January 21, 2026

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that he will accept an invitation to join the U.S.-led so-called Board of Peace that will oversee the Gaza cease-fire and reconstruction efforts. Others who have accepted invitations include Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani. The leaders of Norway and Sweden have indicated they will not accept invitations. [more]
• Amidst a tenuous cease-fire between government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the Syrian military took full control today of a camp in northeastern Syria that houses some 24,000 people linked to the Islamic State militant group. [more]
• Palestinian health officials say at least 11 people, including two young boys and three journalists, were killed today in Israeli strikes and gunfire in Gaza. Israel's military said its actions targeted Palestinian militants who posed threats to soldiers. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,425 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today that about 60% of Ukraine's capital Kyiv is without power amidst ongoing Russian targeting of energy facilities as bitterly cold weather continues in the region. [more]

U.S. TRUMP SPEECH AT DAVOS | Among the statements made by U.S. President Donald Trump in a wide-ranging speech at the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland, today were:

• That economic growth and recovery in the United States have reached record highs.
• That he does not intend to use military force to take Greenland, which he said the U.S. deserves, and that he wants to enter into negotiations to purchase the island from Denmark.
• That he "is not sure" if NATO would come to the defense of the U.S. if asked to do so.
• That Europe is in decline due to its economic, trade, immigration, and green-energy policies.
• That without the United States, most of the countries of the world would "just not work."
• That "people will soon be prosecuted for what they did" in "stealing" the 2020 U.S. presidential election, adding that this is "probably breaking news."
• [full video Trump speech at Davos]

U.S. AND CANADA | Speaking at the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland, yesterday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney strongly criticized the domineering stances of the U.S. under President Donald Trump, saying, in part, that "we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition" and that what is needed is for developed nations to stand together against the hegemony of the United States. [Carney speech video] [more]

MINNESOTA | Amidst ongoing tensions over the surge of federal immigration enforcement operations in the Minneapolis region, the U.S. Justice Department has subpoenaed the offices of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, and state Attorney General Keith Ellison as part of what prosecutors say are investigations into whether the officials have obstructed or impeded law enforcement during the immigration operation. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR | Attorney General Pam Bondi announced yesterday that Lindsey Halligan, who had been serving as the interim United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, is leaving her position after multiple court rulings that found her appointment unlawful. Two high-profile indictments obtained by Halligan after her appointment by President Donald Trump involved cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James – both of which were dismissed due to the issues with Halligan's appointment. [more]

U.S. MARKETS | The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all fell sharply yesterday amidst ongoing transatlantic tensions over President Donald Trump's threats to impose new tariffs on products from countries that oppose his efforts to take control of the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland. [more]

U.S. HOUSING MARKET | President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday restricting the purchase by large institutional investors of single-family homes that could otherwise be purchased by individual homebuyers or families. [full executive order] [more]

U.S. AND IRAN | In an opinion article published in the Wall Street Journal, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned today against U.S. military action over recent protest crackdowns in the Islamic Republic, saying his country would be "firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack." [more]

E.U. AND SOUTH AMERICA | European Union lawmakers voted today to initiate a court challenge to the free trade deal signed Saturday between the E.U. and South America's Mercosur trade bloc. [more]

SPAIN | In Spain's second rail incident this week, at least one person was killed, and 37 others were injured, yesterday when a Barcelona-region commuter train hit the remains of a retaining wall that had fallen onto the tracks. Catalonia regional authorities suspended commuter rail service this morning as investigations continued into the incident. [more]

NIGER | According to a statement released by several local student groups yesterday, yet-unidentified gunmen attacked the village of Gorouol in western Niger on Sunday, killing at least 31 people. Reports note that several militant groups, including an affiliate of the Islamic State, are known to operate in the West African country, though no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. [more]

JAPAN | A single reactor at Japan's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant – the world's largest nuclear facility – was restarted today for the first time since energy giant TEPCO shuttered the plant a year after the 2011 meltdown at the company's separate Fukushima Daiichi plant. The move to restart electricity production at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa comes as Japan seeks to accelerate energy production to meet growing demand. [more]

MORE JAPAN | Tetsuya Yamagami, the man who admitted to assassinating former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022, was sentenced to life in prison today. [more]

INTERNET INDUSTRY | The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said yesterday that it will appeal a November court ruling that found Facebook parent company Meta to not have illegally maintained a monopoly in social networking through anticompetitive conduct. [more]

BASEBALL | Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday and will be inducted into the Hall in July along with Jeff Kent, who was voted in last month by the contemporary era committee. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1793, Louis XVI, the last Bourbon king of France, was executed by guillotine in Paris during the French Revolution. [more history]