International News from Thursday, February 12th, 2026

US messenger app WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, has been completely blocked in Russia for failing to comply with local law, the Kremlin said on Thursday, suggesting Russians turn to a state-backed "national messenger" instead.

Russia pounded Ukraine with drones and ballistic missiles overnight on Thursday, further battering its energy system and leaving tens of thousands in the capital Kyiv and the cities of Dnipro and Odesa without heat, power and water, officials said.

Bangladeshis lined up outside polling booths on Thursday as voting began in a pivotal election for the country after the 2024 ouster of long‑time premier Sheikh Hasina in a Gen Z‑driven uprising.

The suspect in a deadly school shooting in western Canada has been identified as an 18-year-old woman with mental health issues who killed her mother and stepbrother before attacking her former school.

A teacher has died on Thursday in southern Thailand's Hat Yai district after a gunman opened fire at a school where she worked at, the provincial administration said on social media.

Israel will join US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" initiative, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday during his visit to Washington where he met Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.