US President Donald Trump said his administration was "going to de-escalate a little bit" in Minnesota, after the second fatal shooting of a US citizen by federal immigration officers there. "Both of them were terrible," he said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday (Jan. 27). In early January Renee Good was fatally shot by an immigration officer, followed by Alex Pretti, who was killed after being stopped by border agents this past weekend.

Pretti's death reignited local protests and public outcry across the country, and led to criticism from lawmakers. Trump's remarks are the latest sign his administration is taking a step back on its operations in Minnesota. Speaking to other reporters ahead of a rally in Iowa Tuesday night, Trump said he viewed the killing of Pretti, an intensive care nurse at a veterans' hospital, as "a very unfortunate incident". Asked by reporters about whether he agreed with characterisations of Pretti as a "domestic terrorist," for carrying a gun, Trump said: "I haven't heard that."

An outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus in India's West Bengal sparked concern in parts of Asia, with some tightening screening measures at airports. Thailand has started screening passengers at three airports that receive flights from West Bengal. Nepal has also begun screening arrivals at Kathmandu airport and other land border points with India. Two cases have been confirmed in West Bengal since December, reportedly in healthcare workers. Some 196 people who were in contact with them have been traced and tested negative for the virus, India's health ministry says.

The virus can spread from animals to humans. It has a high death range - ranging from 40% to 75% - as there is no vaccine or medicine to treat it. The WHO has described Nipah in its top ten priority diseases, along with pathogens like Covid-19 and Zika, because of its potential to trigger an epidemic. People who contract the virus show a wide range of symptoms, or sometimes, none at all.

Iran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests has killed at least 6,221 people while many others still are feared dead, activists said Wednesday (Jan. 28), as a US aircraft carrier group arrived in the Middle East to lead any American military response to the crisis. Iran's currency, the rial, meanwhile fell to a record low of 1.5 million to $1. The arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and guided missile destroyers accompanying it provide the U.S. the ability to strike Iran, particularly as Gulf Arab states have signaled they want to stay out of any attack despite hosting American military personnel.

Two Iranian-backed militias in the Mideast have signaled their willingness to launch new attacks, likely trying to back Iran after US President Donald Trump threatened military action over the killing of peaceful protesters or Tehran launching mass executions in the wake of the demonstrations.

The UK government confirmed for the first time that a phone call took place between David Cameron and Karim Khan in which the then foreign secretary is alleged to have threatened the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court over his investigation into Israeli war crimes in Gaza. Details of the April 2024 phone call were first reported by Middle East Eye in June last year, but the UK government has repeatedly refused to comment on the matter. However, it has now been forced in response to a Freedom of Information request.

The request was filed last month by Unredacted, a research unit based at the University of Westminster in London. It asked the foreign office which ministers or officials were present on the call to Khan. In response, the Information Rights Unit at the Foreign Office said, in a letter this month: "The then Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, was the only person present on the call on 23 April 2024 with Karim Khan."