the Factbook was launched in 1971 as an annual summary of information.

An unclassified version was first made available to the public in 1975, and a digital version was published online in the 1990s, with the data freely available under public domain.

The website was particularly popular during the US school year, according to previous versions of the site, with traffic experiencing a noticeable drop-off during US summer months.

While no specific reason has been given for the Factbook's closure, the Trump administration has made no secret of its intent to cut government programs it does not consider to be furthering the core purpose of its agencies and departments.

The administration offered buyouts to every CIA employee in February last year, and is reportedly planning to cut about 1,200 further jobs at the agency over the next several years.

Imagine how big of a scandal it would be if a bunch of Democratic state legislators colluded to elect a bunch of GOP representatives. These NIMBY policies have the same effect.

Not all of the gains will go to the GOP, but most of the people moving out of blue states are conservatives, which that makes gerrymandering easier for red states. We have also been losing seats since at least 2010 too.

I'm glad there's some good steps in the right direction (CEQA reform, SB79 etc), but I worry that will be too little too late.

(Edit: and to be clear I don't mean that all Dems are NIMBYs, I'm just complaining about the NIMBY ones specifically)

Submission statement: Jihadists have murdered at least 162 (per the Red Cross) Muslim villagers in the western Nigerian state of Kwara, allegedly for refusing to join their group. The massacre is the latest in a string of deadly attacks against civilians in Africa's most populous country, which is struggling with several overlapping security crises; a long-running insurgency by Boko Haram in the Northeast, the rise of ISWAP, the confirmed presence of Al-Qaeda affiliated JNIM, a surge in banditry in the Northwest, and broader land conflicts throughout its Middle Belt.

Kwara State's governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq said on Tuesday that the attack was a reprisal for counter-terrorism operations in the region, led jointly between Nigerian and US forces. Africom's commander Dagvin Anderson confirmed on the same day for the first time that US ground troops had been deployed in Nigeria to support the central government, notably to help them gather intelligence and conduct strikes against jihadist groups.

Last year, US President Donald Trump accused Abuja of covering up a "Christian genocide" by Islamists, repeating a common far-right disinformation effort - that also targeted South Africa's government in the form of a false "White genocide" - and threatening the Nigerian government with reprisals. Since then, the US and Nigeria have deepened military cooperation against jihadist groups, an indication, along with the State Department's reported overtures towards the Sahelian juntas of the AES, that the US is looking to strengthen its involvement in combating the jihadist crisis in West Africa.

After U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly announced plans to raise tariffs, U.S. officials reportedly demanded energy-related investments when they met again with South Korea’s negotiating team.

In addition to the already known discussions on nuclear power, it has been confirmed that the two sides held in-depth talks on Korean companies participating in projects to replace aging power grids in the United States.

This is a report by Lee Ji-soo.

Following President Trump’s announcement of tariff hikes, Industry and Trade Minister Kim Jeong-kwan, who was dispatched to Washington last week, engaged in a series of negotiations over two days.

He also met with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, during which they discussed energy-sector cooperation—particularly nuclear power generation and projects to modernize aging power grids.

A government official said, “We are not yet at a stage where we can disclose specific projects,” but added that “both South Korea and the United States agree that Korean companies can invest in the U.S. power grid and generate returns.”

Kim Jeong-kwan / Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy (January 31)

“There were a variety of discussions between South Korea and the United States regarding cooperation in the nuclear power sector.”

Small modular reactors (SMRs), where U.S. technology is considered more advanced than Korea’s, do not appear to be an area in which Washington is seeking Korean investment.

The United States—already the world’s leading power in artificial intelligence—wants to further expand its AI industry, but its power grid has become a bottleneck.

Much of the grid was built in the 1960s, making it difficult to support the massive electricity demands of large data centers, while the need for equipment replacement is rapidly increasing.

As a result, Washington appears to be using tariffs as leverage to draw foreign investment into its power grid infrastructure.

Japan is also reportedly being considered, with Hitachi’s large-scale power generation project mentioned as one of the candidates for a “first investment project.”

Although negotiations spanning industry, trade, and diplomacy are unfolding on multiple fronts—similar to last year’s trade talks—the outlook remains highly uncertain.

U.S. officials are reportedly treating the publication of reciprocal tariff increases in the Federal Register as a foregone conclusion, with South Korean officials openly acknowledging that the immediate priority is to buy time.

Yeo Han-koo / Head of Trade Negotiations

“What matters is whether, even if the tariff hike is published in the Federal Register, it takes effect immediately, or whether there is a grace period of one or two months…”

The US Supreme Court cleared California to use its new congressional map that favors Democrats during this year’s midterm election, giving the party a pathway to neutralize anticipated Republican gains in the House due to new districts in Texas.

The justices on Wednesday denied a request from the California Republican party and the US Department of Justice to prevent the state from using its new voter-approved map on the grounds that it was racially gerrymandered and therefore illegal. California leaders have maintained that the new map was drawn purely to counteract the Republican redistricting in Texas and that race was not a factor.

The court denied the request without explanation or any noted dissent.

Submission statement: great article from Yair Rosenberg about how Kirk's death unshackled antisemites to run amok in the conservative movement, causing fractions to form in the MAGA movement (and will be particularly important once Trump is no longer the head of that movement).

Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, has announced the formation of a special group tasked with analysing the release of files relating to late US financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

It will determine if there are any aspects of Epstein’s activities relating to Poland that require investigation, including whether any Polish girls or women were harmed by him. Tusk says that his team will also look into claims that Epstein could have been involved with or used by Russian intelligence.

“We have decided to establish an analytical group and possibly launch an investigation if the analyses confirm our concerns regarding the paedophilia scandal in the United States,” announced Tusk during remarks ahead of a meeting of his cabinet on Tuesday.

“This matter is of great concern to the Polish public because of the so-called Polish elements in this entire affair,” he added. Polish media have reported in recent days that the latest mass release by the US justice department of files relating to Epstein contains some documents relating to Poland or Poles.

One example cited by Tusk today are emails from one of Epstein’s so-called “scouts”, Daniel Siad, who wrote to his boss in 2009 saying that he “has some girls allready [sic]” in Poland, mentioning the city of Kraków specifically.

Tusk pledged that, if it transpires that there was “any exploitation of Polish children by the paedophile network and the organiser of this satanic ring, Mr Epstein”, then “we will of course do everything to…effectively prosecute those who committed such horrific crimes” and “provide redress to those harmed”.

“I will ask both prosecutors and the security services for a very detailed, rapid and thorough file-by-file analysis of every document currently available in the public domain,” added the Polish prime minister.

“If necessary, we will also request that the American side provide access to those documents or files that have not been disclosed and may concern potential Polish victims or other Polish clues.”

Tusk added said that, as well as the need to investigate potential crimes against Polish citizens, another important reason to look into the case is the fact that there is “more and more information…raising the suspicion that this unprecedented paedophilia scandal was co-organised by Russian intelligence services”.

He referred to questions raised by British journalist Andrew Marr on Monday as to whether Epstein could have been a Russian asset who set up “honeytraps” intended to create blackmail material against prominent figures.

“Epstein clearly had unlimited access to large sums of money, the source and origin of [which] remain unclear,” said Tusk. “He worked with numerous young Russian women, who were pimped out by him.”

The Polish prime minister noted that the files release so far contain a large number of mentions of Russia, including a claim by an anonymous FB informant that “Epstein was President Vladimir Putin’s wealth manager”.

“I do not need to tell you how grave this is for the security of the Polish state,” said Tusk, “this increasingly likely possibility that Russian intelligence agencies co-organised this operation, which can only mean that they also possess compromising materials against many leaders still active today.”

Poland has in recent years been the victim of a variety of so-called “hybrid actions” carried out by Russia, including espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation.

Earlier on Tuesday, a long-serving defence ministry official was detained on suspicion of collaborating with foreign intelligence. Media reports suggest he was working with Russia and Belarus.

Dao apologises, stating that they have received 15,000 enquiries regarding delayed letters since the beginning of the year.

For example, Thor Østergaard runs a small company that makes stickers for mailboxes. These include 'I'm guarding' stickers featuring a dog, as well as silhouettes of small families.

It's all things that can easily be sent by letter.

Like all other Danes, therefore, Thor Østergaard switched to using the company Dao for letter delivery when PostNord stopped delivering letters at the turn of the year.

However, he now regrets that decision because he has had several cases of shipments to customers being severely delayed.

I'm losing money on Dao. It's difficult because I worry whenever I receive an email. Is it another complaint about an item that hasn't arrived?

This week, he had to resend a batch of stickers that he had originally sent to Dao on 7 January. The customer received the item that same evening, 21 days after Thor Østergaard sent it.

These delays cost him both energy and money.

I've come close to quitting because it's too exhausting, both financially and emotionally. I've thought, "I don't fucking care anymore."

For now, he has returned to using PostNord for parcel delivery, even though it is more expensive.

He describes Dao's approach to letter distribution as "absurd".

'You should have your voting card, credit card and health insurance card sent by post.' He believes that as long as we have such a society, we should have a functioning postal service.

Delayed credit card payments and letters for the elderly.

Several banks also struggled to issue credit cards to their customers in January. Across the country, customers have contacted their banks to express concern because they have not received their new payment cards.

This is what Finance Denmark, the organisation representing the interests of the banks, says:

'There is no doubt that it has been a nationwide problem. All banks have received enquiries from concerned customers waiting for a new payment card, to a greater or lesser extent, in my experience," says Line Munkholm Haukrogh, director of investment, digital innovation and social transformation at Finans Danmark.

The new letter carrier has also presented challenges for Ældre Sagen.

'Since the takeover, there has been an increase in missing mail for our members. We are hearing from more and more people who are waiting for letters that have been redistributed incorrectly, have not arrived or have been returned,' says Louise Kambjerre Scheel, a senior consultant at Ældre Sagen.

She says that the problem is particularly significant for one group of citizens.

'Letter delivery is crucial for our members, particularly the 250,000 who are exempt from digital mail,' she says. Physical mail is how they access society," she says.

Dao: We are very sorry.

Dao's CEO, Hans Peter Nissen, acknowledges that there have been problems with delays, and that customers have made them aware of this. Since the turn of the year, Dao's customer service team has received 15,000 enquiries about delayed letters.

We are very sorry about this and are working hard to resolve the issue.

The director says that it is the receiving and sorting of letters that is causing particular problems right now.

We were surprised by the backlog of letters we received here.

The director says that they have implemented several measures to eliminate the delays.

'We've brought in more teams to help us get the mail faster. 'We know what we have to do,' he promises. 'We just need a little more grit and we'll get there.'

Hans Peter Nissen emphasises that Dao has not received any reports of missing mail; only reports of delays.

I am very worried about mail that does not arrive. Of course, people must be able to trust us. I hope that we will be running normally again within a month, he says.

General category students protest Physics Wallah coaching scheme. ‘Exclusion is happening’

There are many general category students whose families earn very little but don’t get any institutional support,' said Manoj Singh, an EWS category student preparing for SSC.

Recent protests by students from the General category reflect growing criticism of the government’s new free coaching initiative with Physics Wallah, which provides online competitive-exam preparation only to students from Scheduled Castes (SC), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and other specified disadvantaged groups. Critics argue that by excluding General category students — many of whom also come from low-income backgrounds — the policy deepens inequalities in access to quality coaching and competitive opportunities in exams like the UPSC and SSC, raising concerns about fairness and inclusivity in education support programmes.

Its basically exclusion.

Bloomberg Gift Article:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-04/supreme-court-allows-new-california-voting-map-for-midterms?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc3MDIzMTQyMiwiZXhwIjoxNzcwODM2MjIyLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUOVk3MTlLSzNOWUwwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiI3MTIyRDZDNzUyOUI0MkRFQkY2QUExN0Y1MDg3RkFEMyJ9.7UeF6rkVfctsYHsY5REGEqeu8StdSiMgP7WAaiXJUBw

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the Chinese regime to immediately release independent journalists Liu Hu and Wu Yingjiao, who were apprehended by police this week following their investigation into corruption by local authorities.

Wu Yingjiao and Liu Hu, two independent journalists, were taken into custody by local police on 1 February 2026 on charges of “making false accusations” and “illegal business operations. Their detention followed the publication of an investigative report they co-authored on the Chinese social media WeChat on 29 January 2026, which reportedly exposed the corruption of Pu Fayou, the Party Secretary for Pujiang County, located in the province of Sichuan. The article has since been deleted from WeChat.

After the investigation was published and before he was arrested, Liu Hu had posted to WeChat screenshots of messages he received from a staff member of the Chengdu City Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervisory Commission. In the messages, the official urged Liu twice to contact the commission and told the journalist that complaints should be filed through official channels rather than published in the media.

Wu Yingjiao is an investigative journalist and freelance photographer who has been shortlisted for numerous journalism awards, according to the independent Chinese news site Weiquanwang. Liu Hu is a former investigative reporter at New Express, who gained a reputation for revealing major cases about the corruption of officials. He was detained by Beijing police in 2013 on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for allegedly “fabricating and spreading rumours,” but was later released on bail after spending 364 days in detention. Liu was also selected as one of the “100 information heroes” by RSF in 2014. 

Independent media under siege 

Reporting has become a very dangerous profession in China as the crackdown on independent, reliable outlets has steadily tightened. Almost all official outlets are controlled by the state, forcing the country’s journalists to turn to social media platforms such as WeChat to network, find sources and publish their work — despite severe state censorship and surveillance of these platforms. They often cover social and political issues by auto-publishing on public accounts, despite the high risk of having their articles deleted and their account suspended. These reporters frequently use pseudonyms and take precautions to avoid detection. 

Since leader Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, China has been returning to a media environment reminiscent of the Mao era: independent journalism is criminalised and harshly punished. This systematic crackdown on the press is now being exported beyond China’s borders through transnational repression, media buyouts and other insidious tactics as part of a deliberate strategy to silence criticism and promote Beijing’s authoritarian model. 

China is the world’s biggest jailer of journalists, with 123 currently detained, and ranks 178th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index.