The head of Dubai-based ports operator DP World has resigned after new documents showed long-term email contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem quit as chairman and chief executive with immediate effect, the company said. DP World named Essa Kazim as chairman and Yuvraj Narayan as chief executive. Reports say the files show hundreds of emails exchanged over about a decade. Being named in the documents does not itself show wrongdoing. The company has faced pressure from partners in recent days. Some investors paused new funding. The BBC said it contacted Sulayem for comment but did not receive a response. (PC: BBC)

BNP chairman Tarique Rahman thanked supporters in his first public reaction after his party’s landslide victory in Bangladesh’s national elections. He briefly spoke to well-wishers gathered outside his Gulshan residence before leaving for Friday prayers. “I am grateful for the love you have shown me. Please pray for me,” he said. According to local reports, he stopped his car, stepped out, and greeted the crowd, drawing cheers. BNP secured more than a two-thirds majority, marking its return to power after nearly two decades. Tarique Rahman is set to become prime minister, replacing interim chief Muhammad Yunus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated him over a phone call. (PC: X)

Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will visit India February 17-20 to attend the AI Impact Summit and hold bilateral talks with PM Modi on February 18. Orpo, accompanied by representatives from 22 Finnish companies, will deliver Finland's address at the summit hosted February 19 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The summit, running February 16-20, unites governments, industry leaders, researchers, and startups globally around three pillars: People, Planet, and Progress. Discussions will focus on AI governance, employment, skilling, sustainability, and economic development. Orpo emphasized Finland's AI expertise and importance of safe, responsible AI use. The recently concluded EU-India Free Trade Agreement opens significant opportunities for strengthening bilateral relations. (PC: The Tribune)

Dubai-based Indian businessman and film producer Rajan Lall won $1 million (₹8-9 crore) in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire raffle, days after turning 79. The cancer survivor who endured three heart attacks called it the "finest birthday present." Lall won with ticket number 3099 in Series 535, purchased January 30 at Concourse D. The victory ended a 25-year wait as he said, he'd bought one ticket annually without success. Living on Palm Jumeirah, Lall moved to Dubai in his fifties after facing income tax raids and alleged threats in 1990s Mumbai. He rebuilt his career from scratch through garment trading, initially living frugally while depending on friends. (PC: Instagram@rajan_lall)

Indian-origin climate scientist Veerabhadran Ramanathan, 82, won the prestigious 2026 Crafoord Prize in Geosciences, often called the "Nobel of Geosciences." The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized his groundbreaking research on super-pollutants and atmospheric brown clouds. In 1975, while at NASA, Ramanathan discovered chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) trap heat 10,000 times more effectively than carbon dioxide. Born in Madurai, raised in Chennai, he began his career at a Secunderabad refrigerator factory handling CFCs. His Indian Ocean Experiment identified atmospheric brown clouds over South Asia, linking air pollution to weakened monsoons and accelerated Himalayan glacier melting. Now Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Scripps Institution, his work underpins the Montreal Protocol. The prize includes $900,000 and a gold medal. (PC: PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Seva Teerth, marking India's first PMO relocation since Independence. The modern integrated complex consolidates the Prime Minister's Office, National Security Council Secretariat, and Cabinet Secretariat under one roof. Modi described the British-era North and South Blocks as "colonial relics," emphasizing Seva Teerth reflects "new India" building toward "Viksit Bharat." He released a Rs 100 commemorative coin and announced key initiatives from the new office: PM Rahat scheme for accident victims, doubling Lakhpati Didis target to 6 crore, expanding Agriculture Infrastructure Fund to Rs 2 lakh crore, and launching Rs 10,000 crore Startup India Fund 2.0. The vacated South-North Blocks will become 'Yuge Yugeen Bharat Sangrahalaya' museum.

While Bangladesh Nationalist Party secured victory nationally, Jamaat-e-Islami swept regions bordering West Bengal like Satkhira, Kushtia, Khulna belt, and Rangpur raising security concerns for India. Intelligence assessments view this as threat escalation, noting these rural areas have deep mosque and madrassa networks. Jamaat questioned election integrity, citing "serious questions about the results process." Indian agencies warn Hindu minorities in border districts may face pressure through land disputes and intimidation. The concern extends beyond immediate violence to "permissive ecosystems" enabling radicalization through Friday sermons, madrassa curricula, and selective infiltration of trained ideologues. Intelligence suggests Jamaat's political legitimacy in border districts could shift operations from covert to semi-open, complicating detection efforts. (PC: AP)

India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal addressed a resurfaced video where US President Donald Trump praised PM Modi, stating "Modi is a great man, that he loves Trump" and expressing he doesn't want to "destroy his political career." Jaiswal clarified he hadn't seen the video but stated India would "take appropriate action" if such remarks exist. The comments originated from Trump's October press conference with the FBI Director. Additionally, Jaiswal confirmed that recent US factsheet amendments on the India-US interim trade agreement framework reflect "shared understandings" between both nations. He emphasized the February 7 joint statement remains the basis for mutual understanding as both countries work toward finalizing the agreement.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), following its sweeping election victory, reaffirmed demands for Sheikh Hasina's extradition from India to face trial. BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed confirmed the party will formally urge India to extradite the ousted former prime minister. Ahmed emphasized Bangladesh seeks normal ties with India based on equality and mutual respect, stating the extradition matter lies between foreign ministries. Hasina, living in Delhi exile since August 2024's mass uprising, was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal in November 2025 for crimes against humanity during the 2024 crackdown. She recently called Bangladesh's elections a "sham" and previously urged citizens to resist Muhammad Yunus's interim government. (PC: X)

Calcutta-born astrophysicist Kishalay De, a St James' School alumnus now at Columbia University, has solved a cosmic mystery by confirming a massive star's silent collapse into a black hole without a supernova explosion. The star, M31-2014-DS1 in the Andromeda galaxy, vanished after fading for nearly a decade, bypassing the explosive death typically expected from massive stars. De's team analyzed archival telescope observations spanning four decades, finding the star briefly brightened in infrared light around 2014 before rapidly disappearing. This confirms a decades-old prediction that some stars can skip the supernova stage. The research, published in Science journal, suggests such quiet collapses may represent an alternative stellar evolution pathway previously overlooked by astronomers. (PC: astro.columbia.edu)