🇺🇸🇦🇲🇦🇿⚡- After becoming the first ever sitting President / Vice-President to visit Armenia, JD Vance arrives in Baku, Azerbaijan.

🇺🇸🇦🇿⚡- Vice President JD Vance meets Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev.

🇺🇸🇦🇿⚡- The US and Azerbaijan have signed a strategic partnership agreement.

The agreement will see enhanced cooperation between the two nations in transport infrastructure, in particular the strategic Trump Corridor (TRIPP), the energy sector, but more importantly, in defense and security.

The agreement will also see the creation of a corridor for rare earth metals from Central Asia, in particular Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, where the US signed key major deals last year.

🇻🇪🇮🇱⚡- "Venezuela is sending its first crude oil cargo to Israel in years as the Latin American country’s exports open up following the capture of its president Nicolas Maduro.

The cargo is being transported to Bazan Group, the Mediterranean country’s top crude processor," - Bloomberg.

🇪🇺⚡️- Today, the EU Parliament adopted changes to the EU asylum procedure regulations to enable faster processing of asylum requests.

With 408 in favor, 184 against and 60 abstentions, the EU Parliament endorsed the creation of an "EU list of safe countries of origin". MEPs also approved the deal on the regulation on application of the safe third country concept, with 396 in favor, 226 against and 30 abstentions.

This will allow the European Union to streamline the deportation process of denied asylum claims through asylum hubs hosted outside the EU's borders. This resolution will be active active as soon as this June.

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡- President Trump tells Barak Ravid of Israeli Channel 12 that he prefers to have a "great deal" with Iran. He adds "Iran can't have nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles." Trump also said that he is considering sending "another aircraft carrier" to join USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East.

🇺🇸 - Nancy Guthrie was abducted on February 1st at around 2-2:30am PST. Furthermore, her pacemaker app showed that she had been separated from her phone at 2:28am, when motion was detected both inside and outside her home. Additionally, blood stains identified as Guthrie’s were found at the scene.

Afterwards, unverified ransom notes were received by TMZ and the Tucson CNN affiliate, KOLD News. Last week, a ransom of $6 million was set to be transferred to an unidentifiable Bitcoin wallet. The Guthries released a statement saying they were prepared to pay the ransom.

Notably, Nancy Guthrie requires daily medication for a health condition, which, most likely, she has not received since her abduction.

The local and federal authorities have been stonewalled in the investigation, with the latter not contributing much to the success, thus continuing a trend of incompetence under FBI Director Kash Patel.

🇺🇸🇨🇩🇮🇱⚡- BREAKING: Blackwater founder Erik Prince deployed two Israeli-trained battalions to help the Congolese army, FARDC, retake Uvira, South Kivu region, from the M23 in mid-December, Reuters reports.

The report states Israeli advisors were present on the ground, but played an 'advisory role only'.

Uvira sits north of Lake Tangayaka, and was defended primarily by the Burundian army and the anti-M23 alliance known as Wazalendo. Uvira is just nine kilometers from Bujumbura, Burundi's largest city.

M23 seized the city in early December, with Washington threatening retaliation. In return, the M23 withdrew as a 'goodwill gesture'.

Reuters reports Erik Prince's Israeli-trained battalions could continue to act as a deterrent to the Rwandan-backed M23 forces.

Note, La Libre first noted "white mercenaries" operating in Uvira in early December. For instance, a video that was spread on social media showing Wazalendo factions fleeing, with a truck operated by a White individual following behind.

🇺🇸⚡️- Six men who were previously redacted have been named as Epstein co-conspirators by Congressmen Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna.

- Salvatore Nuara
- Zurab Mikeladze
- Leonic Leonov
- Nicola Caputo
- Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem
- Leslie Wexner

🇺🇸🇳🇬⚡- The US to deploy 200 troops to Nigeria to assist training the Nigerian military in combating Islamist terror groups.

🇨🇴⚡- "Colombian President Gustavo Petro says he survived an assassination attempt this week," - AFP.

🇾🇪⚡- The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council of Yemen in exile announces it will not recognize the new Saudi-backed Yemeni Presidential Council, as it is "devoid of Southern Yemeni legitimacy."

🇺🇸⚡️- President Trump will meet with Rupert Murdoch, an ardent Zionist, tonight.

Murdoch’s dinner with Trump comes the day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes to D.C. to advocate for aggressive action in Iran.

🇨🇦⚡️- A school shooting in British Columbia occurred earlier today. Reports suggest 7 dead, 25 injured. The shooter was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot.

It is unclear at this time if the shooter was connected to any groups or what the motivations were outside of anti-social, nihilistic violence.

🇺🇸⚡️- US House votes against rule that would block lawmakers ability to bring up resolutions challenging Trump's tariff policies.

Thomas Massie, Kevin Kiley, and Don Bacon joined the Democrats in voting against the rule.

🇺🇸⚡️- President Trump rules out using reconciliation packages to pass new legislation claiming "we're gotten everything passed that we need."

This effectively means Trump will not pass any new legislation for the remainder of his Presidency as without reconciliation there are not enough votes in the Senate to pass partisan laws and Democrats will take control of the House after the November midterms.