5 Big News Stories Overnight - Wednesday, February 25, 2026

China - Iran: China to send Iran aircraft carrier-killing missiles

Telegraph reports:

Iran is close to buying a supersonic missile from China that could destroy American aircraft carriers.

Officials from the Islamic Republic are in advanced negotiations with Beijing to purchase the CM-302 cruise weapon, which is designed to damage warships, according to Reuters.

The news agency cited six sources as saying that negotiations, which began two years ago, sped up after the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last June.

The devices are not believed to have ever been used in combat.

However, according to their manufacturer, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, they can travel at up to four times the speed of sound, carrying a quarter of a ton of explosives and can conduct zigzagging evasive manoeuvres in the final phase of flight to confuse ships’ defences.

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Requiring Banks to Collect Citizenship Information

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The Trump administration is weighing a possible executive order or other action that would require banks to collect citizenship information from customers, a new front in the administration’s crackdown on immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, according to people familiar with the matter.

The action, which is primarily under review by the Treasury Department, could ultimately task banks with asking for an unprecedented new category of documents, such as a passports, from both new and existing customers who want to maintain a bank account in the U.S., the people said.

France: From Prison to Paris: Ambassador Charles Kushner at the Centre of a Franco-American rift

France 24 reports:

France was rocked in mid-February by the beating death of 23‑year‑old Quentin Deranque during clashes between far‑right and far‑left activists in Lyon. The incident quickly became a political lightning rod for the far right. A statement by the US State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau – reposted by the US embassy in Paris – suggested that “violent radical leftism is on the rise” and warned of threats to public safety.

France denounced the message, then summoned the ambassador.

Kushner did not comply. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot later described his refusal to appear as a breach of diplomatic protocol and a “surprise”, warning that it would affect Kushner’s ability to carry out his mission in France. 

Middle East: Israel Responsible for Majority of Journalists’ Killings in 2025: CPJ

CPI announced:

More journalists and media workers were killed in 2025 than in any other year since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began collecting data more than three decades ago.

This is the second consecutive year-on-year record for press deaths.

Israel was responsible for two-thirds of all press killings in both 2025 and 2024.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has committed more targeted killings of journalists than any other government’s military since CPJ began documentation in 1992.

Drone killings of press members are on the rise: surging from two in 2023 — the first year CPJ documented such killings — to 39 in 2025.

At least 104 of the 129 journalists and media workers were killed amid conflicts in 2025. While the number of journalists killed in Ukraine and Sudan increased, the majority were Palestinians killed by Israel.

Very few transparent investigations have been held into the cases of targeted killings documented by CPJ in 2025, and no one has been held accountable in any of these cases.

U.S.: Trump Claims Host of Successes and Attacks Old Foes

The Guardian reports:

Donald Trump proclaimed his first year in office a success at the State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, even as his presidency is dogged by low public approval ratings before November’s midterm elections in which voters could hand control of Congress back to his Democratic opponents.

The annual address to a joint session of Congress came after months of turmoil for the Republican president, including a crackdown on immigrant communities in Minneapolis that resulted in the deaths of two US citizens, and faltering progress on his campaign promise of lowering the cost of living.

Despite Democrats walking out, holding signs, and verbally clashing in the chamber, Trump maintained a triumphant tone in his speech, arguing that he had rebuilt a country ruined by Joe Biden. Speaking for just under two hours, his speech was the longest State of the Union ever delivered, and saw Trump repeatedly bring out surprise guests to serve as living embodiments of what he saw as the country’s greatness.