Headlines: 26-31 January 2026

Saturday, 31 January 2026

Israeli strikes kill at least 29 Palestinians in Gaza, hospital officials say — (LINK) ground.news: 131 media reports — 31 January 2026 (LINK)

IDF strikes Hamas, PIJ commanders in Gaza in retaliation for ceasefire violations — (LINK) ground.news: 4 media reports — 31 January 2026 (LINK)

Separatists kill at least 21 including civilians in multiple attacks in Pakistan's Balochistan province — (LINK) ground.news: media reports — 31 January 2026 (LINK)

Xi Jinping's purge continues with Chinese emergencies minister latest to be accused of corruption — 31 January 2026 (LINK)

Mass blackout and water shortages hit Ukraine — 31 January 2026 (LINK)

LA Olympics chief says he 'deeply regrets' emails in 2003 with Ghislaine Maxwell — 31 January 2026 (LINK)

Epstein files: after the latest release, Gloria Allred, a women's rights lawyer who has represented many of Epstein's victims, told the BBC that numerous survivors' names had been disclosed in the latest release, including some who had not been previously identified publicly — 31 January 2026 (LINK)

— Allred said the Administration's stated hope that the release would "bring closure" to the victims was "ridiculous". "They have devastated so many of these survivors by publicly releasing their names," Allred said. "In some cases... they have a line through the names but you can still read the names. In other cases, they've shown photos of victims — survivors who have never done a public interview, never given their name publicly."

Teenager dies from Crans-Montana bar fire injuries, bringing death toll to 41: it also injured 116 people — 31 January 2026 (LINK)

Bitcoin drops to $81,000 on Friday, lowest since November; DOJ forfeits $400M in crypto tied to the Helix Bitcoin mixer, which processed 354,468 Bitcoin for illegal activities — 31 January 2026 (LINK)

Friday, 30 January 2026

UN risks 'imminent financial collapse' due to member states not paying their fees, secretary general warns — 30 January 2026 (LINK)

— António Guterres said the UN faced a financial crisis which was "deepening, threatening programme delivery", and that money could run out by July. He wrote in a letter to all 193 member states that they had to honour their mandatory payments or overhaul the organisation's financial rules to avoid collapse.

Putin attacks Ukraine just hours after Trump claimed he had promised not to: 111 long-range drones and one ballistic missile were fired into Ukraine on Friday by Russia — 30 January 2026 (LINK)

30 January is World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day: NTDs affect around one billion people. They include Chagas disease, leprosy, leishmaniasis, trachoma, and schistosomiasis. As of early 2026, 58 countries have successfully eliminated at least one NTD — 30 January 2026 (LINK)

Gold and silver prices plunge following Trump's Fed pick announcement, following months of gains driven in no small part by fears over the central bank's independence — 30 January 2026 (LINK)

Paul Krugman on Warsh: a bad heir day at the Fed. No, Kevin Warsh isn’t qualified: The silver lining to his appointment is that he shouldn’t be able to do much damage, although with one big caveat: there’s no coherent argument behind the verbiage — (LINK)

DOJ concludes Epstein files review with release of 3.5 million records: Members of Congress can request to review un-redacted portions of the files — 30 January 2026 (LINK)

Brutal selloff! Gold, silver prices crash in exceptionally volatile session: traders lock in profits following Thursday's record-breaking rally — 30 January 2026 (LINK)

— On the MCX, silver futures fell by 3.04% while gold dropped 1.28%, influenced by bearish global markets and a stronger US dollar.

UK-China latest: Trump blasts Starmer's Xi meeting. UK Trade Minister says 'bonkers' not to deal with Beijing after that — 30 January 2026 (LINK)

Trump names veteran economist to lead Bureau of Labor Statistics after firing agency's chief — 30 January 2026 (LINK)

— Trump fired former BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer in August hours after a dismal government report showed that hiring had slowed significantly in previous months. At the time, Trump claimed without evidence that the data was "rigged" and implied that McEntarfer had manipulated the numbers "for political purposes".

Luigi Mangione will not face death penalty for allegedly assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, judge rules: found that prosecutors relied on stalking charges which did not meet the legal definition of a crime of violence — (LINK) ground.news: 421 media reports — 30 January 2026 (LINK)

Man armed with pizza cutter and BBQ fork arrested trying to break Luigi Mangione out of federal jail — (LINK)

Gold price tumbles as Trump's Fed chair pick eases central bank independence fear — 30 January 2026 (LINK)

Gold and silver plunge, suffering their worst losses since the 1980s — 30 January 2026 (LINK)

More than 200 killed in coltan mine collapse in eastern DRC this week, official says: Rubaya mine produces about 15% of the world's coltan, which is processed into tantalum, used in mobile phones — 30 January 2026 (LINK)

Cold Florida weather delays earliest crewed Artemis 2 launch opportunity: now set for 8 February at earliest — 30 January 2026 (LINK)

Thursday, 29 January 2026

UN: Choose peace over chaos, Guterres urges as he sets out final-year priorities — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

EU designates Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorist group, placing it alongside al-Qaeda, ISIS and Hamas — (LINK) ground.news: 323 media reports — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

— The designation triggers EU asset freezes and related restrictive measures. Sanctions also target 15 individuals and six entities including IRGC senior officials, and expand powers to detain IRGC members in the 27-nation bloc.

Trump, Schumer reach government funding deal, sacrifice DHS spending bill in the process — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

Trump threatens tariffs on countries selling oil to Cuba, declaring national emergency: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had said her country is still sending oil to Cuba — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

Trump and co sue IRS and Treasury for $10 billion over leaked tax information between 2018 and 2020 — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

China executes 11 members of Myanmar scam mafia: State media — (LINK) ground.news: 40 media reports — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

— Among the executed were members of the 'Ming family criminal group', whose activities had contributed to the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to 'many others', reported Xinhua.

Microsoft loses $357b in market cap (10%) after stock drop — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

US dollar falls again as debasement fears outweigh Bessent's boost — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

Fed holds interest rates steady for first time since July — (LINK)

Man arrested on charges of impersonating FBI agent in alleged attempt to free Luigi Mangione — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

Swissport pioneers Switzerland’s first fully electric aircraft turnaround at Geneva Airport: decarbonizing its ground operations on its pathway to net-zero emissions by 2050, including the objective to electrify 55% of its worldwide ground support equipment fleet by 2032 — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

'It's not too late to fix it': web inventor Tim Berners-Lee says he is in a 'battle for the soul' of the internet: "commercialization means the net has been 'optimised for nastiness', but collaboration and compassion can prevail" — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

Indonesian couple caned 140 times for sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol under Aceh province's sharia law — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

Border agents involved in fatal shooting of Alex Pretti placed on leave — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

Internal review contradicts White House narrative of Pretti's death — (LINK)

Senate panel advances key crypto bill without Democratic support — 29 January 2026 (LINK)

Wednesday, 28 January 2026

UNSC demands immediate release of UN Staff detained by Houthi militias in Yemen — 28 January 2026 (LINK)

Pakistan becomes latest Asian country to introduce checks for deadly Nipah virus — (LINK) ground.news: 13 media reports — 28 January 2026 (LINK)

Kim Keon Hee, wife of South Korea's ousted president, jailed for corruption: sentenced to 20 months for receiving gifts from the Unification Church for political favours. Yoon Suk Yeol awaits rebellion verdict — 28 January 2026 (LINK)

Zelensky condemns Russian drone strike that killed five on passenger train — 28 January 2026 (LINK)

Trump says Omar 'probably had herself sprayed' in town hall attack — 28 January 2026 (LINK)

Trump-appointed Kennedy Center programming head resigns just days into job — 28 January 2026 (LINK limited)

Filmogaz — (LINK)

US: National Symphony Orchestra's music director says it will not leave Trump Admin-run Kennedy Center — 28 January 2026 (LINK)

Gladys Mae West, the pioneering black mathematician who helped lay the foundation for GPS, die in January 2026 at 95 — 28 January 2026 (LINK)

Tuesday, 27 January 2026

The 'Doomsday Clock' is now 85 seconds to midnight — the closest it's ever been: 4 seconds closer to midnight than it was in 2025 — 27 January 2026 (LINK)

Dollar tumbles to a four-year low as Trump claims it's 'doing great' — 27 January 2026 (LINK)

WHO urges schools worldwide to promote healthy eating for children — 27 January 2026 (LINK)

— In 2025, about 1 in 10 school-aged children and adolescents — 188 million — were living with obesity worldwide, surpassing for the first time the number of children who are underweight.

UN Security Council prolongs Hodeidah mission on Yemen's Red Sea coast for last time — 27 January 2026 (LINK)

US formally exits Paris Agreement on global climate action — 27 January 2026 (LINK)

India and Europe, both stung by Trump, turn to each other in a 'mother of all deals' on trade — 27 January 2026 (LINK)

Japan: World's largest nuclear plant shuts down reactor just one day after reopening — 27 January 2026 (LINK)

Al Jazeera: Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,433 — 27 January 2026 (LINK)

— NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Ukraine's interception rate of Russian missiles and drones has decreased due to Kyiv having fewer weapons to protect it from incoming attacks. Rutte urged allies to dig into their stockpiles to help defend Ukraine.

— Czechs have collected more than $6m in just five days in a grassroots fundraising effort to buy generators, heaters and batteries to send to Ukraine, where hundreds of thousands of people are freezing in sub-zero temperatures after Russian attacks on power plants, the online fundraising initiative Darek pro Putina ("Gift for Putin") said.

Philip Glass cancels Kennedy Center symphony premiere in protest at Trump's leadership> — 27 January 2026 (LINK)

Sepp Blatter: we should all boycott America & the 2026 World Cup — 27 January 2026 (LINK)

— "You have to question the state of the world when Sepp Blatter has revealed himself as this generation's Nelson Mandela. [But] he's right."

UPS looks to cut up to 30,000 jobs this year — 27 January 2026 (LINK)

30-year-old British travel company Gold Crest Holidays goes into liquidation, all trips canceled — 27 January 2026 (LINK)

Monday, 26 January 2026

Russia reportedly slams Trump's Golden Dome as 'provocative' as trillion-dollar shield takes shape — 26 January 2026 (LINK)

EU agrees on complete ban of Russian gas imports by 2027 — 25 January 2026 (LINK)

Calls grow for European teams to boycott World Cup 2026 in US — 26 January 2026 (LINK)

Ethiopia declares end of Marburg outbreak that killed nine — (LINK) ground.news: 10 media reports — 26 January 2026 (LINK)

At least 17 killed as US winter storm brings power outages and flight cancellations — 26 January 2026 (LINK)

Gold tops $5,000 for first time ever, adding to historic rally — 26 January 2026 (LINK)

Israel says it has retrieved remains of final Gaza hostage — 26 January 2026 (LINK)

Twin Peaks parent company Twin Hospitality files for bankruptcy one year after going public — 26 January 2026 (LINK)

Switzerland lets you hike naked — but only if you follow these rules — 26 January 2026 (LINK)