The Trump family company has filed to trademark the use of the president's name on airports but says it doesn't plan on charging a fee - at least for a proposed renaming of one near his Florida home. Applications filed by the Trump Organization with the federal trademark office are seeking exclusive rights to use the president's name on airports and dozens of related things found there, from buses shuttling passengers to umbrellas and travel bags to flight suits. The filings come amid debate in Florida over a state bill to name the Palm Beach airport after Trump and a dispute over funding of a tunnel between New York and New Jersey that is tied up with proposals that both it and Dulles International Airport in Virginia bear his name. The Trump Organization said that the applications were triggered by the Florida bill and that it didn't seek any profit - only protection against "bad actors" given that the Trump name is the "most infringed trademark in the world." "To be clear, the President and his family will not receive any royalty, licensing fee, or financial consideration whatsoever from the proposed airport renaming," the company said it in a statement, referring to what is now called the Palm Beach International Airport near Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. The company didn't respond when asked if it would charge royalties for the use of the name at other airports in the future, or on merchandise listed for protection in the filings. Josh Gerben, a trademark lawyer who uncovered the filings over the weekend, said the applications were the first of their kind he's ever seen. "While presidents and public officials have had landmarks named in their honor, a sitting president's private company has never in the history of the United States sought trademark rights in advance of such naming," Gerben wrote on his blog. "These are trademark filings that are completely unprecedented." Another break with the past: Presidents usually have to wait for years after they've left office to get an airport named after them - or die. Bill Clinton had to wait 11 years, Ronald Reagan nine. For Gerald Ford it took 22 years. JFK was quickest - just one month after his assassination. If Trump gets his airport, it will join a long line of organizations, buildings and other public things renamed for him in recent months including the Kennedy Center performing arts venue, a road outside Mar-a-Lago dubbed the President Donald J. Trump Boulevard and a yet-to-built new class of battleships. The airport trademark applications filed by a family company unit called DTTM Operations with the US Patent and Trademark Office are for the use of three names - President Donald J. Trump International Airport, Donald J. Trump International Airport and DJT. The Trump company's claim that it is the most infringed trademark in the world could not be quickly confirmed. Gucci has faced tens of thousands of copycat items since the early 1970s when Trump was starting out in Manhattan real estate. Prada has been active suing companies for years, and Rolex battles fake watches by the millions. The family has been on a branding spree in the past year, putting the Trump name on towers, golf resorts and residential developments in Dubai, India, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. The company has also been selling Trump branded electric guitars, bibles and sneakers, ventures that also fall under the DTTM unit. In response to criticism that he and his family are profiting off the presidency, Trump has said that his business is held in trust by his sons and that he has no day-to-day involvement in the company. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
18 February,2026 02:59 PM IST | New York | APYouTube said late Tuesday it had fixed a widespread outage that hit hundreds of thousands of users around the world. Tracking website Downdetector said there were more than 300,000 reports of problems accessing the video-sharing site, though the reports seemed to be diminishing after a peak at about 0100 GMT. During the worst of the outage, visitors to the website's homepage were greeted with an invitation to come back later. YouTube was back up and running when AFP journalists accessed the site at 0400 GMT. "The issue with our recommendations system has been resolved and all of our platforms (YouTube.com, the YouTube app, YouTube Music, Kids, and TV) are back to normal!" YouTube posted on a help page. The platform said earlier that "an issue with our recommendations system prevented videos from appearing across surfaces on YouTube (including the homepage, the YouTube app, YouTube Music and YouTube Kids)." Google-owned YouTube is the world's largest video sharing platform, with more than 2.5 billion users actively using the site each month. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
18 February,2026 02:58 PM IST | Washington | AFPAn immigration judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian graduate student who led protests at Columbia University against Israel and the war in Gaza. In a ruling made public Tuesday, the judge, Nina Froes, said she had terminated the case because of a procedural misstep by government attorneys, who failed to properly certify an official document they intended to use as evidence. The Trump administration may appeal the decision. But the ruling marked the latest setback for the federal government's sweeping effort to expel pro-Palestinian campus activists and others who expressed criticism of Israel. Last month, a separate immigration blocked the government's attempt to deport a Tufts University graduate student, Rumeysa Ozturk, over an op-ed criticizing the school's response to the war in Gaza. Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident of the US for the last decade, was born in a refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He was arrested by immigration agents during a citizenship interview last April, but he was released two weeks later by a federal judge. In the months since, the government has continued its effort to deport him, citing a memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio arguing noncitizens can be expelled from the country if their presence may undermine US foreign policy interests. Government attorneys submitted a photocopy of the document to the immigration judge, but they failed to certify it as required under federal law, the judge wrote. "I am grateful to the court for honouring the rule of law and holding the line against the government's attempts to trample on due process," Mahdawi said in a statement released by his attorneys. "This decision is an important step towards upholding what fear tried to destroy: the right to speak for peace and justice." Mahdawi has also mounted a separate case federal district court arguing that he was unlawfully detained. That case remains ongoing, his lawyers said. Inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security were not immediately returned. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 February,2026 01:41 PM IST | New York | APThe United States announced Tuesday a first tranche of investments by Japan out of a colossal USD 550 billion promised by Tokyo in its trade deal with President Donald Trump. The commitments of USD 36 billion for three infrastructure projects came as Japan comes under pressure to deliver on its pledges made in 2025 in return for lower US trade tariffs. "Japan is now officially, and financially, moving forward with the FIRST set of Investments under its USD 550 BILLION Dollar Commitment to invest in the United States of America," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "The scale of these projects are so large, and could not be done without one very special word, TARIFFS," he wrote. The announcement came ahead of a scheduled trip by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to the White House next month following Trump's visit to Japan in October. Takaichi said Wednesday the projects would "strengthen the Japan–US alliance by enabling Japan and the United States to jointly build resilient supply chains in strategically important areas for economic security -- such as critical minerals, energy, and AI/data centers". "We believe these initiatives truly embody the purpose of this Strategic Investment Initiative, namely the promotion of mutual benefit between Japan and the United States, the enhancement of economic security, and the promotion of economic growth," Takaichi said on X. "Going forward, we will continue to work closely together between Japan and the United States to further refine the details of each project and ensure that they can be implemented promptly and smoothly," she added. 'Massive trade win' The projects are a natural gas facility in Ohio, a deep-water oil export facility in the Gulf of Mexico, and a synthetic diamond manufacturing facility. US Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick called the announcements the "MASSIVE AMERICA FIRST TRADE WIN". The natural gas generation facility will be the "largest in history", generating 9.2 gigawatts of power, Lutnick said on X. Takaichi said that it would supply electricity to AI data centers and similar facilities. At full capacity it would be the equivalent of nine nuclear reactors or the power consumed by about 7.4 million homes, Bloomberg News reported. The oil project will generate $20–30 billion annually in US crude exports and "reinforce America's position as the world's leading energy supplier," Lutnick said. The facility making synthetic diamond grit -- where China dominates supplies -- will ensure that the United States is no longer reliant on foreign imports, Lutnick said. "Japan is providing the capital (for all three projects). The infrastructure is being built in the United States," the US commerce secretary added. "The proceeds are structured so Japan earns its return, and America gains strategic assets, expanded industrial capacity, and strengthened energy dominance," he said. 'Rebuild and expand' In July, Tokyo had agreed to invest USD 550 billion through 2029 "to rebuild and expand core American industries", according to the White House. The pledge was made in exchange for reducing threatened US tariffs of 25 percent to 15 percent on Japanese imports. Japanese Trade Minister Ryosei Akazawa has said that only one to two percent of the USD 550 billion would be actual capital. The rest will be made up of bonds and loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and credits with public guarantees. The clock has been ticking ahead of Takaichi's planned White House visit on March 19, and according to media reports, tempers were starting to fray. In January, Trump told South Korea -- meant to invest $350 billion -- that he would raise tariffs because it was "not living up to its Deal". Analysts say that Japanese companies may be wary because of lack of clarity on the administrative and financial procedures and concerns about US labor shortages. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
18 February,2026 12:53 PM IST | Washington | AFPFollowing a month of relentless rain, the village of La Reole was flooded by the Garonne river, south-western France, on Tuesday. The flood alert system in France has been working at a record pace as relentless rain over the past month has saturated soils, the head of the agency said. “For 30 days we have been in orange or red alert somewhere on the national territory,” Lucie Chadourne-Facon, director of Vigicrues, referring to the two highest alert levels. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 February,2026 10:45 AM IST | Paris | AgenciesThe Australian government will not repatriate from Syria a group of 34 women and children with alleged ties to the militant Islamic State group, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday. The women and children from 11 families were supposed to fly from Syria to Australia, but Syrian authorities on Monday turned them back to Roj detention camp because of procedural problems, officials said. Only two groups of Australians have been repatriated from Syrian camps since the fall of the Islamic State group in 2019. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 February,2026 10:41 AM IST | Melbourne | AgenciesHawaii's Klauea, the world's most active volcano, has ignited Episode 42 of its ongoing summit eruption, captivating viewers worldwide through live webcams. The event began at 5:20 am IST on February 16, 2026, within Halemaumau crater in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, marking the latest chapter in eruptions that started on December 23, 2024. Since late 2024, Klauea has unleashed 42 episodic fountaining events, each typically lasting a day or less, separated by recharging pauses like the recent 19-day lull after Episode 41. All activity remains confined to the summit caldera, minimizing threats to communities. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 February,2026 09:24 AM IST | Honolulu | AgenciesThree people, including the suspect, died during a Rhode Island youth hockey game Monday, authorities said. One of the victims in the incident was a young girl, the police said. Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves told reporters that three other victims are hospitalised in critical condition. The suspect, Robert Dorgan, a 56-year-old transgender father, reportedly shot four family members and a family friend before turning the gun on himself. Pic/X/@CaptainMorganTN “It appears to be a family dispute,” she said. Goncalves. The suspect has been named Robert Dorgan, a 56-year-old transgender father, who reportedly shot four family members and a family friend before turning the gun on himself. Dorgan’s wife Rhonda, who was killed in the shooting claimed on divorce documents that her husband displayed ‘narcissistic + personality disorder traits’. A motive for the shooting remained unclear. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 February,2026 09:22 AM IST | Rhode Island | AgenciesBNP leader Tarique Rahman was on Tuesday sworn in as Bangladesh’s new prime minister. He is the first male PM in 35 years. This also marks a new beginning for the country after a nearly 18-month period of political uncertainty and lawlessness under the rule of the interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus. President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office to 60-year-old Rahman at the South Plaza. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 February,2026 09:18 AM IST | Dhaka | AgenciesMicrosoft co-founder Bill Gates' participation in the world's biggest AI summit became a topic of speculation on Tuesday, following conflicting reports. Sources initially stated he would not attend, but a spokesperson for the Gates Foundation quickly contradicted to say he is indeed participating. Gates featured among the tech moguls, industry leaders, policymakers, founders, and technologists participating as speakers on the official website of the AI Impact Summit, underway in the national capital from February 16. On Tuesday morning, his name went missing from the key participants' list. Government sources said Gates will not be attending the Summit, but did not indicate the reason. However, a spokesperson for his foundation in an emailed response to PTI said, "Bill Gates is attending the AI Impact Summit. He will be delivering his keynote as scheduled". He was listed as a keynote speaker on February 19 - the day all the bigwigs will descend at Bharat Mandapam. He was given a 12-minute speaking slot at 1150 hours. Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, who is leading the AI show, did not give a direct reply to reporters at a scheduled press conference when asked about Gates' participation. He, however, gave reasons for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang pulling out of the summit at the last moment. "I forgot (like) many other things, regarding who's attending, who's not attending," he said in response to questions on the participation of Gates. "That's personal choices which people make... I need not comment on that." Government sources in the morning suggested that Gates will not attend the Summit as his name figures in the files relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and may create some discomfort. The key participant list was decided months in advance, while the Epstein file revelations have been made in recent weeks. While Gates has not been accused of wrongdoing by any of Epstein's victims, records released by the US justice department include an allegation by Epstein that Bill Gates caught a sexually transmitted disease. Gates's spokesperson had previously called the claim "absolutely absurd". Late last week, Nvidia said its CEO, Jensen Huang, would not travel to India to attend the Summit. Huang was one of the biggest attractions at the Summit. While the company had not given any reason for the move, some had linked it to the presence of Gates at the event. Asked about his absence, Vaishnaw said, "Jansen reached out to us, and he said that because of something really unavoidable... he was very keen to work through. But he has deputed a very senior executive to join us". He reiterated that some people not attending was their personal choice. "I would not like to comment on it." Nvidia, he said, is also working with some Indian companies. "I cannot share the names at this point in time, for some very large investments in AI. They are also working with some software companies for developing many use cases," he added. Gates arrived in India on Monday. His first stop during the visit was Vijayawada, where he met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan, and senior state government officials. Ministers Nara Lokesh, Vangalapudi Anitha, K Archannaidu, and Y Satya Kumar had welcomed Gates at the Vijayawada international airport on Monday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
17 February,2026 09:42 PM IST | New Delhi | PTIThe US and Iran are holding their second round of talks about Iran's nuclear programme Tuesday in Geneva as Iran said it will close the Strait of Hormuz for several hours as it holds live fire military exercises and the United States ramps up its military forces in the region. As the talks began, Iranian media announced that Iran had fired live missiles toward the Strait of Hormuz, and said it will close the Strait for several hours for "safety and maritime concerns." This is the first time that Iran has closed parts of the Strait, an essential international waterway, since the US began threatening Iran with military action. Iran on Monday announced a maritime military exercise in waterways that are crucial international trade routes through which 20 per cent of the world's oil passes. Iran previously held a live fire drill in the Strait of Hormuz several weeks ago but did not announce closures. The semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said missiles launched inside Iran and along its coast had struck their targets in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state TV reported Tuesday that the negotiations with the US will be indirect and will focus only on Iran's nuclear programme, not domestic policies including its bloody crackdown on protesters last month. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to agree to constrain its nuclear programme. Iran has said it would respond with an attack of its own. Trump has also threatened Iran over its deadly crackdown on recent nationwide protests. The first round of talks February 6 were held in Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, and were indirect. Similarly to the last round of talks, the Iranians appeared to be meeting with Omani mediators separately from the Americans on Tuesday. Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were travelling for the new round of talks. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Budapest, Hungary, said Monday that the US hopes to achieve a deal with Iran, despite the difficulties. "I'm not going to prejudge these talks," Rubio said. "The president always prefers peaceful outcomes and negotiated outcomes to things." Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is leading the talks for Iran, met with the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency Monday in Geneva."I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal," Araghchi wrote on X. "What is not on the table: submission before threats." Talking to reporters Monday night aboard Air Force One on his way to Washington, US President Donald Trump said he planned to be involved in the talks, at least indirectly. "I think they want to make a deal. I don't think they want the consequences of not making a deal," he said. The US is also hosting talks between envoys from Russia and Ukraine in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday, days ahead of the fourth anniversary of the all-out Russian invasion of its neighbour. Iran fires missiles into Strait of Hormuz in drill The semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said missiles launched inside Iran and along its coast had struck their targets in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had announced that the Revolutionary Guard started a drill early Monday morning in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, which are crucial international shipping routes. It is the second time in recent weeks that Iran has held a live fire drill in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stepped up his warnings to the US over its buildup of military forces in the Middle East. "Of course a warship is a dangerous apparatus, but more dangerous than the warship is the weapon that can sink the warship into the depths of the sea," Khamanei said, Iranian state TV reported. He also warned the US that "forcing the result of talks in advance is a wrong and foolish job." Drill comes as US increases military presence Last week, Trump said the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, was being sent from the Caribbean Sea to the Mideast to join other warships and military assets the US has built up in the region. The Ford, whose new deployment was first reported by The New York Times, will join the USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying guided-missile destroyers, which have been in the region for over two weeks. US forces already have shot down an Iranian drone that approached the Lincoln on the same day last week that Iran tried to stop a US-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Gulf Arab nations have warned any attack could spiral into another regional conflict in a Mideast still reeling from the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.The Trump administration is seeking a deal to limit Iran's nuclear programme and ensure it does not develop nuclear weapons. Iran says it is not pursuing weapons and has so far resisted demands that it halt uranium enrichment or hand over its supply of uranium. Iran marks 40 days since deadliest part of protest crackdowns Iran is marking 40 days, the traditional Muslim mourning period, since one of the deadliest days in the crackdown on protests that swept the country last month. Activists say at least 7,015 people have been killed, many in a bloody crackdown overnight between January 8 and 9. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which offered the latest figures, has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists in the country to verify deaths. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.Iran's state news agency said the government would hold a memorial marking 40 days at the Grand Mosalla mosque in Tehran, and blamed the demonstrations on "violent actions by armed groups allegedly directed by foreign intelligence agencies." This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
17 February,2026 09:41 PM IST | Geneva | APADVERTISEMENT
-1771329614415_d.png "Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. File Pic")
-1771335555189_d.png "Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began a series of military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz amid talks. Pic/AFP")