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Citizen Lab report suggests Cellebrite software was used to break into Boniface Mwangi’s phone while he was under arrestWhen Boniface Mwangi, the prominent Kenyan pro-democracy activist who plans to run for president in 2027, had his phones returned to him by Kenyan authorities after his controversial arrest last July, he immediately noticed a problem: one of the phones was no longer password protected and could be opened without one.It was Mwangi’s personal phone, which he used to communicate with friends and mentors, and contained photos of private family moments with his wife and children. Knowing that its contents could be in the hands of the Kenyan government made Mwangi – who has described harassment and even torture – feel unsafe and “exposed”, he told the Guardian. Continue reading...

An economic plan from world leaders could reduce the impact of Donald Trump's tariff policy worldwide, insiders say. The president's economic plan, which he implemented during his second term, has caused disruptions domestically and internationally. World leaders are now seeking a way through the economic spiral, and Canadian PM Mark Carney is believed to be at the helm of this plan. Insiders, speaking to Politico, confirmed there are nearly 40 countries interested in the talks. A Canadian government official said, "The work is definitely coming along. We’ve had very fruitful discussions on it with other partners around the world."Both the European Union and members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, including Canada, Mexico, and Australia, are keen to stand against Trump's economic policies and their effects on the wider world. A Japanese trade official said, "We see a lot of value in increasing trade among the EU and CPTPP parties, which would also contribute to enhancing supply chain resilience."Another diplomat from an unnamed nation spoke positively of the possible alliance between the EU and CPTPP. They said, "If the EU is up for the conversation, then of course it would make things very interesting indeed."Klemens Kober, director of trade policy, EU customs and transatlantic relations at the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also confirmed relevant parties were looking into an agreement which, if signed, could hinder Trump and his administration's hold on world economics.All relevant actors are looking at it," Kober said. "If there can be a focus on having these rules as harmonized and simple as possible, as part of these negotiations, that could prove advantageous for German companies."Having the possibility of cumulating origin between different FTAs is very useful. We hope that if that’s a success, if you can see tangible benefits in different areas, that could also entice other countries to join in and team up in a positive sense. So the more the merrier."

The Guardian’s community affairs correspondent, Chris Osuh, reports on the plot by two IS terrorists to massacre Jews in Manchester, and how it was thwarted by an undercover stingWalid Saadaoui had once worked as a holiday entertainer, organising dance shows and quizzes at a resort in his native Tunisia. After moving to the UK and marrying a British woman, he became a restaurateur and an avid keeper of birds.All the while, however – as the Guardian’s community affairs correspondent, Chris Osuh, explains – he was hiding a secret: he had pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Continue reading...

At this point, you have probably heard enough about the effect of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show on the president and his coalition. While there are plenty of details to debate, including the ludicrous allegation that the Grammy-winner’s performance was “pure smut,” I think it’s important to keep your eyes fixed on what’s really at stake.Rightwingers don’t mind “indecent acts,” as their protection of “the Epstein class” should attest. What they mind is a global superstar, who originates from Puerto Rico and whose native language is Spanish, making affirmative claims about who belongs in America.Bad Bunny’s halftime show was an extension of remarks he made two weekends ago after winning six Grammys. “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” he said. “We’re not savage. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”His argument in favor of kindness and common cause, and in defense of diversity and inclusion, was later immortalized on words written on a football — “Together, we are America” — and it lay beneath a spectacle seen by 135 million, according to the Daily News.The strength of Bad Bunny’s argument was enhanced by the impotence of its counterpart. Turning Point USA, the hate group founded by the late Charlie Kirk, organized an alternate musical event. Emceed by Kid Rock, the show’s message was, more or less, America is for “us,” not “them.” According to the Daily News, just 6 million watched it.That’s their beef.Donald Trump and his rightwing allies will not believe their vision of America — essentially, a racially exclusive club — is unpopular. They will never accept that America has fallen in love with a man who was born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, who was bagging groceries a decade ago before rising to Spotify’s top global artist, who welcomes everyone and whose life embodies the American Dream.So they smear him, accusing him of involvement in a criminal conspiracy to somehow force Americans into loving him against their will. That’s the thinking behind a new complaint by US Congressman Andy Ogles. The Tennessee Republican described the Super Bowl halftime show as "pure smut" featuring "explicit displays of gay sexual acts, women gyrating provocatively, and Bad Bunny shamelessly grabbing his crotch while dry-humping the air."Ogles continued, saying Bad Bunny "openly glorified sodomy and countless other unspeakable depravities." Ogles said "these flagrant, indecent acts" break federal law regulating television airwaves. He called for an investigation in a letter to the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees broadcast regulations.But such allegations are decoys. Rightwingers do not care about “family values.” If they did, they would not tolerate the incarceration of babies. (The youngest person in the Dilley Detention Center in Texas is 2 months old, according to Univision.) Rightwingers do not care about higher-order things, only whether they can be used to accomplish their goals.In this case, the goal is discrediting a global superstar who is popularizing a new and dangerous idea of belonging in America. You don’t need to pass a test. You don’t have to know the rules. You don’t even need the correct paperwork. If you’re here, you’re American.Because “together, we are America.”“Together, we are America” is new, as it casts immigration in the context of brotherhood, so the burden of government is finding ways of turning a fact of life into a fact of law.It is dangerous, as it upends a decade of rightwing effort to move public understanding of immigration away from a matter of freedom and opportunity to a matter of crime and punishment. The burden is now entirely on individuals. They’re presumed guilty until proven innocent. “Together, we are America” has the potential of turning that around.Bad Bunny’s ethic of belonging is dangerous for another reason. It comes as the logical conclusion to ten years of fear-mongering and hate speech is coming into view: families ripped apart, communities shredded, citizens murdered and concentration camps opening.Even respectable white people, or “independent voters,” are recoiling (mostly because they are shocked to learn that an “immigration crackdown” includes them). Thanks to the horrors the country has witnessed over the last month, they are now open to alternatives, especially alternatives being advanced by the most popular performing artist on the planet.Right now, the focus is on ICE and its crimes. That, however, is like the allegation that Bad Bunny’s show was “pure smut” — it limits politics to terms favorable to Trump. “Abolish ICE” should be part of a bigger picture so the meaning of belonging is radically redefined.Immigrants are Americans. They might not speak the language. They might not know the rules. They might not have the right papers. But they are here. That makes them American.The question is not if they are, but when it becomes official.

European nations may be set to freeze out the United States following Donald Trump's push to take control of Greenland, a political commentator has claimed. Colonel Robert Hamlin believes NATO members, European countries, and world leaders are wary of Trump after his Donbas showmanship. Leaders will meet at a summit in Munich, Germany, later this month to deliberate on world affairs, and the US may find itself frozen out of such a conversation. Col. Hamlin believes this could be a direct response from Europe after Trump tried to strongarm his way into ownership of Greenland. He wrote in The Hill, "As the grandees of geopolitics gather in Munich, the realization is dawning that there is not much to be done about Trump. Until voters rein him in, the goal will be to circumvent America and preserve what can be preserved. "The question is whether there will be enough trust left whenever the U.S. comes to its senses and returns to the table. After the monumental Trump betrayal, that is not at all so clear."The meeting could also see world leaders reduce their reliance on the US, with Col. Hamlin suggesting those countries meeting in Munich will try their best to stick to the rules. "America’s erstwhile allies will try to preserve as much of the rules-based order as possible, reduce their vulnerability to U.S. coercion, and at least try to keep the door open for America to return if and when it chooses to do so," he wrote. "But expect also economic and strategic workarounds, and the beginning of a campaign to project to American voters, with an eye to November, that their clueless leadership is engaged in terrible self-harm."The dense web of institutions and alliances built after World War II were not only primarily underwritten by the U.S., but also arguably made it the main beneficiary. This reality clashes violently with Trump’s narrative — cynical and seductive, but also stupid — that our allies have taken us for suckers."

The unpredictable rhetoric of Donald Trump could cause a disaster in global politics, according to those relying on the United States's presence. Countries across the world were given a taste of what the president is willing to do for his administration when he levelled threats at Greenland and captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Peter Mortensen, a family therapist and psychologist from Denmark, told Politico that the US he once knew is no more and that looking to the country for support is no longer an option. He said, "I talk to more people up here who say that our original belief that we can trust the United States and that they will always be there, they’re a strong force in the world — that has been shattered really seriously."Donald Trump is so unpredictable that whatever he takes as a personal insult he can make into a geopolitical crisis." Trump would write a letter to Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre earlier this year after failing to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Canada could be stirring Trump's wrath against the world, too, by aiding Nuuk and its residents. Politico columnists Mike Blanchfield and Calder McHugh wrote, "Opening a Canadian consulate in Nuuk, the capital of the autonomous territory of Greenland in the Kingdom of Denmark, has been in the works for over a year. "But the timing, coinciding with both another round of menacing from U.S. President Donald Trump and bracing talk at Davos by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of the need to forge new alliances, is not lost on anyone here."Into that vacuum arrives Canada. Their new strategy of working harder to be a player on the world stage, building alliances and offering security guarantees that they once left to the United States, is taking shape in Nuuk. "Canada’s outreach to their Arctic neighbor could well be the beginning of the country’s attempt to build their own international bona fides and wriggle out of Trump’s shadow."

A reality TV show star who was slated to return to television in a new E! series has been cut from her gig on Tuesday after her racist tirade following Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance.Zarin, who was a former original cast member of Bravo's hit "Real Housewives of New York City" franchise and appeared in four seasons from 2008 to 2011, was selected to join the reboot “The Golden Life” with her former co-stars Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer and Kelly Bensimon, The Wrap reported.But that all changed. Blink49 Studios had planned to include Zarin in the series, which was expected to start filming in Florida, but had decided to fire her after her comments Sunday. “In light of recent public comments made by Jill Zarin, Blink49 Studios has decided not to move forward with her involvement in ‘The Golden Life,’” according to a statement from Blink49 Studios. “We remain committed to delivering the series in line with our company standards and values.”Zarin had posted a now-deleted Instagram video where she called the Puerto Rican singer's performance “the worst halftime show ever.” “It’s 250 years that we’re celebrating right now in the United States, and I just don’t think it was appropriate to have it in Spanish,” she said. She commented that Bad Bunny had grabbed his crotch during the show and that she thought it was "inappropriate," saying, “he doesn’t have to be grabbing himself every five seconds: Is he so insecure?” She also claimed he was making a “political statement, because there were literally no white people in the entire thing.” That was not the case, but Zarin continued her claims. “I think it was a political statement, and I’m not taking a side one way or the other," she said. “I just do. I think it was an ICE thing. I just think that the NFL sold out and it’s very sad because it’s 75 years. Shame! Shame!”Zarin's comments were slammed online, including by the hosts of "The View."

A journalist was floored Monday as Democrats signaled they were hatching a plan to overturn one of President Donald Trump's tariffs.Democrats were expected to vote to force a vote Wednesday to overturn Trump's Canada tariffs — a legislative push to try and restore economic relations and ease tensions with the North American ally. Laura Weiss, Congress reporter for Punchbowl News, described what to expect in the coming days. The legislation was expected to be introduced by Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), who has led previous efforts to push back on Trump's tariffs, including a discharge petition last spring to end Trump's Canada tariffs, citing concerns over a multitude of businesses."News: House Dems are likely to force a vote WEDNESDAY on overturning President Trump's Canada tariffs, per sources familiar w/ the effort," Weiss wrote in a post on X. "Dems’ plans aren’t yet final. But the Canada resolution is expected to be the first Dems call up now that Speaker Johnson’s blockade on tariff votes is over. The resolution is from HFAC top Dem Meeks - and he’s got more that can be called up in the coming weeks too.""BIG NEWS here," Jake Sherman, founder of Punchbowl News, added on X. "The House Republican leadership had a mechanism that blocked tariff overturn votes. That mechanism has expired."Trump's tariff threats against Canada have created tensions between the two countries, with Canadian officials warning that such tariffs would harm both economies and trigger retaliatory measures, while Trump has used the tariff threat as a negotiating tactic on issues ranging from trade deficits to border security and defense spending.