Israeli cabinet approves West Bank land registration, Palestinians condemn 'de-facto annexation'

By Steven Scheer

JERUSALEM, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved further measures to tighten Israel's control over the occupied West Bank and make it easier ‌for settlers to buy land, a move Palestinians called a "de-facto annexation".

The West Bank is ‌among the territories that Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, ​with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition, which has a large voter base in the settlements, includes many ‌members who want Israel to ⁠annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

Ministers voted in favour of ⁠beginning a process of land registration for the first time since 1967, a week after approving another series of measures in the West Bank that drew international condemnation.

"We are continuing the revolution of ​settlement and ​strengthening our hold across all parts of our ​land," said far-right Finance Minister Bezalel ‌Smotrich.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said land registration was a vital security measure while the cabinet said in a statement it was an "appropriate response to illegal land registration processes promoted by the Palestinian Authority."

The foreign ministry said the measure would promote transparency and help resolve land disputes.

The Palestinian presidency condemned the step, saying it constitutes "a de-facto annexation of occupied Palestinian territory and a ‌declaration of the commencement of annexation plans aimed at ​entrenching the occupation through illegal settlement activity."

Israeli settlement watchdog ​Peace Now said the measure could lead ​to dispossession of Palestinians from up to half of the West Bank.

U.S. ‌President Donald Trump has ruled out Israeli ​annexation of the West ​Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation ​of Palestinian territories and settlements ‌there are illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes ​this view.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer, Maayan Lubell, Jaidaa Taha, Ahmed Elimam and Nidal ​al-Mughrabi; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Christina Fincher)

byAdministrator

in

February 15, 2026

Israeli cabinet approves West Bank land registration, Palestinians condemn 'de-facto annexation'

By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved further measures to tig...

Read More

Former Ukrainian minister detained by anti-corruption authorities while trying to leave the country

A former Ukrainian energy minister has been detained in connection with a major corruption scandal while trying to leave the country, authorities said on Sunday.

Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau (NABU) said its detectives "detained the former minister of energy as part of the Midas case," referencing a wide-ranging investigation into corruption in Ukraine's energy sector that triggered a major political crisis last year.

"Initial investigative actions are ongoing, carried out in accordance with the requirements of the law," NABU added in a statement, without naming the former minister.

The scandal, which centers on alleged kickbacks from contractors including those working to protect critical energy infrastructure, led both the serving and a former energy minister to resign last year at President Volodymyr Zelensky's request. Both denied wrongdoing.

Chief of staff to the president, Andriy Yermak, alsoresignedamid the fallout.

Advertisement

Investigators said about $100 million had been siphoned off as state-owned businesses including Energoatom, which operates Ukraine's nuclear power plants, paid companies for work done to enhance security at key sites.

At the time, Ukraine's anti-corruption body announced it had carried out searches on dozens of properties as part of the investigation.

Corruption allegations are nothing new in Ukraine. Since 2023, NABU has opened investigations into a series of scandals.

In January 2024, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said it had discovered amass corruption schemein the purchase of weapons by the country's military amounting to nearly $40 million.

CNN's Andrew Carey contributed reporting.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

byAdministrator

in

February 15, 2026

Former Ukrainian minister detained by anti-corruption authorities while trying to leave the country

A former Ukrainian energy minister has been detained in connection with a major corruption scandal while trying to leave...

Read More

Robin Williams 'had to be funny to survive,' says his “Good Will Hunting ”costar Stellan Skarsgård

Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection

Key points

• Stellan Skarsgård remembers his Good Will Hunting costar Robin Williams being "calm," "nice," and "lovely."

• However, he says Williams would often shift into another gear "when a couple more people came to him," adding, "He had to be funny to survive."

• Skarsgård also recalls Williams needing to deliver a joke as soon as it came to him: "He had to produce it and get it out of the body. He couldn't live with it inside."

Stellan Skarsgårdis reflecting on his time withRobin Williamson the set ofGood Will Hunting.

The Oscar-nominatedSentimental Valueactor shared his memories of working with Williams at a Q&A following a screening of the 1997 drama in Los Angeles on Friday night.

"As a person, when you were alone with him, he was calm and he was nice, and he was lovely, and he could talk about anything," Skarsgård said of his late costar.

However, he added, Williams seemed to shift into a different gear when multiple people showed up. "But then when a couple more people came to him, he suddenly wouldget up— to save himself, in a way," Skarsgård recalled. "And I think it's a thing he had from school. He had to be funny to survive."

Miramax/courtesy Everett Collection

Gus Van Sant, who directedGood Will Huntingand moderated the screening event, remembered how Williams asked to perform more takes for nearly every scene. "Robin was the one that was like, 'One more, one more, one more,'" the filmmaker said. "So we did 10 [takes] sometimes as opposed to maybe three, because he wanted to do a fast one, a slow one, a happy one, a sad one, a funny one, a not-funny one."

Skarsgård added that he appreciated the breadth and thoroughness of Williams' work on the Oscar-winning movie. "It was fantastic because, as you said, he wanted to do new takes," theDunestar. "And he also had a thing that was kind of a necessity for him because… he'd get an idea about a joke, for instance, and he had to produce it and get it out of the body. He couldn't live with it inside. And I felt all the time that he had three parallel brains working, and very fast!"

TheBreaking the Wavesactor said Williams' robust performance style challenged him and the rest of his costars. "The good thing was that he did different takes and they were really different," he explained. "Some were very dark, and some were very funny. And all the other actors, we were hanging in there. We were playing different kinds of scenes with him."

Skarsgård also marveled at Van Sant and theGood Will Huntingeditors' ability to incorporate Williams' footage into the film and achieve the appropriate tonal balance. "The material you got [from Robin] is very interesting, because you could have cut that role into becoming a very farcical role, or you could have cut it into becoming really depressive," he said to Van Sant at the screening. "And you found your way."

Phillip Faraone/Getty

In the film, Skarsgård portrays Gerald Lambeau, the MIT professor who shepherds the brilliant Will Hunting (Matt Damon) as he explores complex mathematics. Gerald enlists his former college roommate, Sean Maguire (Williams), to serve as Will's therapist, and the two friends butt heads about how to best mentor the young genius.

Despite his character's academic accomplishments, Skarsgård revealed that he had never dealt with advanced math, and that he "didn't try to" comprehend the more complicated subjects with which Gerald grappled. "I did not understand it," he said. "It was far above my math knowledge."

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with ourEW Dispatch newsletter.

The movie employed real-life mathematician John Mighton to coach Skarsgård through the jargon, and Mighton ended up playing Gerald's assistant, Tom. "We had a very good math professor that taught us and that helped us," the actor said of Mighton.

"You wanted to have him around all the time, so he was usually busy," Van Sant added.

"Yeah, he sort of prompted me," Skarsgård said. "If you were explaining something, the only thing you have to know is that it's expressed the right way… You don't have to really understand it."

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

byAdministrator

in

February 15, 2026

Robin Williams 'had to be funny to survive,' says his “Good Will Hunting ”costar Stellan Skarsgård

Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection Key points Stellan Skarsgård remembers his Good Will Hunting costar Robin Williams being "calm...

Read More

Powered by women, ‘Wuthering Heights’ digs up $34.8 million at the box office for a No. 1 debut

Emerald Fennell's bold reimagining of"Wuthering Heights"brought crowds of women to movie theaters this weekend. The Warner Bros. release topped thebox office chartsand nabbed the title for the year's biggest opening with $34.8 million in ticket sales in its first three days in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. According to PostTrak polling, an estimated 76% of those ticket buyers were women. By the end of Monday'sPresidents Day holiday, the total could rise to $40 million from its 3,682 locations.

Film Review- Wuthering Heights

The romantic drama starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as the star-crossed Catherine and Heathcliff, won out over the weekend's other newcomers, including theanimated "GOAT"and theheist thriller "Crime 101.""Wuthering Heights" is also performing even better internationally, where it's expecting to rake in an additional $42 million from 76 territories.

The Warner Bros./MRC production cost a reported $80 million to produce, not accounting for the millions spent on marketing and promotion. If the four-day totals match the estimates, that makes for a strong $82 million global debut. And the film still has several big openings on the horizon, in Japan and Vietnam on Feb. 27, and in China on March 13.

Fennell's version of "Wuthering Heights," which takes many liberties withEmily Brontë'snovel, largely divided critics. It's currently sitting at a mixed 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. While that didn't dissuade audiences from buying tickets, only 51% of the opening weekend audience said that they would "definitely recommend" the film to friends. Moviegoers also gave it a less-than-stellar B CinemaScore.

The mid-February weekend has hosted big superhero movies on occasion, including "Black Panther" and "Deadpool," but a more relevant comparison is"Fifty Shades of Grey"and its two sequels. The first movie opened to over $85 million, the third to $38.6 million.

Advertisement

"GOAT," an animated Sony release produced by basketball star Stephen Curry, landed in second place with an estimated $26 million from 3,863 locations. It's projected to bring in another $6 million on Monday, which would bring its four day total to $32 million — the biggest animated debut since "Elemental" in 2023. It also pulled in $15.6 million internationally, bringing its global total to $47.6 million.

The family-friendly film was the only new opener of the weekend to get an A CinemaScore. Sony Pictures Animation was also behind"KPop Demon Hunters."

"Crime 101" made an estimated $15.1 million in its first three days. Amazon MGM Studios opened the Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo led Los Angeles-set thriller in 3,161 theaters. It's expected to pull in about $17.8 million by the end of Monday, but the movie has a long way to go to even hit its production budget, which reportedly exceeded $90 million. Audiences, who were 56% men, also gave "Crime 101" a B CinemaScore.

Further down the charts was Briarcliff Entertainment's sci-fi comedy"Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die,"starring Sam Rockwell and Haley Lu Richardson. It made an estimated $3.6 million from 1,610 locations.

The Walt Disney Studios also celebrated a milestone this weekend, becoming the first studio to cross $1 billion at the global box office in 2026, driven almost entirely by "Avatar: Fire and Ash," but also helped by the continued success of "Zootopia 2," which remains in the top 10 after twelve weekends in theaters.

byAdministrator

in

February 15, 2026

Powered by women, ‘Wuthering Heights’ digs up $34.8 million at the box office for a No. 1 debut

Emerald Fennell's bold reimagining of"Wuthering Heights"brought crowds of women to movie theaters this wee...

Read More