A record-breaking deep freeze is expected in the northeast US as thousands in the country’s south remain without power after a deadly ice storm. The cold blast could bring “once-in-a-generation” wind chills that cause frostbite in less than 10 minutes, the National Weather Service warned. Residents from Pennsylvania to Maine are being urged to limit their time outdoors through Friday and Saturday. Boston, which is anticipating sub-zero wind chills, is under a cold emergency. “I urge all Boston residents to take precautions, stay warm and safe, and check on your neighbours,” Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement.  Temperatures in New York City and other major cities are also expected to bottom out in the single digits (Fahrenheit, around -13C to -17C) by Saturday, although forecasters predict they will rebound by the end of the weekend. At least eight people have died in the bad weather across the US south over the past several days. More than 500,000 people were without power as of Thursday afternoon in Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, according to poweroutage.us.(BBC)…[+]

Republicans have ousted Democrat Ilhan Omar from her committee post in a sign of escalating tensions in the US Congress. They voted to remove Ms Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee over her past comments about Israel. Republicans said the move sent a strong statement against antisemitism. But Democrats and Ms Omar said it was revenge after two Republicans were ousted from committees in 2020 when Democrats held a House majority. Ms Omar also suggested she was being removed due to her being a Muslim woman who immigrated to the US as a refugee. “Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy?” she said shortly before the vote.

Republicans secured a majority in the House of Representatives following the midterm elections in November, and members voted along party lines to remove Ms Omar on Thursday. She is one of three high-profile Democrats to lose a committee assignment under the new House majority, which is led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Some Republicans – including Mr McCarthy – argued Ms Omar should not serve on the powerful foreign affairs committee owing to her past comments about Israel that have, at times, been criticised by members from both parties.(BBC)…[+]

Israel and Sudan will sign an “historic peace agreement” in Washington in a few months’ time, Israel’s foreign minister announced following talks in Khartoum. Eli Cohen said the text of the agreement was finalised during his one-day visit to see Sudanese leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Sudan agreed two years ago to normalise relations with Israel but a deal has never been implemented. It would become the latest Arab League country to establish such ties. The UAE, Bahrain and Morocco have officially normalised relations with Israel since 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords. Historically, members of the Arab League had refused to recognise Israel, a factor in perpetuating the Arab-Israeli conflict. Egypt became the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994. An accord with Sudan holds particular symbolic importance as Khartoum was the venue for an Arab League meeting in 1967 where members vowed not to recognise Israel, after the Arab-Israeli war three months earlier.(BBC)…[+]