Brende, who became president of the WEF in 2017, announced his decision in a statement following disclosures from the U.S. Justice Department

International News via Reuters:

The president and CEO of the World Economic Forum, Borge Brende, said he was stepping down on Thursday, a few weeks after the forum launched an independent investigation into his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Brende, who became president of the WEF in 2017, announced his decision in a statement following disclosures from the U.S. Justice Department that showed the Norwegian had three business dinners with Epstein and had also communicated with the disgraced financier via email and text message.

“After careful consideration, I have decided to step down as President and CEO of the World Economic Forum. My time here, spanning 8-1/2 years, has been profoundly rewarding,” Brende said. The statement made no mention of Epstein.

“I am grateful for the incredible collaboration with my colleagues, partners, and constituents, and I believe now is the right moment for the Forum to continue its important work without distractions,” added Brende, a former Norwegian foreign minister.

Brende has said he was unaware of Epstein’s past and criminal activities before first meeting him in 2018, and that he regretted not having investigated him more thoroughly.

Brende’s decision to quit follows a series of revelations relating to Epstein, who in 2008 was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. The revelations have roiled business and political elites, and even the British royal family.

INDEPENDENT REVIEW

In a separate statement, Andre Hoffmann and Larry Fink, co-chairs of the Geneva-based forum that organises the annual Davos summit, said the independent review conducted by outside counsel into Brende’s ties with Epstein had concluded.

The findings stated there were no additional concerns beyond what has been previously disclosed, it added.

The co-chairs said the WEF’s Alois Zwinggi will serve as interim president and CEO, and that the forum’s Board of Trustees will oversee the leadership transition, including a plan to drive a process to identify a permanent successor.

The U.S. Justice Department has released more than 3 million pages of documents relating to Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

His ties to a long list of business and political leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are under close scrutiny.

Overseas, the revelations have prompted criminal investigations of Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York, and other prominent figures.

Reporting by Dave Graham, editing by Thomas Seythal and Alex Richardson

Legal pathways for migration are shrinking, pushing more people into the hands of smugglers, the International Organization for Migration said

International News via Reuters:

Almost 8,000 people died or went missing last year on perilous migration routes such as across the Mediterranean and Horn of Africa, but the real toll is likely far higher as cuts in funding have hit humanitarian access and tracking of deaths, a U.N. agency said.

Legal pathways for migration are shrinking, pushing more people into the hands of smugglers, the International Organization for Migration said, as Europe, the U.S. and other regions ramp up enforcement and invest heavily in deterrence.

“The continued loss of life on migration routes is a global failure we cannot accept as normal,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said in a statement published on Thursday.

“These deaths are not inevitable. When safe pathways are out of reach, people are forced into dangerous journeys and into the hands of smugglers and traffickers. We must act now to expand safe and regular routes and ensure people in need can be protected, regardless of their status.”

Although deaths along migration routes fell to 7,667 in 2025 from nearly 9,200 in 2024 as fewer people attempted dangerous irregular journeys — particularly across the Americas — the decline reflects shrinking access to information and funding shortfalls that have hampered efforts to track fatalities, the IOM said.

The Geneva‑based organisation is among several aid groups hit by major U.S. funding cuts, forcing it to scale back or close programmes in ways it says will severely impact migrants.

Sea routes remained among the most lethal journeys, with at least 2,108 people dead or missing in the Mediterranean last year and 1,047 on the Atlantic route to Spain’s Canary Islands, the agency said.

Some 3,000 migrant deaths were recorded in Asia, more than half of them Afghans, and 922 died crossing the Horn of Africa from Yemen to the Gulf States, in a sharp increase on the previous year. Almost all of them were Ethiopians, many of whom died in three mass shipwrecks.

The trend has continued into 2026, with migrant deaths in the Mediterranean reaching 606 by February 24, the IOM added.

Reporting by Amina Ismail; Editing by Alexandra Hudson

The Swiss private bank’s board of directors “has organized itself to independently monitor the situation, in addition to the work and analysis carried out by management,” the report said

International News via Reuters:

Edmond de Rothschild Group will “monitor the situation” after CEO Ariane de Rothschild’s links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were revealed in documents made public by the U.S Department of Justice, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing a statement from the bank.

The Swiss private bank’s board of directors “has organized itself to independently monitor the situation, in addition to the work and analysis carried out by management,” the report said.

The bank’s board has taken the “necessary measures to protect the interests of its customers, employees, and shareholders,” Bloomberg News added.

Edmond de Rothschild did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Reporting by Fabiola Arámburo in Mexico City, Editing by Franklin Paul

Flooding and landslides displaced around 3,600 people in the cities of Juiz de Fora and Uba, about 110 km (68 miles) apart, while 27 people remain missing, the fire department added

International News via Reuters:

The death toll from the heavy rains in Brazil’s southeastern state of Minas Gerais has risen to 40, according to figures released by the state fire department on Wednesday.

Flooding and landslides displaced around 3,600 people in the cities of Juiz de Fora and Uba, about 110 km (68 miles) apart, while 27 people remain missing, the fire department added. 

Juiz de Fora resident Ricardo Dutra was comforted by relatives and friends on Wednesday during the funeral of his 11-year-old son Bernardo Lopes Dutra, while worrying about the condition of his daughter and wife, both hospitalized.  

“I’m trying to pick up the pieces,” he said.

FEELING OF POWERLESSNESS 

As the rains eased on Tuesday evening, authorities and volunteers worked to assist residents who lost their homes and loved ones in the flooding. 

Juiz de Fora Mayor Margarida Salomao urged people living in high-risk areas to leave and seek help at shelters set up by the city government, which is still in a state of calamity.

Brazil’s federal government has sped up relief and humanitarian aid to the region, sending health agents and national defense professionals, according to a statement.

“No matter how hard you try, at some point you feel powerless. You witness a situation like this – people trapped in the rubble – and there is nothing more you can do, your contribution has a limit,” said Nalvan Luiz, a friend of Bernardo Dutra, at the funeral.

Much of Brazil enters the peak of its rainy season during summer, from December to March, bringing frequent intense downpours, thunderstorms, flooding and mudslides.

The Juiz de Fora city hall said this has been the rainiest February in the city’s history, with rainfall already more than double the amount expected for the month.

Reporting by Isabel Teles in Sao Paulo and Sergio Queiroz in Juiz de Fora; Editing by Aurora Ellis