LONDON (Reuters) - Billionaire Elon Musk has held private discussions with allies about removing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer from his position before the next general election, the Financial Times has reported. Musk, the world’s richest person and a close ally of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, last month endorsed a German anti-immigration party ahead of elections slated in February, and has repeatedly commented on British politics, demanding Prime Minister Keir Starmer resign. Musk has been weighing how he and his allies can destabilize the Labour government and has sought information about building support for alternative British political movements to force a change in government, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

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N’DJAMENA, Chad (AP) — An attack on Chad’s presidential palace left 18 assailants dead and six in custody, with one soldier killed and three wounded, state media reported. The attack occurred while Chadian President Mahamat Deby Itno was inside the palace, but authorities said the situation was quickly brought under control. “The situation is completely under control. There is no fear,” Foreign Affairs Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said while surrounded by soldiers in a live Facebook broadcast filmed inside what appeared to be a quiet presidential palace.

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TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will travel to South Korea on Monday to shore up security cooperation between the East Asian neighbors and their mutual U.S. ally that is meant to counter China’s growing regional power. Iwaya, who will be the first Japanese foreign minister to visit Seoul in seven years, will meet with his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul and Acting President Choi Sang-mok, the Japanese government said.

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BRUSSELS (Xinhua) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said that his government might consider halting humanitarian aid to Ukraine as part of measures in response to the ongoing Russian gas transit dispute. Speaking to reporters in Brussels after meeting with European Union (EU) Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, Fico said Slovakia is evaluating potential actions, including vetoing EU decisions related to Ukraine. Other measures include cutting emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine and reducing support for Ukrainian war refugees. Fico emphasized that Slovakia does not aim to escalate tensions but will implement these measures if no resolution is reached. 

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PORT SUDAN, Sudan (AFP) – Some 3.2 million children are expected to face malnutrition in Sudan this year, the United Nations Children’s Fund said Friday. Aid agencies have complained of lack of access to the war-torn country, where both the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are accused of using “starvation tactics”.  An estimated 3.2 million children under the age of five are expected to face acute malnutrition this year in war-torn Sudan, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
“Of this number, around 772,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition,” Eva Hinds, UNICEF Sudan’s Head of Advocacy and Communication, told AFP late on Thursday. Famine has already gripped five areas across Sudan, according to a report last month by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), an UN-backed assessment. 

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 BERLIN (Euronews) - Germany’s former finance minister and president of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) was attacked with a cake made of shaving foam during his election campaign in the northern city of Greifswald, according to media reports. Christian Lindner was delivering a speech when a young woman smashed a cake plate full of shaving foam on his face. Lindner, who took it easy, carried on. Early general elections are scheduled for Feb. 23.