Headlines: 19-25 January 2026

Thursday 22 January 2026

US set to quit World Health Organization today after Trump decision: The WHO said that the U.S. has not yet paid the fees it owes for 2024 and 2025 — 22 January 2026 (LINK)

UN rights experts issue statement of alarm at reports of forced labour of Uyghur, Tibetan and other minorities across China — 22 January 2026 (LINK)

— "Forced labour in China is enabled through the State-mandated 'poverty alleviation through labour transfer' programme, which coerces Uyghurs and members of other minority groups into jobs in Xinjiang and other regions. [...] Tibetans are also subject to forced labour through similar schemes such as the Training and Labour Transfer Action Plan, with calls for systematic training and transfer of 'rural surplus labourers'. The number of Tibetans affected by labour transfers in 2024 are estimated to be close to 650'000. Tibetans are also reportedly displaced through the 'whole-village relocation' programme which applies coercion to manufacture consent, such as repeated home visits, implicit threats of punishment, banning of criticism, or threats of cutting essential home services. "Between 2000 and 2025 some 3.36 million Tibetans have been affected by government programmes requiring them to rebuild their house for nomads to become sedentary, whilst official statistics say that around 930,000 rural Tibetans have been relocated through either whole village relocation or individual household relocations."

— They also expressed serious concern over goods produced through forced labour which enter global supply chains indirectly via third countries, raising broader questions about the overall effectiveness of targeted trade restrictions and human rights due diligence in the regulation of supply chains.

Trump to unveil 'Board of Peace' at Davos after Greenland backtrack: due to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky afterwards (LINK) 21 January 2026

Zelensky dashes to Davos for high-stakes Trump huddle — (LINK)

AP: Trump is rolling out his Board of Peace at Davos at a time when US leadership is being questioned — (LINK)

— Some 35 countries had agreed to sign on to the project, a senior administration official told reporters. Norway and Sweden have indicated that they won't participate, after France also said no. Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said "the time has not yet come to accept the invitation," according to the STA news agency, with the main concern being the board's mandate may be too broad and could undermine international order based on the U.N. Charter.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at World Economic Forum, Davos: — 22 January 2026 (LINK)

— "For the United States to stay safe, you need a safe Arctic, a safe Atlantic, and a safe Europe. My predecessors always took the view that they should not comment on [tensions] in public. So, sorry, no comments from me on Greenland. Statements from me will not add anything here."

— When it comes to the Arctic, I think President Trump is right, other leaders in NATO are right: we need to defend the Arctic. We know that the sea lanes are opening up. We know that China and Russia are increasingly active in the Arctic. There's only one country bordering on the Arctic outside NATO, that's Russia. There is a ninth country, which is China, which is increasingly active in the Arctic region.

— "Do you really think that without Donald Trump, eight big economies in Europe, including Spain and Italy and Belgium, Canada, by the way, also outside Europe, would have come to 2% [of GDP on defence] in 2025 when they were only on 1.5% at the beginning of the year? No way. Without Donald Trump, this would never have happened. He has forced us in Europe to step up, to face the consequences that we have to take care more of our own defence."

— Trump "said last night in his presser that he was doubtful whether the Europeans would come to the rescue if Article 5 would be triggered. I tell him: yes, they will. And they did on the 11th of September — 9/11 — in 2001 when, for the first and only time, Article 5 was triggered."

— "In the 1980s in Afghanistan, the Soviets lost 20,000 in 10 years. Now they lose 30,000 in one month [in Ukraine]. Ukraine should be our number one priority, and then we can discuss on all the issues, including Greenland. But it should be Ukraine first because it is crucial for our European and US security. [...] Russia is on a war economy footing. They spend 40% of the state budget on defence."

Rolling Stone: Trump in Davos: 'Sometimes You Need a Dictator'. The president delivered an erratic address to the World Economic Forum, pushing for the U.S. to take control of Greenland which he referred to as "Iceland" multiple times — 22 January 2026 (LINK)

CNN: Trump says rare earths are part of his Greenland deal. It's 'completely bonkers' — (LINK)

Al Jazeera: Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,428 — 22 January 2026 (LINK)

— Ukraine's Ukrinform news agency said Russian forces dropped 768 guided missiles and high-explosive aerial bombs over the past 10 days in areas of Ukraine's Donetsk region still controlled by Ukrainian authorities, destroying almost all remaining infrastructure, according to the head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Vadym Filashkin.

— Ukrainian forces attacked a port in the village of Volna in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, killing three people and injuring eight, the regional emergency services task force reported, according to Russia's TASS state news agency. Veniamin Kondratyev, Krasnodar regional governor, said earlier on Telegram that the attack caused four oil storage tanks to become "engulfed in flames".

— A military court in Moscow sentenced an Uzbek man to life in prison after finding him guilty of killing top Russian general Igor Kirillov and his assistant in a Ukraine-backed bomb attack in 2024.

Philip Nitschke, Australian inventor of the 'suicide pod', says AI could one day decide mental capacity of those who want to end their life — 22 January 2026 (LINK)

— Sarco's first and only use in Switzerland in September 2024 triggered an international outcry. Police arrested several people, including Florian Willet, CEO of the assisted dying organisation The Last Resort, and opened criminal proceedings for aiding and abetting suicide. Swiss authorities later said the pod was incompatible with Swiss law. Willet was released from custody in December. Soon after, in May 2025, he died by assisted suicide in Germany. Swiss prosecutors have yet to determine whether charges will be laid over the Sarco case. The original device remains seized, though Nitschke says a new version — including a so-called "Double Dutch" pod designed for two people to die together — is already being built.

Want to earn $2 million in the stock market? What you'll need to invest each month: at 10% a year $3K over 20 years, $400 over 40 — 22 January 2026 (LINK)

Wednesday 21 January 2026

Stocks rebound from big sell-off after Trump rules out military action on Greenland: Live updates (LINK) 21 January 2026

WEF: Davos 2026: Special Address by Donald J. Trump: In lengthy remarks that ranged from Greenland to Minnesota and back again, President Trump touched on a wide range of issues including trade and tariffs, regional security, AI development, nuclear power, housing affordability, migration, and pandemics. The queue for US President Donald Trump's special address started forming before 1pm for his scheduled 2:30pm appearance (LINK) 21 January 2026

Heather Cox Richardson: Reacting to Trump in Davos — and the ICE scandal at home — (LINK) — 21 January 2026

— "The president of the United States [gave] a virulently racist, insulting, rambling speech in which he complained that people call him a dictator but that 'sometimes you need a dictator'."

Fact-checking Trump's Davos speech: number of false assertions — 22 January 2026 (LINK)

— He said that after World War Two "we gave Greenland back to Denmark," adding: "How stupid were we to do that?" But it was not America's to give back.

Business Insider: I was in the room for Trump's Davos speech. The crowd was eerily silent until he mentioned Greenland. — 22 January 2026 (LINK)

— I was sitting among the 1,000 or so people in the Davos hall, some of whom were standing in packed aisles. If Trump wanted a raucous applause for his laundry list of accomplishments that he sees as crowning achievements over his first year, he didn't get it [...] — without the applause he is more used to on home soil. The only noise from the audience here was muted, nervous laughter. The biggest laughter came when Trump brought up French President Emmanuel Macron wearing aviator sunglasses at Davos a day earlier: "Those beautiful sunglasses. What the hell happened?" After Greenland, Trump abruptly pivoted to his greatest hits: "rigged elections" and the "crooked media." That left the crowd more confused. Some started looking at their phones. When Trump criticized the fiery Tuesday address of Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, he delivered perhaps his boldest line: That Canada only exists because of US defense. "Oh wow," someone behind me blurted out. A minute later, a few people started heading for the exits. Later, when Trump started attacking the country [they were in] in, Switzerland, more people streamed out. After Trump said [the Swiss President] "rubbed me the wrong way," there were audible gasps. More audience members left or looked at their phones. At the end, [after he returned to his script] there was applause, with about a third of the audience giving a standing ovation.

Newsom barred from public address in Switzerland by the Trump administration — 21 January 2026 (LINK)

— "Under pressure from the White House and State Department, USA House (a church acting as the official US pavilion) is now denying entry to Governor Newsom after Fortune — the official media partner — invited him to speak," the governor's office said.

The story beind Macron's $770 sunglasses: His office told Reuters he wore the sunglasses because of a burst blood vessel in his eye, and he was indeed spotted last week with one bloodshot eye — 21 January 2026 (LINK)

WEF: Davos 2026: What to know on Day 3 (LINK) 21 January 2026

Business leaders react to Trump's Davos speech: Europe "bluntly, needs to do better". "Trump basically admitted there is a housing bubble in the US." "Last two times Trump spoke at Davos he stuck extremely close to the teleprompter. Not this time." "You have to look at Europe and say their choices on energy policy have put them in the position they're in right now which is fairly weak economically and in a global position. And I thought he made a very good case for that" — 21 January 2026 (LINK)

AI at Davos 2026: From work impact to Europe's place. What the tech leaders hope and fear — 21 January 2026 (LINK)

— Artificial intelligence (AI) has infiltrated nearly every conversation at Davos 2026, rivalling the prominence of traditional hot-button issues such as trade tariffs, international competition, and geopolitical tensions. 'Once in a lifetime opportunity for Europe' — Jensen Huang, Nvidia. "We as a global community have to get to a point where we are using [AI] to do something useful that changes the outcomes of people and communities and countries and industries" — Satya Nadella, Microsoft. The most intelligent entities on the planet can also be the most deluded' — Yuval Harari. 'Not selling chips to China is one of the biggest things we can do' — Dario Amodei, Anthropic. ' More meaningful jobs created' — Demis Hassibis, Google DeepMind. "Many people interact with them with the false belief that they [AI] are like us." — Yoshua Bengio.

UN: Assembly president defends multilateralism, UN Charter in Davos — 21 January 2026 (LINK)

Heckler who booed Howard Lutnick during Davos event revealed to be Al Gore — 21 January 2026 (LINK)

— Lutnick was speaking at an invite-only VIP dinner event hosted by billionaire BlackRock boss Larry Fink when a heckler, now identified as climate change advocate and former Vice President Al Gore, started booing the former Cantor Fitzgerald CEO. Gore's reaction came after Lutnick attacked Europe in his remarks, prompting European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde to reportedly walk out of the event.

5 Top ICE 'corporate collaborators' saved $19 billion in taxes under Trump — 21 January 2026 (LINK)

World now in a state of 'global water bankruptcy', UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) report warns (LINK) 21 January 2026

Half of world's CO2 emissions come from just 32 fossil fuel firms, study shows: Saudi Aramco was the biggest state-controlled polluter and ExxonMobil was the largest investor-owned polluter. (LINK) 21 January 2026

IUCN launches group to conserve at-risk microbes vital to life on Earth: "For the first time, we have an official recognition that microbes need to be included in the conservation agenda" — 21 January 2026 (LINK)

— "We cannot talk about either climate change or biodiversity loss without talking about microbes, because we need them to keep the ecosystems healthy and working, and we need them to keep the organisms working." These tiny organisms produce as much as 20% of the oxygen in global seas.

— Previously unknown microbial communities growing on Australian tree bark uptake significant sums of methane (a greenhouse gas at least 20 times as powerful as carbon dioxide), along with carbon monoxide and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), pollutants harmful to human health.

Longevity isn't just about healthy lifestyle choices, but also a good draw in the genetic lottery — 21 January 2026 (LINK)

Bank of America warns investors unprepared for stock-market correction: Stock exposure is high, protection is low, and complacency is the biggest risk. Ray Dalio recommends allocating more to gold, citing geopolitical risk and central bank demand — 21 January 2026 (LINK)

Venezuela moves to prop up currency with $300 million from US oil sale (LINK) 21 January 2026

— Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez said the sum would be used to 'stabilize' the foreign exchange market. Before the US incursion on January 3, Venezuela had been forced to offer huge discounts on its crude oil to circumvent a US embargo.

World's oldest-known rock art found in Indonesian cave: The claw-like drawing of a human hand is roughly 67,800-years-old — 21 January 2026 (LINK)

Neanderthals took reusable toolkits with them on high-altitude treks through the Alps — 21 January 2026 (LINK)

— "These findings offer fresh insights into the lives of Neanderthals. While much of our knowledge comes from permanent settlements in valleys, this study suggests they were also skilled at planning trips. They knew how to prepare for long journeys, what gear they would need and when to move."

The 'most viewed photo ever' — of field in Sonoma Valley, California, used for Windows XP screen, is now rows and rows of vines — 21 January 2026 (LINK)

Tuesday 20 January 2026

! Israel just bulldozed the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem (LINK) 20 January 2026

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney gave a forceful speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on the “new world order” and how middle powers like Canada can benefit by working together: full transcript (LINK) 20 January 2026

WEF: Davos 2026: What to know on Day 2 (LINK) 20 January 2026

— Ideas on the Move - with Gita Gopinath

— New growth prospects

— Closing the AI diffusion divide

— Yuval Noah Harari: 'More intelligence doesn’t mean less delusion'

— Building a business case for nature

Alternet: Five of the wildest moments from Trump's rambling 1-year anniversary press conference (LINK) 20 January 2026

1. U.S. declares war on a binder clip
2. Trump calls jobs created by Democratic presidents "fake"
3. "Best stock market in history"
4. "Somalia isn't even a country."
5. "We have no inflation."

WEF: Over 60 heads of state are gathering at Davos 2026. Here's what they're saying (LINK) 20 January 2026

Surrounded by billionaires in Davos, where ski chalets cost $4.4 million, Trump plans to lay out how he'll make U.S. housing more affordable (LINK) 20 January 2026

Roughly half the world's arabica coffee-growing regions will become unsuitable for cultivation of the crop by 2050 due to the effects of climate change but the knowledge to save coffee already exists. The nonprofit Coffee Watch has now created an e-library of all the research ever conducted on coffee agroforestry to help producers grow the finicky plant (LINK) 20 January 2026

Trump family crypto holdings: stunning 20% shift to digital wealth in $6.8 billion portfolio (LINK) 20 January 2026

U.K. man collects candles from churches and shops and uses the candle wax to make temporary stoves for the military and civilians in Ukraine (LINK) 20 January 2026

Monday 19 January 2026

New WEF leader BlackRock's Larry Fink says Davos feels 'out of step' to many (LINK) 19 January 2026

— "For many people, this meeting feels out of step with the moment: elites in an age of populism, an established institution in an era of deep institutional distrust," he said. "If WEF is going to be useful going forward, it has to regain that trust." He hinted that the forum, which holds occasional offshoots in China and the Middle East, will add new events "in the places where the modern world is actually built," naming Detroit, Dublin, Jakarta, and Buenos Aires.

WEF: Davos 2026: What to know on Day 1 (LINK) 19 January 2026

— a new series of on-the-move video interviews today, catching up with Davos participants as they travel between panel sessions. First up: social media creators Marina Mogilko, better known as Silicon Valley Girl, and Max Klymenko from the Career Ladder.

— Data and insights on Day 1 of Davos 2026: AI paradoxes, Investing in Blue Foods: Innovation and Partnerships for Impact

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt on finding happiness in an AI age.

— Opening Concert sets the tone for Davos 2026

— Davos 2026 Monday morning media scan

Politico.eu: At Davos 2026, WEF is no longer so woke: "a turning point for a forum once synonymous with liberal globalism" (LINK) 19 January 2026

— "This year's World Economic Forum, which starts Monday, underscores a sharp shift for an event long caricatured as a 'woke' talking shop: Climate and diversity have slipped down the agenda, AI and growth are ascendant, and the United States — led by Trump and his inner circle — is set to dominate the stage. That shift coincided with a months-long campaign to land the U.S. president and reassert Davos' relevance after years of drift."

The big names who aren't going to Davos: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Danish government representatives, Brazil's President Lula da Silva, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, founder Klaus Schwab. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Italy's leader Giorgia Meloni are not on the WEF list, although both are reported to be attending. Many are sending high-levele delegations. Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing Reform UK, is expected to attend the event this year after criticising "people deciding our futures in Swiss ski resorts" (LINK) 18 January 2026

US President Donald Trump's policies helped boost billionaire wealth 16.2 percent to $18.3 trillion in the first year of his second term, leading to 'dangerous' political risks, Oxfam warns as Davos forum opens (LINK) 19 January 2026

White House journalist Andrew Feinberg on reporting the Trump administration (LINK) 19 January 2026

— Those of us who covered Trump's first administration thought we knew what to expect. Boy, were we wrong.

Swiss brown cow in Austria shows first case of flexible, multi-purpose tool use in cattle: picks up broom and uses it to scratch herself, chooses another stick for less sensitive areas (LINK) 19 January 2026. First documented case of bovine tool use (LINK)