NuseReal
Headlines for internationalists
Major news
UN treaty to protect 'extraordinary' marine life due to come into force on 17 January (LINK) 16 January 2026
— 148 countries, representing more than three-quarters of all UN member states, have signed on to the High Seas Treaty since it was adopted in June 2023. 81 governments agreed to include it in their national laws, bringing it into force. The treaty offers new protections to an area covering two-thirds of the world's oceans and as many as 10 million different species, many of which are still unidentified.
UN chief warns of a world in chaos as impunity and unpredictability spreads (LINK) 15 January 2026
UN chief's last annual speech slams world leaders for lack of cooperation — (LINK)
UN chief attacks world leaders putting cooperation on 'deathwatch' in final annual speech — (LINK)
AP: UN chief lashes out at countries violating international law — (LINK)
China and Canada announce tariffs relief after a high-stakes meeting between Carney and Xi (LINK) 16 January 2026
UNCTAD: 10 trends shaping global trade in 2026: lower growth, rising protectionism and structural shifts in value chains, services and regulation are redefining trade flows, creating new risks and opportunities (LINK) 15 January 2026
Heather Cox Richardson: U.S. Department of Justice has released less than 1% of the Epstein files despite the law, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress passed requiring the release of those files in full no later than December 19 (LINK) 15 January 2026
U.K. veterans aged 65 told to prepare for war (LINK) 15 January 2026
Actor Timothy Busfield, 68, charged with sexually abusing boys on set of TV series (LINK) 15 January 2026
— Busfield,rwho starred in Thirtysomething and The West Wing, has made his first court appearance after turning himself in on criminal charges that he allegedly sexually abused two boys on the set of a TV series filmed in New Mexico, prosecutors say.
Catchup: UN chief warns he could refer Israel to ICJ over laws targeting UNRWA (LINK) 13 January 2026
Breaking news
Al Jazeera: Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,422 (LINK) 16 January 2026
- Ukraine's Ministry of Energy said that new power outages were affecting customers in the Zhytomyr and Kharkiv regions following an overnight Russian attack. Network restrictions remained in place in the capital Kyiv, the Kyiv region, and the Odesa region, the ministry added in a statement.
- Kateryna Pop, spokeswoman for the Kyiv City Military Administration, said that 287 residential buildings remain without heating in Kyiv more than a week after a massive Russian attack damaged infrastructure there, and as temperatures continue to fall to -17 degrees Celsius (1.4 Fahrenheit) overnight.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the national government would take over responsibility for Kyiv's energy as the city had not responded quickly enough to the current crisis, according to the Ukrinform news site.
- A Ukrainian attack left close to 87,000 people without electricity in Russian-occupied Zaporizhia, Russian-appointed official Yevhen Balitsky wrote on Telegram.
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva told the Reuters news agency during a visit to Kyiv that she expects to ask the fund's executive board to approve a new $8.1bn lending programme for Ukraine within weeks.
- French President Emmanuel Macron said that France is now providing two-thirds of intelligence information to Ukraine, largely replacing the US, which until last year had delivered the majority of those services.
European military personnel arrive in Greenland as Trump says US needs island (LINK) 15 January 2026
US military seizes 6th Venezuela oil tanker under Trump sanctions (LINK) 15 January 2026
Venezuela: Machado gives Trump her Nobel Peace Prize (LINK) 15 January 2026
— Trump sidelined Machado after the US kidnapped Maduro, saying she didn't "have the support within or the respect within the country" to be in charge. On Thursday, the White House said Trump has not changed his opinion on Machado.
The Louvre raises ticket prices by 45% to €32 for non-EU visitors (LINK) 14 January 2026
Major news
UN treaty to protect 'extraordinary' marine life due to come into force on 17 January (LINK) 16 January 2026
— 148 countries, representing more than three-quarters of all UN member states, have signed on to the High Seas Treaty since it was adopted in June 2023. 81 governments agreed to include it in their national laws, bringing it into force. The treaty offers new protections to an area covering two-thirds of the world's oceans and as many as 10 million different species, many of which are still unidentified.
UN chief warns of a world in chaos as impunity and unpredictability spreads (LINK) 15 January 2026
UN chief's last annual speech slams world leaders for lack of cooperation — (LINK)
UN chief attacks world leaders putting cooperation on 'deathwatch' in final annual speech — (LINK)
AP: UN chief lashes out at countries violating international law — (LINK)
China and Canada announce tariffs relief after a high-stakes meeting between Carney and Xi (LINK) 16 January 2026
UNCTAD: 10 trends shaping global trade in 2026: lower growth, rising protectionism and structural shifts in value chains, services and regulation are redefining trade flows, creating new risks and opportunities (LINK) 15 January 2026
Heather Cox Richardson: U.S. Department of Justice has released less than 1% of the Epstein files despite the law, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress passed requiring the release of those files in full no later than December 19 (LINK) 15 January 2026
U.K. veterans aged 65 told to prepare for war (LINK) 15 January 2026
Actor Timothy Busfield, 68, charged with sexually abusing boys on set of TV series (LINK) 15 January 2026
— Busfield,rwho starred in Thirtysomething and The West Wing, has made his first court appearance after turning himself in on criminal charges that he allegedly sexually abused two boys on the set of a TV series filmed in New Mexico, prosecutors say.
Catchup: UN chief warns he could refer Israel to ICJ over laws targeting UNRWA (LINK) 13 January 2026
Miscellaneous
High winds disrupt Perfect Day plans at CocoCay in the Bahamas for thousands on two Royal Caribbean ships (LINK) 15 January 2026
— Royal Caribbean's private destination was meant to be the final stop of the current sailings for both ships, which were operating identical 4-night Bahamas itineraries that embarked in Fort Lauderdale on January 12.
European survey finds only 16 percent still consider the U.S. an ally, against 20 percent who view America as a rival or enemy (LINK) 15 January 2026
3 things 'The Pitt' episode '8:00 AM' gets right about AI in medicine, and 1 big thing it gets wrong: Is AI really 98 percent accurate? Not so fast... in a crowded emergency room, accuracy rates were much lower, sometimes as low as 50 percent (LINK) 15 January 2026
Amazon threatens ‘drastic’ action after Saks bankruptcy, says $475M stake is now worthless (LINK) 15 January 2026
'Nobel Prize for Environment' awarded to specialist in mycorrhizal fungi (LINK) 14 January 2026
— Toby Kiers "has been active [in] combining academic research, global expeditions, technological innovations and advocacy work. Toby's work to translate scientific insight into real-world action demonstrates her leadership in advancing global efforts to protect the fungal networks that sustain life on Earth."
Risks of AI in schools outweigh the benefits, report says: can "undermine children's foundational development" and "the damages it has already caused are daunting," though "fixable" (LINK) 14 January 2026
Most TV shows promote the wrong idea when it comes to performing CPR: in 169 medical drama episodes — fewer than three in ten accurately showed Hands-Only CPR. Nearly half included mouth-to-mouth breathing, and many showed characters stopping to check for a pulse — actions that can waste valuable time in real emergencies (LINK) 14 January 2026
Neuroscientist survey shows that 40 percent think it might be possible to preserve a human brain, potentially well enough to decode its long-term memories after death. That opens the door to rebooting a person someday, complete with their memories, using whole brain emulation (LINK) 14 January 2026
Ancient Roman wall uncovered in Switzerland is "archaeological sensation" for variety of artifacts (LINK) 14 January 2026
Alcohol too cheap in Europe as health impact mounts, WHO warns: official says "More affordable alcohol drives violence, injuries and disease" (LINK) 13 January 2026
— Beer has become more affordable in 11 EU countries since 2022, and less affordable in six, a WHO report revealed. There was a similar but even more dramatic trend for spirits, which became more affordable in 17 EU countries and less affordable in two. And for wine, 14 EU countries do not tax it at all, including big producers Italy and Spain, the report found.
Saks Global files for bankruptcy amid luxury market strains (LINK) 13 January 2026
Woman has 150 grandchildren, 50 great-grandchildren and 50 great-great-grandchildren. Then she meets one for the first time (LINK) 13 January 2026
Gen Z has declared a new "Karen": "Jessica", although some argue that it should be "Ashley" (LINK) 13 January 2026
— According to TikTok, Reddit, and the broader internet, "Jessica" is now shorthand for a very specific type of person. They post long rants about minor inconveniences on social media, are always deeply convinced they're in the right, even when they're not, and say things like, "I'm not trying to be rude, but…"
Rights of Nature: a reading list (LINK) 13 January 2026
10 dangerous U.S. cities you shouldn't buy a home in no matter the price (LINK) 12 January 2026
*, ! = read with care
● = may require sign-up or subscription
Past week Ukraine Gaza Switzerland AI / ChatGPT Media UN Trump China Youth Travel
Afghanistan Bahamas Thailand Putin watch Biden News Metoo Science Sites to explore Digital tools