January 20, 2026

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• France, Morocco, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the U.K., South Korea, Slovenia, Thailand, and Israel are among the approximately 50 countries reported to have received invitations from U.S. President Donald Trump to serve on the so-called "Board of Peace" that will oversee the cease-fire implementation and reconstruction of Gaza. Reports say an official announcement of the Board's membership is expected this week during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. [more]
• In continuing action against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which Israel has long accused of collaborating with Hamas militants, Israeli work crews began demolishing the organization's Jerusalem headquarters today. Reports note that Israel passed a law banning the U.N. group's operations on its territory early last year. [more]
• A day after announcing a cease-fire agreement, Syrian government forces and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces fighters clashed yesterday amidst the escape of some 120 Islamic State militant group members from an SDF-controlled prison in northeast Syria. In a statement following the clashes, the SDF appeared to signal that the cease-fire had fallen apart, calling for people to "join the ranks of resistance." [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,424 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today that Russia fired more than 50 missiles and 300 drones at targets across Ukraine overnight, targeting the country's power grid and leaving thousands of residences without electricity. [more]

U.S. GUN RIGHTS | The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments today in a case challenging Hawaii's ban on the carrying of firearms on private property open to the public unless the owner gives verbal permission or posts a sign saying they are allowed. [more]

MICHIGAN | State police say more than 100 vehicles were involved in a mass pileup that closed both directions of Interstate 196 yesterday amidst heavy snow and limited visibility. Numerous injuries, but no deaths, were associated with the incident. [more]

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM | Organizers of the World Economic Forum annual meeting say some 3,000 delegates from more than 130 countries, including 64 heads of state and government, will attend this year's summit in Davos, Switzerland, which opens today with the theme of "A Spirit of Dialogue." [more]

MOZAMBIQUE | Regional officials say more than 300,000 people have been displaced due to flooding brought on by weeks of heavy rain in central and southern Mozambique in which more than 100 people are believed to have died. [more]

AUSTRALIA | In the aftermath of last month's mass shooting at a Jewish festival in Sydney, Australia's Parliament passed new laws today that increase restrictions on gun ownership and establish a government-funded buyback program to compensate people forced to hand in their firearms in compliance with the new restrictions. An additional new law increases penalties for hate crimes, allows bans on groups deemed to spread hate, and provides new powers to cancel or refuse visas for those who spread hate. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | At least seven people were killed in a suicide bombing at a restaurant in Kabul, Afghanistan, yesterday. The Islamic State militant group said in a statement that it carried out the attack in a restaurant frequented by Chinese nationals in the city and warned of future attacks against Chinese nationals in Afghanistan in retaliation for China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims. [more]

MYANMAR | Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said today that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, citing concerns over the lack of inclusive and free election participation, will not endorse the results of Myanmar's ongoing regional and national legislative elections, final results of which are expected to be announced later this month. [more]

SPAIN | The Spanish government has declared three days of national mourning following the Sunday collision of two high-speed trains in the country's southern Andalusian region in which at least 41 people were killed. [more]

NIGERIA | Reports cite government officials as saying yet-unidentified gunmen abducted more than 150 people Sunday in simultaneous attacks on three separate churches in Nigeria's northwestern Kaduna state. [more]

RUSSIA | Reports say far-eastern Russia is experiencing its heaviest snowfall in 60 years, with some areas having received more than 2 meters (6.5 feet) of snow in the first half of January, following 3.7 meters in December. [more]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL | Indiana beat Miami, 27-21, last night to win the College Football Playoff National Championship – finishing the season with a 16-0 record and claiming the school's first-ever football national championship. [more]

R.I.P. | Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani, whose high-profile career stretched from the 1960s to his retirement in 2008 and who was widely known by just his first name, died yesterday at the age of 93. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1981, the Iran hostage crisis ended when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini released 52 Americans who had been held hostage for 15 months. [more history]