Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office amid Epstein files fallout
Lord Peter Mandelson leaving his home in Wiltshire. Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Lord Peter Mandelson has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, police said Monday.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police issued a statement, saying, “Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday and has been taken to a London police station for interview. This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas.”
Mandelson is a former U.K. ambassador to the United States.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Loaded cargo containers at the Torkham Border Terminal, along with vehicles carrying migrants bound for Afghanistan, are forced to turn back toward the Pak-Afghan Highway on the second day of clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan at the Torkham crossing in Pakistan on February 27, 2026. (Hijrat Ali/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Tensions remain high as Pakistan and Afghanistan exchange airstrikes over the last 24 hours with Pakistan’s defense minister calling it “open war.”
“Any further provocations by the Taliban regime, or attempts by any terrorist group to undermine the security and welfare of the people of Pakistan, will be met with a measured, decisive and befitting response,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Friday.
Casualties have been reported on both sides, with each side claiming larger enemy losses.
Pakistan claims the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan is providing support for terror groups that have carried out attacks inside Pakistan.
“Pakistan’s actions were undertaken in exercise of its right to self-defense and to ensure the safety and security of its citizens, as well as that of the wider region and beyond,” the statement said.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said Afghanistan’s soil will not be used against any country and highlighted its fight against ISIS as evidence of its commitment to regional security.
Mujahid described Pakistan’s conflict with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as an internal issue that predates the current Afghan government, arguing it is unreasonable to blame Afghanistan for a long-running domestic conflict.
Despite the tensions, Mujahid said the Islamic Emirate prefers resolving disputes through dialogue and understanding, emphasizing that its actions have been in self-defense and that it remains open to peaceful negotiations.
ABC News’ Habibullah Khan and Aleen Agha contributed to this report.
Volodymyr Zelensky President of Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron President of France and Keir Starmer Prime Minister of Great Britain sign a Declaration of Intent to deploy forces to Ukraine in event of a peace deal, during the ‘Coalition Of The Willing’ meeting at Elysee Palace on January 6, 2026 in Paris, France. (Photo b
(PARIS, France) — France, the U.K. and Ukraine signed a “Declaration of Intent” on Tuesday to send their forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia.
British, French and partner forces would be on the ground, establishing “military hubs” across Ukraine, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukraine’s armed forces would use the protective facilities to retain Ukraine’s defensive needs, Starmer said.
Also present at the security summit on Tuesday in Paris were White House envoy Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Merz said in a statement after the meeting that Germany could deploy forces for Ukraine on neighboring NATO territory after a ceasefire was established, but added, “I want to say for myself and also for the Federal Government that we are not fundamentally ruling anything out.”
During a press conference following the talks, Kushner said the agreement was a “real milestone,” but warned that peace is some way off.
“This does not mean we will make peace,” he said. “But peace would not be possible without the progress we made today.”
The outcome of the talks suggests the U.S. and Europe are more aligned on security guarantees and how a ceasefire should be policed after any deal. But Russia has given no indication it would be prepared to accept a deal that includes such guarantees.
The pledge by France and the U.K. to deploy troops into Ukraine could further complicate negotiations. The Kremlin has repeatedly ruled out any presence of NATO countries’ forces in Ukraine after any deal.
The Kremlin has repeatedly ruled out any presence of NATO countries’ forces in Ukraine after any deal.
During the press conference, Starmer also hailed the progress on security guarantees but noted that “the hardest yards are still ahead.”
This is all about building the practical foundations on which peace would rest,” he said.
“But we can only get to a peace deal if Putin is ready to make compromises. And so, we have to be frank. For all Russia’s words, Putin is not showing that he is ready for peace.”
Zelenskyy released a statement on the agreement, saying, “We understand which country is ready for what among all members of the Coalition of the Willing.”
“I would like to thank every leader and every state that truly wishes to be part of a peaceful solution,” he added.
Mourners gather at Behesht Zahra Cemetery to honor protesters killed during anti-government demonstrations, on February 18, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. . (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Iranian students from several universities across the country continued protesting on Monday against the Islamic Republic’s regime for the third-consecutive day since Saturday, when schools reopened for the second semester.
Social media videos verified by ABC News show hundreds of students in Tehran, Mashhad and Isfahan shouting slogans, including “Death to Khamenei” and “Woman, Life, Freedom/Iranian Republic,” targeting Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, and pushing for a regime change.
The protests appear to be the most significant to spread since the Iranian regime’s massacre across the country, in which more than 7,000 people were killed, as the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a U.S.-based group, reported earlier this month. ABC News cannot independently verify the group’s figures.
Groups of students also chanted “Pahlavi will return,” calling for the return of Reza Pahlavi, the U.S.-based son of the former monarch of the country. Pahlavi’s call for protest in early January, 10 days after the unrest started in Tehran, escalated the nationwide protests just before the regime’s crackdown on the protesters.
Pictures of the victims of the January protests have been held by protesting students in universities. A verified video shows students gathering in the Foreign Languages department at the University of Tehran, with some holding pictures of Raha Bohlouli, a student of Italian language and literature at this school who was said to have been killed during the protests.
In a protest at Tehran’s Amirkabir University on Sunday, protesting students were confronted by pro-regime Basiji students who tried to disrupt their gathering.
Following the protests, some students of Tehran’s renown Sharif University who participated received a text message on Monday stating that they have been banned from getting into the university, the semi-official Asriran News Agency reported.
The current round of students’ protests appeared to be gathering momentum as families of thousands of the victims of January’s massacres have recently been holding 40th-day ceremonies in remembrance of their loved ones.
In Iran, one of the significant commemoration ceremonies after someone’s death is held on the 40th day after the burial, when loved ones gather to reflect on the memories of the departed. These ceremonies have traditionally been seen as potential hubs for more protests over the past decades, as the pain and loss of the families have the potential to stir anger and a demand for justice for those killed by the regime.
Dance of defiance
With the broad scope of the Islamic Republic regime’s massacre across the country, thousands of families are still mourning the loss of their loved ones. Iranian cemeteries, holy shrines and mosques — which normally are venues for the 40th-day ceremonies — have turned into scenes of the most extraordinary ways of mourning in the country, as victims’ families have been dancing to mourn as a sign of defiance.
Hundreds of videos circulating online from these ceremonies show parents, children, friends, wives and husbands of the victims dancing to upbeat music playing at mosques and holy shrine sites as a dramatic representation of their grief.
This is seen by many Iran watchers as an act of defiance, transforming a national collective pain into a form of resistance.
Videos show mourning women — even those from traditional and religious backgrounds — dancing in black, many of them without wearing a headscarf.
This comes as mosques and holy shrines have been important bases for the regime to spread the hardcore ideology its leaders stand by, which bans any kind of dance and music and scorns them as sins — let alone tolerating them in public or at holy sites.
The scenes have been witnessed at young victims’ commemoration ceremonies to highlight the happy life they deserved but were deprived of.
“No tears or words can express my pain,” a family member of one of the victims killed during protests in Tehran told ABC News on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“I always dreamt of dancing at his wedding,” she said. “I felt this burning pain in my chest as I was dancing by the side of his grave. My dream was taken away by a bullet.”
The remerging of the protests comes as the United States and Islamic Republic leaders are preparing for another round of talks in Geneva on Thursday to discuss a possible nuclear deal.
