January 16, 2026

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• The White House announced it is moving into the second phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza ceasefire plan, which includes establishing a transitional Palestinian governing committee and beginning the disarmament of Hamas and reconstruction efforts. The announcement included few details about the committee's composition or key aspects of the plan, and significant challenges remain including Hamas's refusal to disarm until Israel ends its occupation, unclear timelines for Israeli withdrawals from Gaza, and the absence of an international stabilization force or reconstruction funding plan. [more]
• Speaking before the U.N. Security Council yesterday, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said that President Donald Trump has made it clear that "all options are on the table" to stop lethal crackdowns by Iran's government on protesters. Reports note that officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, citing global economic risks and destabilization of an already volatile region, have urged Trump to refrain from military action against Iran. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,420 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Reports say the European Commission is actively considering ways to allow quick limited European Union membership for Ukraine as part of any peace deal with Russia under a plan that would grant full E.U. membership only after it is "earned" following transition periods. [more]

MINNESOTA | President Trump threatened yesterday to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy troops to quell protests against federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would challenge any such use of the Insurrection Act in court. [more]

U.S. VOTER DATA | U.S. District Judge David O. Carter yesterday dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit against California that sought access to detailed voting records and personal data on the state's 23 million registered voters, saying the government's request was "unprecedented and illegal." [more]

U.S. MORTGAGES | The average 30-year mortgage interest rate fell to a nearly 3.5-year low of 6.06% this week – down from 6.16% last week and 7.04% at this point last year – according to mortgage firm Freddie Mac. [more]

U.S. MILITARY | Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office announced plans yesterday to revamp the independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes to concentrate on “reporting for our warfighters,” including a "focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability and all things military," and no longer include “woke distractions.” Reports note that the paper is congressionally mandated to be editorially independent of interference from outside its own editorial chain-of-command and cite the paper's publisher, Max Lederer, as saying the Defense Department move would "destroy" or "significantly reduce" the paper's value. [more]

U.S. TRAVEL VISAS | In a cable sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide this week, the U.S. State Department said full and partial travel bans imposed on citizens of 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority by President Donald Trump in December would not apply to athletes and coaches taking part in "major sporting events" in the U.S., but that foreign spectators, media, and corporate sponsors planning to attend the same events would still be banned unless they qualify for another exemption. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan yesterday ordered the release from federal custody of Garrison Gibson, a Liberian man arrested by federal immigration agents who broke into his Minneapolis home this week using a battering ram. In his ruling, Bryan said federal agents violated Gibson’s Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure by entering his home without consent and without a judicial warrant. [more]

U.S., DENMARK, AND GREENLAND | A 11-member bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers met with the leaders of Denmark and Greenland today in Copenhagen as part of efforts to reassure them of U.S. congressional support amidst President Donald Trump's continuing threats to seize Greenland. [more]

U.S. AND VENEZUELA | U.S. President Donald Trump met yesterday with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal in recognition of what she said was Trump's "unique commitment" to Venezuela's freedom. [more]

E.U. AND SOUTH AMERICA | The European Union and South American Mercosur trade bloc members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay are scheduled to sign a free trade agreement tomorrow. Reports note that the agreement, which lifts tariffs on a broad range of South American and European products, must still be ratified by the European Parliament. [more]

CANADA AND CHINA | Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced today that his country has agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, with an initial cap of 49,000 Chinese EV exports growing to 70,000 over five years. China will reduce its tariff on Canadian canola seeds from about 84% to about 15%. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | A South Korean court today sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison for defying detention attempts, fabricating his martial law proclamation, and bypassing a required Cabinet meeting after his short-lived December 2024 martial law declaration. A ruling is expected next month on the most serious charge against Yoon—rebellion—for which an independent counsel has requested the death sentence, though legal experts suggest a lighter sentence will most likely be imposed. [more]

MYANMAR | In ongoing proceedings before the International Court of Justice, Myanmar insisted today that its 2017 military campaign against the Rohingya ethnic minority was a legitimate counter-terrorism operation and not genocide, as alleged by Gambia in a Court suit accusing Myanmar of breaching the Genocide Convention. [more]

CZECH REPUBLIC | Lawmakers in the Czech Republic's lower house of parliament approved a confidence measure yesterday in the country's new government led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and its agenda that analysts say aims to reduce support for Ukraine and reject some key European Union policies. [more]

INTERNET INDUSTRY | Marking its 25th anniversary, online encyclopedia Wikipedia announced new AI-related deals yesterday with Amazon, Meta Platforms, Perplexity, Microsoft, and France’s Mistral AI under which the companies will compensate Wikipedia for using the reference site's content. [more]

SPORTS GAME RIGGING | U.S. federal prosecutors said yesterday that 26 people, including more than a dozen U.S. college basketball players, have been indicted on charges ranging from bribery to wire fraud and conspiracy, in connection with a wide-ranging betting scheme to rig NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association games. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1547, Ivan Vasilyevich, commonly known as Ivan the Terrible, was crowned “tsar and grand prince of all Russia.” [more history]