Reuters World News - Lagarde, avalanche, nuclear and peace talk

Episode Date: February 18, 2026

An avalanche in California has left up to 10 skiers missing and six stranded. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is reportedly planning to leave her job early to allow French President Emmanuel Macron to help find a successor. U.S. envoys juggle near-simultaneous crisis talks on Iran and Ukraine in Geneva. Plus, actor Shia LaBeouf is arrested at Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Find our recommended read ⁠here⁠. Listen to On Assignment here. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Visit the ⁠Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement⁠ for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit ⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices⁠ to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. It's Wednesday, February 18th. Today, as many as 10 skiers are missing in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains as fears grow of one of the deadliest avalanches in US history. New details emerge of an alleged Chinese nuclear test, whereas there are signs of progress in high-stakes negotiations between the US and Iran. And Zuckerberg takes the stand in a trial alleging social media harms to children. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week.

We begin near Lake Tahoe in California and the aftermath of a huge avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains. As many as 10 skiers are missing. And at least six others were stranded as heavy snow and heavy snow. and white-out conditions hampered rescuers trying to reach them overnight. Authorities fear if they don't find them missing, this could be one of the deadliest avalanches in US history. The avalanche swept the castle peak area of Truckee at about 11.30 in the morning, engulfing the group, which included four ski guides.

The known survivors are awaiting rescue at the time of recording this podcast. Authorities are warning there could be further avalancheers, launches in two this morning. For the latest on this story as it is developing, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. European Central Bank president Christine Legarde plans to leave her job before next year's French presidential election to allow President Emmanuel McConnell-McCon to have input into picking her successor. That's according to the FT. Here's Mike Dolan from our sister podcast MorningBid on what it means. Even though these stories have circulated for over six months now, and the ECB says that no decision has been made,

inevitably will focus the markets on who comes next at the ECB. And it's all changed the top two central banks this year, if that were to be the case. Who comes next? Possibly a German candidate for the first time, possibly another compromise candidate, how it affects monetary policy is very much in the frame. So markets relatively calm about the story, but it begins. a process that they will focus on for months ahead. Thanks, Mike. Don't forget you can check out MorningBid wherever you get your podcasts.

American tourists are no longer traveling to Europe as much as they used to, but Chinese and Indian tourists are filling the gap. A new survey from the European Travel Commission shows US traveller growth slowing in the EU, driven by economic concerns and geopolitical instability. It's the first sign of a slowdown in the post-pandemic boom in American travel to Europe. Chinese and Indian tourists, however, are making up the difference. Chinese tourists are expected to jump 28%, with Indian visitors up 9%. Actor Shia Laboff has been arrested in New Orleans, after police say he assaulted two men during Mardi Gras.

Officers were called to a business address just before 1am, where the 39-year-old Transformers star was allegedly causing a disturbance and growing increasingly aggressive. Police say he punched a staff member multiple times, left, then returned and attacked the same man again before punching another person in the nose. LeBuff was charged with two counts of simple battery,

the latest in a string of legal troubles for the actor who previously pleaded guilty to obstruction. A senior US official has revealed, new details of what he claims was an underground nuclear test blast conducted by China. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Yao says a remote seismic station in Kazakhstan recorded the blast in Western China back in 2020. Yao, a former intelligence analyst and defense official, who holds a doctorate in nuclear engineering, says the blast could not have been an earthquake.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington called the out of the election. allegation entirely unfounded. Beijing accused the US of trying to fabricate excuses for resuming US nuclear testing. US President Donald Trump is pressing China to join negotiations to replace a nuclear arms limitation agreement, which expired on February 5th. The treaty's expiration has fueled concerns that the world is on the verge of an accelerated nuclear arms race. Meanwhile, the US and Iran are continuing to flex their military might, even as they say some progress has been made in talks to try and reach a nuclear deal.

The two sides are going into day two of indirect talks in Geneva. And as Don Duffy explains, day one is shown there's a long way to go. Iran's foreign minister said that they had reached an understanding on, quote, guiding principles. Vice President J.D. Vance, who was not in the talks, but briefed on them,

came out and said that in some ways talks had gone well and pointed out that both sides had agreed to meet again. The main sign of progress, Don says, is the fact that the talks didn't melt down completely. That could be because of the threats both sides are making. I think the threats are quite serious. I mean, the U.S. has put in place a really significant military force in the region. You've got an aircraft carrier there, destroyers, air defense systems, many military aircraft are continuing to flow to the region.

On the Iranian side, they closed a part of the Strait of Formuz today, which was a clear signal that this is something that they could do if a bigger conflict breaks out. I think that from the sources that we talk to, the military on the U.S. side is pretty much ready to go if Trump were to order an attack. The two envoys representing the U.S. in the Iran talks then did something that has left many foreign policy analysts scratching their heads. They headed across town to another set of talks this time to try and end the war in Ukraine. It's pretty remarkable. So you have Jared Kushner and Steve Whitkoff. These are the two lead negotiators for the United States on the two most important diplomatic crises that the U.S. faces negotiating these things at like literally the same time. And so basically in the morning they talked about Iran. And then I think they got in their cars, traveled across town to start their discussions about Ukraine. And it's raised a lot of questions from experts about just how is it possible to effectively negotiate these two very complex issues at the same time. It remains to be seen whether any progress is going to be made here.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes the stand today in a trial testing whether big tech platforms can be held liable for addictive features in their app design. The case brought by a 20-year-old woman alleges the company. These behind Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, deliberately designed products they knew would become addictive to children. All have denied the allegations. Our reporter Jodi Godoy covers tech policy and will be in the courtroom. While this is the first time that Zuckerberg is going to testify in court about these issues, we actually have a view into what he's going to say because he's testified before in Congress

about how social media affects children and affects teen users. And what he's said there is that the science doesn't necessarily back up harms to teens on social media. And he's also pointed to tools that the company has put in place. They say help teens have a safer experience online. What's different here, though, is that meta can be held liable by this court if they decide that the company's products harmed this woman when she was a child. And the jury can award damages. Social media platforms globally are facing pressure to limit access for teen users. But Jody says not only is Mehta responding with new safety tools, it's also on somewhat of a PR blitz.

Meta has done advertising, they've spun up programs with PTA groups, and then of course lobbying in Congress and in states to try to push back on upcoming laws. Now if you're keen to go deeper on this, take a listen to our on-a-a-a-list. assignment episode all about the world-first social media ban for teens that's now a few months in in Australia. I spoke to the journalists covering it from all angles and heard from parents and, of course, from the teens themselves. There's a link to that in the show notes. Before we go, a quick correction. In yesterday's podcast, we said Barack Obama was elected in 2018 rather than 2008. Sorry about that. And for today's recommended read,

how Canadian troops are training in the Arctic as tensions rise over the region. Follow the link in the pod description to see members of Canada's military enduring temperatures below minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit for the exercises. And for more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app.

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