News headlines in January 2026

NEW YORK, January 15 (IPS) - Unlike ever before, Iran’s Islamic regime is facing a revolt led by a generation that has lost its fear. Young and old, men and women, students and workers, are flooding the streets across the country.

NAIROBI, January 15 (IPS) - President Donald Trump has escalated efforts to further distance the United States from international organizations and entities focused on climate, the environment, and energy. This strategy is in step with his administration’s established approach to undermine and redirect funds and international cooperation away from climate and clean energy programs.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday that it is struggling to keep emergency operations running in Sudan, where more than 1,000 days of war have pushed families to the brink.

Hearings continued on Thursday at the UN’s top court into the Gambia’s claim that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya people, with allegations that military officials incited violence by calling the ethnic minority “Muslim dogs” who should be made “extinct”.

BRATISLAVA, January 14 (IPS) - Israel must lift all restrictions on medicine, food and aid coming into Gaza, rights groups have demanded, as two reports released today (Jan 14) document how maternal and reproductive healthcare have been all but destroyed in the country.

BANGKOK, Thailand, January 14 (IPS) - Take a deep breath. Did you know that in many countries in Asia and the Pacific, the air we breathe falls short of the safety standards for air quality set by the World Health Organization? While the start of a new year signals new beginnings, it also marks the continuation of the recurring air quality crisis across many countries in the region.

With the multilateral system under pressure and under attack, Member States must fight for the United Nations, the President of the General Assembly said on Wednesday, laying out her priorities for its resumed 80th session.

A fragile political calm in Yemen is fraying, with renewed instability and aid restrictions deepening hunger, illness and displacement for millions of civilians, senior UN officials warned the Security Council on Wednesday.

The temporary closure of a UN-run health centre in East Jerusalem is the latest phase in “a pattern of deliberate disregard” for international law, the head of the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said on Wednesday.

The past 11 years have been the warmest in the modern era, while oceans continue to heat up, too, says the UN weather agency.