Friday morning news: February 20, 2026

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Board of Peace: headlines » In Washington:

SOUND: [Trump with gavel]

President Trump gaveled to a close the first session of his newly inaugurated Board of Peace.

TRUMP: This is the most prestigious board ever put together. You know, I've seen some great corporate boards, I've seen some great boards, period. It's peanuts compared to this board.

The Board consists of more than two-dozen members, including countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, and Israel, as well as several nations taking part as observers.

The board's focus right now is the reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip as the ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terror group moves into Phase 2.

Indonesia's president, Prabowo Subianto, says a prosperous Gaza is a goal worth fighting for:

SUBIANTO: We will achieve our dream of peace in Palestine. Peace, a lasting and peaceful solution for the Palestinian problem and in Gaza.

Member nations pledged to donate $7 billion dollars to help rebuild and stabilize the Gaza Strip.

Board of Peace: Stabilization Force » And members of the Board of Peace also gave updates on which boots will be on the ground to help stabilize the situation in Gaza. WORLD’s Harrison Watters has more.

HARRISON WATTERS: U.S. Major General Jasper Jeffers III told attendees that the International Stabilization Force under his command is assembling 20,000 troops to be stationed in Gaza.

JEFFERS: The first five countries have committed troops to serve in the ISF: Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Albania.

Jeffers said the troops from these Muslim-majority nations will be led by a deputy commander from Indonesia.

President Trump has repeatedly said American boots will not be on the ground in Gaza. But it’s unclear whether the U.S. will send in military commanders to lead the force.

The Board of Peace has also begun reviewing applications for a Gazan police force. The plan is for Egypt and Jordan to train 12,000 Palestinians to work alongside the Stabilization Force to demilitarize Gaza.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Harrison Watters.

Trump on Iran » Iran has held annual military drills with Russia, as a second American aircraft carrier drew closer to the Middle East.

Both the United States and Iran are signaling that they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran’s nuclear program fizzle out.

President Trump said Thursday he believes 10 to 15 days is enough time for Iran to reach an agreement. But he conceded that striking a good deal with Tehran is not easy.

TRUMP:  It's proven to be over the years not easy to make a meaningful deal with [them], and we have to make a meaningful deal, otherwise bad things happen.

Iran has held out on some key demands and has refused thus far to even discuss wider U.S. and Israeli demands that it scale back its missile program and sever ties to terrorists and other armed groups.

Indirect talks held in recent weeks made little visible progress.

Former prince Andrew arrested » The former Prince Andrew was arrested and held for hours by British police on suspicion of possible crimes related to his ties with Jeffrey Epstein.

Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright stated—quote “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office’’

It was the first time in nearly four centuries that a senior British royal was placed under arrest.

Graham Smith is lead campaigner with the British anti-monarchy group ‘Republic’:

SMITH: I mean it's hard too, you don't want to prejudge these things, and he says he's innocent, but you know, there's so much out there that, you know, unless it's a very thorough investigation, people are going to think that it's you know, a bit of a whitewash. So it really needs to be a proper job done. And that puts him in quite a lot of hot water.

King Charles III took the unusual step of issuing a statement on the arrest of his brother, saying the law must take its course.

The former prince was released about 11 hours after his arrest.

White House construction » A U.S. arts review panel has approved a design for a new, larger White House ballroom on the site of the old East Wing to host state dinners and formal events.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts voted in favor this week. The project still needs approval though from another federal agency before moving forward.

Critics have voiced concerns about the scale and cost. But President Trump says the ballroom is being funded with private donations, not taxpayer dollars

A lawsuit is pending to block the project.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: John Stonestreet is here for Culture Friday. Plus, the African military chaplains called into battle.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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