Nine backcountry skiers are missing following an avalanche in California’s Lake Tahoe region, authorities say.

Six others have been rescued after they became stranded, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said.

The avalanche was reported about 11:30 PST (19:30 GMT) in the Castle Peak area near the town of Truckee, according to officials. Weather conditions remain dangerous, with a high chance of further avalanches. 

“Highly skilled rescue ski teams” have deployed from two nearby ski resorts, the sheriff said. The six known survivors have been “directed to shelter in place as best they can in the conditions,” the sheriff added.

Officials initially reported that a group of 16 people in total – four guides and 12 clients – were involved, though that number was later lowered to 15.

“The six initially reported skiers who survived the avalanche have been successfully rescued this evening,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook late on Tuesday night. Two of the six rescued skiers were taken to hospital, it said.

Experts from the nearby Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and the Alder Creek Adventure Center are also attempting to reach the site.

An earlier statement posted by the sheriff’s office said 46 emergency responders had joined the rescue efforts.

The Sierra Avalanche Center wrote in a forecast: “Large avalanches are expected to occur [on] Tuesday, Tuesday night, and into at least early Wednesday morning across backcountry terrain.”

The avalanche centre listed the danger rating as “high” – a four out of five on the rating scale. 

“Travel in, near, or below avalanche terrain is not recommended today. A widespread natural avalanche cycle is expected over the next 24 hours,” the centre said. “Large avalanches may run through treed areas.”

By Anthony Solly

Talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US aimed at ending Moscow’s war in Ukraine have concluded without a breakthrough. 

The trilateral meetings, held in Geneva, went on late on Tuesday but only lasted two hours on Wednesday. 

Although US envoy Steve Witkoff had expressed optimism over the talks, both the chief Russian negotiator and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky indicated they had been “difficult”.

Some progress was made on “military issues”, including the location of the front line and ceasefire monitoring, according to a Ukrainian diplomatic source.

But an agreement on the issue of territory – without which no ceasefire can be envisaged – remains elusive, with Moscow and Kyiv’s positions still far apart.

Russia has not budged in its demand for full control of the eastern Donbas region – made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions – which is a non-starter for Ukraine.

While conceding talks were challenging, Kremlin negotiator Vladimir Medinsky added that they had been “businesslike” and said another meeting would take place “soon”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also described the negotiations as “not easy” due to the difference in the two sides’ positions. 

Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov cut a less downbeat tone, saying the discussions had been “substantive and intensive” and that while there had been progress, no details could be disclosed “at this stage”.

“This is complex work that requires alignment among all parties and sufficient time,” Umerov said.

Shortly before the end of the talks was announced, Zelensky accused Russia of “trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage”.

The Russian and Ukrainian delegations last met in US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi in January, which led to the first prisoner exchange in several months. On Wednesday, Zelensky indicated that another swap might be forthcoming. 

US President Donald Trump, who spearheaded diplomatic efforts to end the war, has been signalling impatience with the deadlock between the two sides. 

On Monday, he said Ukraine had “better come to the table, fast” – a sentiment Zelensky has since rejected, saying it was “not fair” that his country should be the one asked to compromise.

Four years on from the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, substantial distance still exists between Moscow’s demands and what Kyiv might consider a “just peace”.

Kyiv has long rejected Russia’s demand for the eastern Donbas, which would mean relinquishing Ukrainian sovereign territory, including several heavily fortified cities and a long defensive line in the region of Donetsk. 

Many Ukrainians believe giving that territory up would leave the country vulnerable to another Russian invasion. Zelensky himself has drawn parallels with the 1938 Munich Agreement, when European powers let Hitler annex the Czech territory of Sudetenland.

On Tuesday, Zelensky told US media outlet Axios that any plan to hand over the Donbas would be rejected by Ukrainians if it were put to a referendum. 

The Ukrainian president is also working to ensure that security guarantees to deter Russia from attacking again are provided by Kyiv’s western allies.

By Anthony Solly

Pope Leo XIV has declined the United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the newly constituted “Board of Peace” citing “a number of concerns” about the initiative.

The head of the Catholic Church insisted that the United Nations (U.N.) should solve global crises.

Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said: “For us there are … some critical issues that should be resolved,” adding, “One of the points we have insisted on is that it should be the UN, above all, that manages the crisis at the international level.”

The Pope’s refusal comes just days before the scheduled inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace to discuss the reconstruction efforts in the war-torn Gaza region. The board is set to meet on Thursday, February 19, 2026.

Pope Leo received the invitation to join the board in January. Cardinal Parolin, at that time, said that the Vatican was looking into it. He said, “The Vatican will not participate financially as we are not in a position to do so.”

However, the Pope has now formally declined the invitation.

U.S. President Trump has invited several world leaders to join the Board of Peace, including Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Iran and Russia are scheduled to conduct joint naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean on Thursday, February 19, 2026.

Hosted by the Iranian Navy’s First Naval District in Bandar Abbas, the drills aim to strengthen maritime security and deepen bilateral relations.

Primary Objectives include enhancing sustainable maritime interactions, coordinating actions against maritime terrorism, and protecting commercial vessels and oil tankers.

The exercises follow a military drill launched by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Strait of Hormuz on February 16, 2026, amid heightened regional tensions and a significant US naval deployment.

The maneuvers coincide with indirect nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington in Geneva, moderated by Oman, which concluded a second round on February 17, 2026.

This drill is part of a larger pattern of maritime alignment; a broader trilateral exercise involving China, known as “Maritime Security Belt 2026,” was also reported to be taking place in the region around this time.

By Anthony Solly