10 Things Global News - 22nd January 2026
Succinct, unbiased news from around the world
Trump Drops Greenland Tariffs After NATO Deal Framework
EU Still Wary After Trump Greenland Tariff U-Turn
US Seeks Cuban Regime Change By Year End
Putin Floats $1bn For Trump Peace Board
House Panel Votes Clintons In Contempt
Australia Marks Bondi Attack Mourning Day
Israeli Strike Kills Three Gaza Photojournalists
Zelensky To Meet Trump As Envoys Head To Moscow
Newsom Says White House Blocked Davos Appearance
China Adviser Warns US Debt Path Not Sustainable
President Donald Trump scrapped threatened tariffs on eight European nations on Wednesday after agreeing with NATO on “the framework of a future deal” on Arctic security, reversing a plan to use trade pressure to seek U.S. control of Greenland. The decision followed a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Trump said “additional discussions” were under way on Greenland linked to the Golden Dome missile-defense system, a multilayered, $175 billion programme that would put U.S. weapons in space. He said a long-term deal could meet U.S. security needs and access to critical minerals while blocking Russia and China’s ambitions in the Arctic.
Denmark said any outcome must respect its sovereignty and the right of Greenlanders to self-determination. Rutte said the question of Greenland’s status “did not come up” in his talks with Trump, and financial markets rebounded after the reversal.
Sources: Associated Press, Reuters
European officials cautioned that major challenges remain after Donald Trump said he would not impose tariffs on countries supporting Greenland. Trump posted that he and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had formed “the framework of a future deal” on Arctic security, and said the measures would not take effect on Feb. 1. He had vowed a 10 percent tariff from Feb. 1, with levies on European exports set to rise from June 1.
Germany’s Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil said it was too early to conclude the spat was over and urged people to wait and see what substantive agreements emerge. EU leaders are still set to meet Thursday, with officials saying they cannot govern based on social media posts. Even with tariffs off the table, they say Greenland remains on the table.
Sources: Politico, Associated Press
The Trump administration is searching for Cuban government insiders who could help cut a deal to push out the Communist regime by the end of the year, people familiar with the matter said. Officials say the effort is emboldened by the US ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the concessions secured from his allies.
The administration has assessed Cuba’s economy as close to collapse and the government as never this fragile after losing a vital benefactor in Maduro. Senior officials say Washington intends to choke off subsidised Venezuelan oil, warning Cuba could run out of fuel within weeks and the economy grind to a halt.
Officials say the January 3 raid that captured Maduro, aided by an insider, killed 32 Cuban soldiers and intelligence operatives and should serve as an implicit warning to Havana. Trump warned on January 11 that there would be “no more oil or money” for Cuba.
Wall Street Journal, Hindustan Times
President Donald Trump is establishing a “Board of Peace” that he has described as a mediator for global conflicts beyond Gaza, prompting fresh questions about the United Nations’ future role as a primary broker of peace. The U.N. Security Council authorised the board in November to serve as a transitional body to oversee a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia could direct one billion dollars to the Peace Council from Russian assets frozen in the United States, and said the remaining frozen funds held in the U.S. could be used to rebuild regions damaged by fighting after a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine is signed. He said the proposal has been discussed with Washington and would be taken up further during talks on Thursday with Trump’s envoys.
It was not immediately clear how many countries would accept Trump’s invitation to join the board.
Sources: Times of India, Associated Press
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted on Wednesday to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in criminal contempt of Congress after they refused to comply with subpoenas linked to the panel’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Committee Republicans said the Clintons did not appear for scheduled, closed-door depositions last week. The Clintons’ lawyers said the subpoenas were “unenforceable” and that they had already provided the “limited information” they had about Epstein.
The committee voted 34-8 to hold Bill Clinton in contempt, with two members voting present, including nine Democrats voting with Republicans. Three Democrats voted to hold Hillary Clinton in contempt. The referrals now go to the full House of Representatives, and if approved would be sent to the Justice Department for a decision on possible prosecution.
Sources: BBC, NPR
Australia is observing a national day of mourning on Thursday for the 15 victims of the 14 December attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, when two gunmen opened fire at a Jewish celebration. Flags are being flown at half-mast across the country, with a moment of silence planned for 7:01 pm Sydney time.
In Sydney, memorial events include a service at the Sydney Opera House, with additional gatherings at Bondi’s Chabad House and tributes near the beach. Under the New South Wales government’s One Mitzvah for Bondi initiative, Australians were urged to do a good deed, and about 2,500 acts of kindness were registered.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Bondi is “a welcoming embrace” and called the attack “a stain on our nation”. Parliament has approved tougher gun laws, and Albanese has also launched a royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion.
Source: The Guardian, Al Jazeera
Three Palestinian journalists were killed in an Israeli strike in the al-Zahra area in central Gaza on Wednesday, first responders said. Gaza’s Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said their car was hit and named them as Mohammed Salah Qashta, Anas Ghneim and Abdul Raouf Shaat. AFP said Shaat was a regular contributor and demanded a “full and transparent investigation” into his death.
The Israeli military said troops “identified several suspects who operated a drone affiliated with Hamas” and that it “precisely struck” them because the drone posed a threat. It said the incident was under examination. An eyewitness said the journalists were using a drone to take images of aid distribution by the Egyptian Relief Committee when a strike targeted a vehicle accompanying them.
Hamas called the strike a “dangerous escalation” and the Committee to Protect Journalists said it was “appalled”.
Sources: BBC, Le Monde
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is planning to travel to Davos on Thursday for a meeting with President Donald Trump. Trump confirmed he will meet Zelensky after his speech at Davos, saying, “I think Russia wants to make a deal, I think Ukraine wants to make a deal” and “we are relatively close”.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said he and Jared Kushner will travel to Russia on Thursday for talks with President Vladimir Putin on proposals for a peace plan. Witkoff said “The Russians have invited us to come” and that he and Kushner will leave Thursday night and arrive in Moscow late at night. The Kremlin later confirmed the meeting.
Zelensky had earlier decided not to travel to Switzerland after a massive Russian attack left parts of Ukraine facing water and electricity shortages amid a brutal winter.
Sources: Axios, South China Morning Post
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was blocked from speaking at a World Economic Forum event in Davos after being denied entry to USA House, the official US pavilion, despite being invited by Fortune.
His office said the decision came under pressure from the White House and that a USA House official cancelled the event shortly before it began, citing afternoon programming.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly criticised Newsom for attending the summit and said he should focus on problems in California, calling him a “third-rate governor”.
Several Trump administration officials spoke at USA House, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who mocked Newsom and said he should focus on homelessness, wildfires and state budgets. Newsom was in the audience when Trump demanded Denmark cede control of Greenland and referred to him as a “good guy”.
Sources: Washington Post, BBC
An adviser to China’s central bank has publicly questioned the stability of United States government debt, warning that its share of gross domestic product is rising and “probably not sustainable”. Huang Yiping, an adviser to the People’s Bank of China, said the current institutional setting and the style of presidential policymaking meant fiscal discipline was unlikely to have an effect in the near term.
Huang made the remarks at an academic forum with Harvard professor Jason Furman on the Chinese and American economies at the National University of Singapore. Furman said the US deficit was “clearly too large” and that the debt trajectory was on an increasingly “unsustainable path”.
US government debt rose to US$38.4 trillion by the end of 2025, up about US$2.23 trillion from a year earlier. Market unease has grown amid attacks on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and tariff threats linked to Greenland, while China cut its holdings to US$682.6 billion, the lowest level since 2008.
Sources: South China Morning Post, Investing Live
On this day ….
On 22 January 1973, the US Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that the Constitution protected a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion, striking down many existing state bans.
The decision rapidly became one of the most consequential and contested judgments in modern American history, shaping electoral politics, judicial appointments, and cultural debate for decades.
Supporters viewed it as a cornerstone of personal liberty and gender equality, while opponents argued it exceeded the Court’s authority.
Few rulings have so deeply influenced how law, religion, and political identity intersect in the United States.