10 Things Global News - 13th January 2026
Succinct, unbiased news from around the world
Trump Threatens Tariffs on Countries Trading With Iran
Trump Weighs Iran Diplomacy as Military Options Expand
Medvedev Claims Greenland Could Vote to Join Russia
Le Pen Appeal Opens Deciding 2027 Eligibility
Russia Reworks Oil Flows To Keep India Buying
US Warns Oreshnik Use Risks Escalating Ukraine War
Indonesia Malaysia Block Grok Over Sexualised Images
Carney Visits China to Reset Trade Ties
Jimmy Lai Sentencing Arguments Heard in Hong Kong
US EPA Drops Health Impacts From Pollution Cost Calculations
Donald Trump said any country “doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran” will face a 25 percent tariff on all trade with the United States, describing the measure as “effective immediately” and “final and conclusive”. He gave no details on how it would be implemented. The White House has not published formal documentation, and has not said what legal authority would be used or whether all of Iran’s trading partners would be covered. Tariffs are paid by US importers.
China said it opposed “any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction”, adding that “tariff wars and trade wars have no winners”. Iran’s top export destinations include China, the United Arab Emirates and India. Tehran said it was keeping communication channels with Washington open.
The announcement comes as Iran faces its largest anti-government demonstrations in years. The Norway-based group Iran Human Rights said at least 648 people have been killed, while the Human Rights Activists News Agency reported more than 10,600 arrests.
Sources: Bloomberg, The Guardian
President Trump is exploring diplomatic contacts with Iran while also weighing possible military action, according to US officials. The Pentagon is presenting a wider range of options, including cyber operations and strikes against Iran’s domestic security forces and ballistic missile sites. The White House said airstrikes were “one of the many options on the table”, but stressed that diplomacy remained the president’s first choice.
Iranian officials said communication channels with Washington were open. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was “ready for negotiations” but also “prepared for war”. The outreach follows weeks of unrest across the country.
US officials said any attack was not imminent and could prompt retaliation, underscoring the uncertainty surrounding the administration’s next steps as it weighs pressure against engagement.
Sources: BBC, New York Times
A senior ally of Vladimir Putin has claimed that Greenland could hold a referendum within days on joining Russia if the United States does not move to secure control of the island. Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and now deputy chairman of its security council, said Donald Trump “needs to hurry”, citing what he described as unverified information about a possible vote among the island’s 55,000 residents.
Trump has repeatedly argued that Greenland should belong to Washington to prevent Russia and China from gaining influence there, citing its location and natural resources as vital to US national security. His proposal has faced strong objections from Denmark and from Greenland’s own authorities. Russia has not made a formal claim to the territory, but has said it is closely monitoring its role in Arctic security.
Greenland hosts about 150 US troops, most based at the Pituffik Space Base, and sits near key Arctic shipping routes. Russia’s influence in regional cooperation has declined since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Sources: Reuters, GB News
Marine Le Pen begins a high-stakes appeal in Paris on Tuesday that will determine whether she can run in France’s 2027 presidential election, after being banned from public office over an embezzlement conviction. In March, she and eight other former National Rally lawmakers were found guilty of misappropriating more than four million euros of European Union funds and were handed a five-year ban, effective immediately.
Judges said the money, intended for work at the European Parliament between 2004 and 2016, was used to pay staff working for the party. Le Pen received a four-year prison sentence, partly suspended and partly to be served under home detention, and a 100,000-euro fine, though those penalties were frozen pending appeal. She says the use of funds was legitimate and that new judges will reassess the case.
The hearing runs until February 12, with a ruling expected before summer. If the ban stands, her protege Jordan Bardella is expected to step in.
Sources: Reuters, France 24
Russia is working to circumvent recent US sanctions so India can keep importing discounted Russian crude, according to industry analysts. Since the Ukraine war began, India has become the world’s second largest purchaser of Russian oil. US sanctions introduced at the end of November target companies or refineries that buy crude from Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil exporters and the biggest sellers to India.
Figures show an initial impact. India’s imports of Russian oil fell from an average of 1.7m barrels a day to roughly 1.2m barrels a day in December. But analysts say Russia is already reorganising supply chains, with new exporters emerging to act as intermediaries. One loophole is that a refinery is not subject to the sanctions if the crude is supplied by a company that is not Rosneft or Lukoil.
Russian crude remains cheaper. Analysts said discounts have pushed it $9 or $10 a barrel below Saudi or Iraqi oil. Data from Kpler put Russia’s share of India’s crude imports at about 25% in December, down from 44% in June.
Sources: The Guardian, Nikkei Asia
The United States accused Russia of a “dangerous and inexplicable escalation” in Ukraine during an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Monday, highlighting Russia’s use of a nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile last week. The US deputy ambassador to the UN, Tammy Bruce, said Russia’s action risked expanding and intensifying the war, even as Washington is trying to advance negotiations towards a peace settlement.
Russia said the missile targeted an aviation repair factory in the Lviv region and claimed it was fired in response to an attempted Ukrainian strike on one of Vladimir Putin’s residences, a claim Kyiv denied. It was the second time Russia has used the Oreshnik missile in combat. The UK said the strike was “reckless” and warned it carried a significant risk of escalation and miscalculation.
Hours after the UN meeting, Russia launched a new round of strikes on Kharkiv, killing at least four people and wounding at least six others, Ukrainian officials said.
Sources: Al Jazeera, The Independent
Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to block Grok, the AI chatbot on X, after regulators said it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual manipulated images, including content involving women and minors. Indonesia temporarily blocked access on Saturday, followed by Malaysia on Sunday, citing repeated misuse and concerns that safeguards were not preventing the creation and spread of fake pornographic content.
Indonesian officials said initial findings showed Grok lacked effective safeguards to stop users creating and distributing pornographic content based on real photos of Indonesian residents, risking privacy and image rights when images are manipulated or shared without consent. Malaysia said it issued notices to X Corp. and xAI demanding stronger safeguards and that access will remain blocked until effective protections are put in place.
Elsewhere, in the UK, Ofcom has opened a formal investigation into X, and xAI El in response Musk called the British government “fascist” and said it is trying stifle free speech.
Sources: Associated Press, CNN
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney departs for China on Tuesday for talks on trade and international security, as Canada faces uncertain relations with the United States amid a trade war and annexation threats from President Donald Trump.
The January 14-17 trip is the first visit to Beijing by a Canadian prime minister since 2017. Carney agreed to go after meeting Xi Jinping last October. Officials say he will sign a number of memoranda still under discussion, and aides describe the visit as part of a turning point in ties. A former Liberal adviser said China does not invite prime ministers for window dressing, and the trip will be monitored in Washington.
Trade irritants include China’s anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola announced in August and Canada’s 2024 tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports. Prairie producers say the canola tariffs have pummelled farms, while Ontario’s premier has urged Carney not to back down on EV duties.
Sources: Reuters, CBC
A Hong Kong court heard arguments on Monday on sentencing for democracy advocate and former media magnate Jimmy Lai, convicted under a national security law that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Sentencing will come later.
Lai, 78, founded the now-defunct Apple Daily and was arrested in 2020 after Beijing imposed the law following mass protests. He was found guilty in December of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. Dozens queued outside the court before sunrise to secure seats.
His lawyer said age, health issues and solitary confinement would make any term more burdensome, while prosecutors said his health was stable. Judges said in the December verdict that Lai spearheaded the conspiracies, though they said he was not on trial for his political views. Mitigation hearings continue Tuesday, including for co-defendants who pleaded guilty and are seeking reduced jail terms.
Sources: Associated Press, South China Morning Post
The Environmental Protection Agency said it will no longer consider the health impacts and related economic costs of some of the deadliest air pollutants when setting pollution rules, under a shift ordered by the Trump administration. The agency weakened emissions standards for new power plants and said future cost benefit analyses will calculate only compliance costs for industry, not the value of lives saved.
The change applies to pollutants that generate fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, and ozone. Long term exposure to both is linked to asthma, heart and lung disease, stroke and premature death. The EPA said it will still consider health impacts but will no longer monetise them, citing uncertainty in previous estimates.
Critics said courts have ruled agencies must weigh both costs and benefits, and warned the approach could increase premature deaths and face legal challenges.
Sources: New York Times, Washington Post
On this day …..
On this day in 1898, Émile Zola published his open letter “J’Accuse…!”, accusing the French state of deliberately framing Jewish army officer Alfred Dreyfus for treason.
Zola argued that forged evidence and institutional antisemitism, not facts, had driven the conviction, and that senior officials had concealed the truth to protect the army’s reputation.
The article split France, cost Zola his freedom, and forced a national reckoning over prejudice embedded in public institutions.
More than a century later, as antisemitism again rises in political discourse and violent attacks across many countries, the Dreyfus affair remains a warning that discrimination can be systemic, institutional and fiercely defended.