Former Prince Andrew Arrested, BBC Reports

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0:33Margarita Stancati:As the U.S. amasses forces and Iran deploys troops, could the countries be on the brink of war? Plus, President Trump prepares to convene his Board of Peace for the first time. And we'll look at the baby formula recall dogging Nestle and Danone.

0:48Luke Vargas:It's led to recalls in over 60 countries. And all of these companies have had to change their suppliers as a result of it, which has had significant financial impact.

0:59Margarita Stancati:It's Thursday, February 19th. I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal, and here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. We begin with some breaking news as the BBC reports that British police have arrested Andrew Mountbatten Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Thames Valley Police said this morning they'd arrested a man in his 60s and were carrying out searches and addresses in Norfolk and Berkshire, where the former prince is currently living. Andrew has faced numerous allegations over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

1:37Margarita Stancati:Buckingham Palace didn't have any immediate comment.

1:43The U.S.

1:44Margarita Stancati:and Iran are seemingly preparing for war in spite of ongoing diplomatic efforts to avoid one. While President Trump hasn't decided whether to strike Iran, Washington has now assembled the greatest amount of air power in the Middle East since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. According to flight tracking data and a U.S. official, there is now a significant number of U.S. fighter jets and support aircraft in the region. And while both Tehran and Washington are pushing for a deal on Iran's nuclear program, journal reporter Margarita Stankati says the regime has been deploying troops and moving to fortify its nuclear sites.

2:20Luke Vargas:Iran knows that its capabilities are way inferior to the U.S. military's capabilities, but they're flexing their muscles the best way they can. What we've seen in recent weeks is that Iran is stepping up high-profile military drills, both air maneuvers focused on the air defense systems, as well as naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, which is this narrow waterway that separates the Persian Gulf from the wider Indian Ocean, and it's also a key transit route for world oil supplies. So one of the sticking points is that Iran doesn't want to give up its missile programs because it does have the capability to hit US interests and allies in the region and also to disrupt the global oil supply.

3:01Luke Vargas:Iran really wants a nuclear deal with the US and has been willing to make some concessions in pursuit of the deal. But the US says that it's still falling short of red lines set by Washington, which wants Iran to be completely deprived of the ability to make a nuclear weapon.

3:16Margarita Stancati:The heightened tensions are also having a marked impact, with oil and European natural gas prices climbing over fears of disruption to shipments in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, investors nervous about the perceived risk of war have sent gold back above$5 ,000. President Trump is set to convene his Board of Peace for the first time today. The invite-only coalition was proposed last fall as part of efforts to rebuild Gaza, but its mandate has since expanded, with Trump hinting that it might even replace the United Nations. I asked The Journal's Marcus Walker how the board's convening is being seen around the world.

3:54Luke Vargas:Many people will be watching to see whether this board of peace is largely about Gaza or whether it is something bigger, whether Trump really pushes a more global ambition for this board. A number of U.S. allies from the Middle East have signed on very quickly, but very few democratic countries have. And that is because especially European democracies and other democracies around the world see this as a rival to the U.N. that's both parallel to the U.N. and also under the personal leadership and control of Donald Trump, in theory, potentially for much

4:26Margarita Stancati:longer than he's actually U.S. president. European representation on the board is sparse, but not content to be fully shut out of the room. Marcus says that Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney is trying to thread a needle with the board that'll be closely watched by others trying to determine how to deal with Washington. She is trying to perform a balancing act.

4:45Luke Vargas:She doesn't want to be too close to Trump because he's deeply unpopular in Italy. And if he does things that are bad for the Italian economy, like imposing tariffs, and are bad for European security, like threatening to seize Greenland and roiling NATO, So this can reflect badly on her. But on the other hand, she has cast herself as one of the European leaders who can talk to Trump, who can be a bridge, who can try and keep NATO and the Atlantic Alliance together at this time of tensions. And her solution was to say, well, I can't be a member, so I'll be an observer. And I won't go in person to this meeting in Washington, but I'll send my foreign

5:19Margarita Stancati:minister, Antonio Tajani. The board will gather for its inaugural meeting this morning at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. Coming up, we've got the rest of the day's news, including an update from Nestle as the infant formula maker and rival Danone try and tackle a recall that sparked health concerns around the world. That and more after the break.

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6:11Margarita Stancati:Swiss food giant Nestle reported earnings this morning, slightly topping analysts' expectations around its 2025 sales growth. But it's the company's below-the-top-line results where things get interesting, as it announced a shakeup of its operations and briefed investors on its efforts to tackle a baby formula recall that's left many parents in Europe on edge. Reporter Emma Look covers consumer goods for us out of Barcelona. And Eme, I guess the big news this morning is about ice cream. Do I have that right? What's going on?

6:42Luke Vargas:Yes. Nestle this morning said it plans to sell off its ice cream business to a joint venture that it partially already owns alongside Frenary, which is the owner of Haagen-Dazs U.S. business. And this move comes as Nestle is slimming down its portfolio of thousands of brands and focusing on four main categories, coffee, pet care, nutrition, and food.

7:08Margarita Stancati:Really quickly, is this being welcomed by investors? I'm just looking at Nestle's stock over the last year, over the last five years. It's down. Things are going sideways.

7:15Luke Vargas:So the stock has been up this morning, so it seems to be welcome. There has been a string of issues with Nestle. There have been weaker-than-expected results over the last few earnings, two abrupt changes of the CEO in a year, and that's kind of shaken up the company. So the new CEO is tasked with reviving the business. And in their last earnings, he laid out a broad plan to slash over 16 ,000 jobs and rejig the business.

7:48Margarita Stancati:Okay, and that brings us to maybe the biggest reputational and operational challenge the company is facing at the present, which is around baby formula. This has not been a major story in the U.S., but it really here in Europe has been a near daily headline. This is touching on products made by both Nestle and its rival, Danone. Bring us up to speed. What's been going on?

8:06Luke Vargas:Nestle has been dealing with this infant formula recall crisis after it found a tainted ingredient that has triggered a series of worldwide recalls. So the CEO told reporters in a call earlier this morning that the recall was now complete and that the company was running factories around the clock to keep up with supply. but before this it began as a precautionary recall because it found this specific toxin called corelulide which is a toxin that can cause nausea or vomiting in infants and they found it in this specific oil which is produced by a supplier in China and other competitors like Danone and French companies in this space use the same supplier So they also had to recall products, and it's led to recalls in over 60 countries.

8:58Luke Vargas:And all of these companies have had to change their suppliers as a result of it, which has had significant financial impact.

9:06Margarita Stancati:Right. As you mentioned, Nestle saying this morning, they think they're moving past this. We'll get an update from Danone on the same issue on their earnings call tomorrow, we'd expect. Though it bears mentioning the scrutiny is being applied to this industry now in the U.S. as well under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. So whether it's for these companies or really anyone involved in this supply chain, they're going to continue to be under the microscope.

9:26Luke Vargas:Exactly. And the FDA said that Nestle's voluntary recall didn't affect U.S. products because they use a different supplier. But the FDA is still working with Nestle just in case there might be some issues and they're going to be closely monitoring the situation in the midst of a broader overhaul of the U.S.'s infant formula strategy and how they're going to regulate that.

9:51Margarita Stancati:That was reporter Eme Look in Barcelona this morning. Eme, thank you so much for the update.

9:56Luke Vargas:Thank you.

10:00Margarita Stancati:In more earnings updates, Airbus says that an engine shortage is forcing it to scale back production of its best-selling A320 jets. Its shares dropped more than 6 % on the news. Journal Aviation reporter Ben Katz says it's just the latest setback for the European planemaker, which just two years ago was flying high while rival Boeing struggled.

10:19Luke Vargas:What we've seen today is Airbus issuing this rare rebuke of one of its biggest suppliers at the Pratt & Whitney. Pratt & Whitney has been struggling to deliver engines for Airbus's programs. Airbus is frustrated. They are coming out of really the surge in orders, really high ambitions to ramp up production and deliver more of their aircraft and really capitalize on Boeing's woes over the last few years. But what we've seen over the last few months is really Airbus struggling to really deliver on those high ambitions. It also comes at a time when Boeing is starting to show strength. They've really been buoyed by President Trump's trade agreements Just this week, we've seen Vietnam place orders for almost 100 new aircraft.

11:00Luke Vargas:Airbus themselves have kind of complained of that and said that this is a new dynamic they're having to contend with. At the same time, Boeing is getting its act together in terms of its own production. It's lifting production of its 737 MAX, which is the direct competitor with the plane that Airbus is now struggling to ramp up. So we're seeing these diverging fortunes, so to speak.

11:18Margarita Stancati:And switching to the drinks industry, France's Pernod Ricard, the maker of Absolute Vodka and Jameson Irish Whiskey, is reporting weakening sales in the U.S. and China. American drinkers spent 15 percent less over the first half of the company's fiscal year, a trend that also surfaced in AB InBev and Heineken's earnings amid growing health consciousness and stretched consumer budgets that have kept Americans away from bars and liquor stores. And finally, if you're in need of a lawyer, get ready to pay up. Well, you're right. You do need a lawyer. Mark Sway.

11:54Luke Vargas:How many cases have you won?

11:56Margarita Stancati:More than I lost.

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12:00Margarita Stancati:According to new data, some senior partners at America's biggest law firms are now commanding rates as high as$3 ,400 an hour, while partner rates also rose by an average of 16 percent last year. Meanwhile, AI is putting pressure on those on the lower rungs of the legal ladder, speeding up time-consuming tasks and potentially denting firms' bottom lines as billable hours vanish. And that's it for What's News for this Thursday morning. Today's show was produced by Daniel Bach and Hattie Moyer. Our supervising producer is Sandra Kilhoff. And I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal. We will be back tonight with a new show.

12:36Margarita Stancati:And until then, thanks for listening.

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