UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations has sounded the alarm over newly released files linked to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, warning that the scale and pattern of abuse outlined in the documents could amount to crimes against humanity. 

Independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council said the allegations point to a deeply entrenched and transnational network that systematically exploited women and girls, and called for a full, impartial investigation.

The experts said crimes outlined in documents released by the US Justice Department were committed against a backdrop of supremacist beliefs, racism, corruption and extreme misogyny.

The crimes, they said, showed a commodification and dehumanisation of women and girls.

“So grave is the scale, nature, systematic character, and transnational reach of these atrocities against women and girls, that a number of them may reasonably meet the legal threshold of crimes against humanity,” the experts said in a statement.

The experts said the allegations contained in the files require an independent, thorough and impartial investigation, and said inquiries should also be launched into how it was possible for such crimes to be committed for so long.

The US Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A law, approved by Congress with broad bipartisan support in November, requires all Epstein-related files to be made public.

The UN experts raised concerns about “serious compliance failures and botched redactions” that exposed sensitive victim information. More than 1,200 victims were identified in the documents that have been released so far.

“The reluctance to fully disclose information or broaden investigations has left many survivors feeling retraumatised and subjected to what they describe as ‘institutional gaslighting,’” the experts said.

The Justice Department’s release of documents has revealed Epstein’s ties to many prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business – both before and after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges, including soliciting an underage girl.

He was found hanged in his jail cell in 2019 after being arrested again on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. His death was ruled a suicide.

WASHINGTON: US public support for President Donald Trump’s immigration policies has fallen to its lowest point since he returned to the White House, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows. The survey suggests he is also losing ground among male voters, a group that strongly backed him in the 2024 election.

Just 38% of respondents in the four-day poll, which closed on Monday, said Trump was doing a good job on immigration, a priority issue for the administration. 

The rating was down from 39% in a January Reuters/Ipsos poll and as high as 50% in the months shortly after Trump returned to power.

Trump campaigned ahead of his re-election in 2024 on a promise to launch the biggest deportation drive in decades and ordered sweeping immigration raids immediately after he returned to office in January 2025. 

Masked agents in tactical gear are now a common sight in America and immigration agents have clashed violently with US protesters and activists.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows support for Trump’s handling of immigration has fallen significantly among men in recent weeks compared to late last year.

Male voters played an outsized role in Trump’s 2024 election victory, and throughout 2025 his immigration approval rating among men stayed close to 50%. But the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll survey showed 41% of men give him a thumbs up on the issue. Among women, Trump’s support on immigration has fallen from around 40% throughout most of 2025 to 35% in the latest survey.

In a rare retreat for Trump, his administration last week said it had agreed to end his hotly protested deportation surge in Minnesota, where immigration agents fatally shot two US citizens.

Trump started his term with his overall approval at 47% but in recent weeks his rating has held at the lowest levels of his presidency, with 38% of respondents in the latest poll approving of his performance, unchanged from a Jan 23-25 poll.

The latest poll, which was conducted online and nationwide, gathered responses from 1,117 US adults and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

“The American president [Donald Trump] repeatedly says that their military is the strongest in the world. The strongest military in the world, however, can sometimes be struck so hard that it cannot even get back on its feet,” Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday while addressing thousands of people from East Azarbaijan Province.

“They keep saying, ‘We have sent an aircraft carrier toward Iran.’ Fine—an aircraft carrier is certainly a dangerous piece of equipment. But more dangerous than the carrier is the weapon capable of sending it to the bottom of the sea,” he added.

Trump’s remarks that Washington has been unable to eliminate the Islamic Republic for the past 47 years is “quite an admission,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

“For 47 years, America has failed to destroy the Islamic Republic,” he said, before addressing Trump and adding, “I say this: you will not be able to do so in the future either.”

The warning comes as US President Donald Trump has deployed military forces to the region, threatening to launch attacks on Iran.

US officials said on February 12 that the Pentagon was sending an additional aircraft carrier to the region, adding thousands more troops along with fighter aircraft and guided-missile destroyers.

“In case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it,” Trump said on Friday, referring to USS Gerald R. Ford.

The military buildup comes as Iran and the US are holding indirect talks about the nuclear issue, months after the US-Israeli aggression on Iranian soil and attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities.

Observers say Trump is using the military threat as leverage in talks to gain concessions from Tehran. However, Iranian officials have highlighted Tehran’s readiness for both diplomacy and war, warning that any attack on Iran would ignite a regional war.

On Sunday, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi warned Trump over his war rhetoric.

“Trump should know that he would be entering a confrontation that gives harsh lessons, the outcome of which would ensure that he no longer bellows threats around the world,” he said.

‘Foolish to predetermine outcome of talks’

Elsewhere in his address, Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the ongoing indirect talks between Tehran and Washington.

“These remarks the US president makes—at times issuing threats, at times saying this must be done or that must not be done—show that they are seeking to dominate the Iranian nation,” he said.

“They say, ‘Let us negotiate over your nuclear energy,’ and the outcome of the negotiation should be that you no longer possess this energy,” he said, adding, “To predetermine the outcome before talks even begin is wrong and foolish.”

“This is precisely the foolish approach being taken by American presidents, certain senators, the current president, and others,” he added.

Iranian people, however, “know their Islamic and Shi’i teachings well,” the Leader said, before quoting Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), “Someone like me would never pledge allegiance to someone like Yazid.”

“In reality, the Iranian nation is saying the same: a people with this culture, this history, these lofty values, will never pledge allegiance to corrupt figures like those currently in power in the United States,” he said.

Iran in a state of mourning

Elsewhere, Ayatollah Khamenei said the nation is grieving after recent foreign-backed riots, which left thousands of people dead, stressing, “We are in mourning for the blood that was shed.”

He divided the victims into three groups. The first, he said, were security and health defenders — police, Basij, Revolutionary Guard members and others — whom he described as “among the highest martyrs.”

The second group included bystanders killed during the turmoil. “They, too, are martyrs,” he said, noting they died amid “the enemy’s sedition.”

The third group, the Leader said, were those who were misled into joining the riots. Calling them “our own children,” he said some had written to him expressing regret. Authorities, he noted, have also recognized those killed among them as martyrs.

Apart from ringleaders backed by foreign enemies, Ayatollah Khamenei said all others deserve prayers and forgiveness.

Foreign-backed armed rioters and terrorists hijacked peaceful, sporadic protests over economic grievances on January 8 and 9.

The violence, encouraged openly by the US and the Israeli regime, resulted in extensive damage to public and private property, with widespread destruction of shops, government institutions, public service facilities, and the killing of hundreds of civilians and security forces.

Iranian authorities have confirmed that American and Israeli spy agencies were directly involved, providing funding, training, and media support to rioters and armed terrorists acting on the streets.

Official Iranian records show 3,117 people were killed in the riots, including 2,427 civilians and security personnel killed by terrorists.