News headlines in January 2026

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, January 26 (IPS) - When Ugandans went to the polls on 15 January, the outcome was never in doubt. As voting began, mobile internet services ground to a halt, ensuring minimal scrutiny as President Yoweri Museveni secured his seventh consecutive term. Far from offering democratic choice, the vote reinforced one of Africa’s longest-running presidencies, providing a veneer of democratic legitimacy while stifling competition.

NEW YORK, January 26 (IPS) - At a press conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Trump unveiled his newly formed Board of Peace to end the Israel-Hamas war. During a press conference in the White House, he explained that he created the board because “The UN should have settled every one of the wars that I settled. I never went to them. I never even thought to go to them.”

UNITED NATIONS, January 26 (IPS) - Judging by the mixed signals coming out of the White House, is the Board of Peace, a creation of President Donald Trump, eventually aimed at replacing the UN Security Council or the United Nations itself?At a ceremony in Davos, Switzerland last week, Trump formally ratified the Charter of the Board — establishing it as “an official international organization”.

The head of embattled UN relief agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, has condemned reports that its headquarters in East Jerusalem have been set alight deliberately.

The staggering amount of harmful AI-generated online content has prompted an urgent call from across the UN system for a raft of measures to protect children from abuse, exploitation and mental trauma.

“Giving up is not an option - so many people depend on you,” the words of Maryanne Gichanga, a participant in a UN supported initiative, which aims to help farmers in Kenya find solutions to alleviate the pressures of climate change on agriculture production.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a detailed statement regretting the United States decision to leave the UN agency, and declaring that it will leave both the US and the world less safe as a result.

The senior UN official in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, has issued a condemnation of the massive overnight Russian drone and missile strike on several major Ukrainian cities, killing and injuring civilians, and knocking out energy infrastructure amid sub-zero temperatures.

CIVICUS speaks with Belarusian activist, blogger and journalist Mikola Dziadok about his experiences as a two-time political prisoner and the repression of dissent in Belarus. Mikola was jailed following mass protests in 2020.

UNITED NATIONS, January 23 (IPS) - Nearly four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine faces another winter marked by widespread humanitarian suffering and continued indiscriminate attacks. The final months of 2025 were particularly volatile, characterized by routine bombardment of densely populated areas and repeated strikes on residential neighborhoods, critical civilian infrastructure, and humanitarian facilities. As hostilities expanded into new territories over the past year, humanitarian needs grew sharply, with many war-torn communities residing in uninhabitable areas.