10 Things Global News - 23rd January 2026
Succinct, unbiased news from around the world
Trump Claims ‘Total Access’ to Greenland Under NATO Deal
EU Says US Ties Shaken After Greenland Turmoil
Zelensky Slams EU Says US Guarantees Are Ready
First Trilateral Ukraine Talks Set For Abu Dhabi
US House Tie Vote Blocks Limits On Venezuela Action
Trump Says US Armada Heading Toward Iran
Trump Files $5bn Suit Against JPMorgan Over Debanking
Trump Rescinds Canada Invite to Board of Peace
Japan Calls Snap Election After Parliament Dissolved
US Completes Withdrawal From World Health Organization
President Donald Trump said he had secured “total and permanent” US access to Greenland under a framework discussed with NATO, as the alliance’s secretary general said members would be asked to step up military support in the Arctic to counter Russia and China. He said the arrangement had no time limit.
Denmark and Greenland said they were unaware of the deal’s contents and rejected any discussion of sovereignty. Greenland’s prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said he did not know what was in the agreement and called sovereignty a red line. Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said no negotiations had been held with NATO on the island’s status.
NATO secretary general Mark Rutte said senior commanders would work through extra security requirements, hoping for progress in 2026. A 1951 agreement already allows the United States to build bases and move freely in Greenland with Danish and Greenlandic consent, and Washington operates a base at Pituffik.
Sources: ABC News, Reuters
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said relations with the United States have “taken a big blow over the last week”, as EU leaders gathered for an emergency summit after weeks of threats over Greenland that were suddenly rescinded with a vague deal on Arctic security. She said Europeans were “not willing to junk 80 years of good relations”.
The summit was convened after Donald Trump announced he would impose 10 per cent tariffs on eight European nations that resisted a US takeover of Greenland, then abandoned the tariff threat on Wednesday. Ursula von der Leyen said EU unity and engagement with the US in a “firm but non-escalatory manner” had helped defuse tensions.
Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said he did not know what was in the deal, but said the territory wanted a “peaceful dialogue” with the US and that its sovereignty was non-negotiable. He said: “We choose the Kingdom of Denmark, we choose the EU, we choose Nato.”
Sources: The Guardian, The Independent
Volodymyr Zelensky told the World Economic Forum that the EU lacked “political will” to counter Vladimir Putin, calling Europe a “fragmented kaleidoscope” of small and middle powers and saying it looked lost facing Donald Trump.
Minutes earlier he met Trump and said they had agreed what post-war US security guarantees for Ukraine would look like. He said the guarantees were “done” and ready to be signed by the leaders and ratified by the Ukrainian parliament and US Congress.
Zelensky said territory was the one outstanding issue in talks to end the war, describing it as “all about the land” in the eastern part of Ukraine. He said the United Arab Emirates would host trilateral talks on Friday and Saturday with Ukrainian, US and Russian negotiators. Russia occupies around 20 per cent of Ukraine and is pushing for full control of Donbas.
Sources: Le Monde, South China Morning Post
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian officials and US negotiators are due in Abu Dhabi on Friday for the first three-way talks since Russia invaded in 2022. The Kremlin confirmed Russia would attend after a late-night Moscow meeting between Vladimir Putin, US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, with a Kremlin aide calling the discussion substantive and constructive.
The agenda is unclear, and it is not clear whether Russian and Ukrainian officials will meet face to face. Zelenskyy said the talks would last two days, while Russia said a durable settlement was impossible until territorial issues were resolved.
Zelenskyy said the status of land occupied by Russia in eastern Ukraine was not solved, and said Russians must be ready for compromises, not only Ukraine. Trump said his Davos meeting with Zelenskyy went well, but said the main hold-up remained boundaries, and described Ukrainians’ winter without heat amid relentless strikes.
Sources: The Guardian, BBC
A US House resolution to bar President Donald Trump from further military action in Venezuela without congressional authorisation failed on a 215 to 215 tie vote. The measure directed the president to remove United States Armed Forces from Venezuela unless authorised by a declaration of war or specific statutory approval.
The vote was largely along party lines, with every Democrat in favour and every Republican against except Don Bacon and Thomas Massie. House leaders kept the vote open until Republican Wesley Hunt returned to cast the decisive no vote.
Supporters said they were trying to prevent another “forever war” and argued Congress should decide when troops are sent to war. Opponents said the resolution was unnecessary because there were no US troops fighting in Venezuela and accused Democrats of using it to attack Trump. The administration has described Maduro’s capture as a limited judicial operation to bring him to trial in the US on drug charges.
Sources: Reuters, New York Times
President Donald Trump said the United States has an “armada” heading towards Iran and that Washington is “watching” Tehran closely, while hoping it would not have to use the force. US officials said the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers would arrive in the Middle East in coming days.
Trump renewed warnings against killing protesters and said Iran cancelled nearly 840 hangings after his threats, while Iranian officials denied plans for executions. At least 3000 people have been killed during recent unrest.
Trump also said the United States would act if Tehran resumed its nuclear programme after US strikes on key sites in June. Iran must report to the IAEA on what happened to struck sites and nuclear material, including an estimated 440.9kg of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards commander said the force had its finger on the trigger and warned against miscalculations.
Sources: South China Morning Post, Al Jazeera
President Donald Trump sued JPMorgan Chase and its chief executive Jamie Dimon for $5bn, alleging the bank stopped providing services to him and his businesses for political reasons after he left office in January 2021. The lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade County court in Florida, says multiple accounts were abruptly closed in February 2021 with 60 days notice and no explanation, cutting him and his businesses off from millions of dollars.
Trump also alleges he raised the issue personally with Dimon and was told he would look into it, but did not follow up, and says the bank put him and his companies on a reputational “blacklist” used to block future accounts. The suit accuses the bank of trade libel and alleges Dimon violated Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
JPMorgan said it believes the suit has no merit, adding it does not close accounts for political or religious reasons but because they create legal or regulatory risk.
Sources: Associated Press, FT
President Donald Trump rescinded his invitation for Canadian prime minister Mark Carney to join his “Board of Peace” on Thursday, days after Carney criticised the US president’s America First doctrine at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Trump announced the decision in a social media post framed as a letter, calling the body “the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled”.
Carney had received the invitation last week and his staff said he planned to accept, but he distanced himself after it emerged members would be charged more than $1bn for a permanent seat and that leaders including France’s Emmanuel Macron had declined to join. Trump did not explain his decision, but he referenced Carney’s Davos remarks a day later, saying Canada “lives because of the United States”.
Carney responded in a national address that the two countries had built “a remarkable partnership”, but added: “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”
Sources: New York Times, CBC
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the lower house of parliament on Friday, triggering a snap election on February 8. The move starts what is the shortest gap on record between dissolution and polling, with campaigning set to begin on Tuesday.
Takaichi, elected in October as Japan’s first female leader, has been in office for three months and has approval ratings of about 70 percent. Her governing coalition holds only a slim majority in the 465-seat lower chamber. It’s not clear if high public support for the Takaichi cabinet will actually lead to support of the LDP.
Inflation and rising food costs are expected to dominate the campaign. Takaichi has promised a temporary sales tax cut on food if she wins a fresh mandate, and NHK polling showed 45 percent of respondents thought the top priority for the government should be the high cost of living.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Bloomberg
The United States formally withdrew from the World Health Organization on Thursday, one year after President Donald Trump announced plans to pull out. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of State said the exit was due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, its failure to adopt reforms and its inability to demonstrate independence from inappropriate political influence.
During the yearlong process, the US stopped funding WHO, withdrew all personnel and began pivoting activities previously conducted with WHO to direct bilateral engagements with other countries and organisations. All US personnel and contractors assigned to or embedded with WHO offices have been recalled.
HHS said the US will remain a global leader in health through existing and new engagements directly with other countries, the private sector, nongovernmental organisations and faith-based entities.
Sources: Dept. Health and Human Services, Washington Post
On this day …
On this day in 2018 the US started a trade war with China.
President Donald Trump approved new tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines, marking the first major trade action of his administration against Chinese-dominated supply chains.
Although the measures were formally “global safeguards”, Beijing interpreted them as a hostile signal and responded with its own tariffs months later.
The exchange escalated into a broader confrontation over technology, industrial policy, and market access, disrupting global manufacturing networks and raising costs for consumers and firms.
What began as a targeted trade remedy evolved into a structural rivalry that continues to shape economic diplomacy.