News headlines in January 2026

BRATISLAVA, January 29 (IPS) - “I’d never encountered anything like it before. I had no idea that there could be a place that needed humanitarian aid and that a government entity wouldn’t allow physicians or health workers into [that place],” says Jane.*

BANGKOK, Thailand, January 29 (IPS) - The International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation in 2025 was a timely reminder that the stability of Mongolia’s economy rests on fragile mountain systems that are melting faster than ever recorded. The loss reverberates across the country’s energy and agricultural systems, two development pillars that draw from the same finite resource: water.

Gambia’s Supreme Court is considering whether a law protecting women and girls from female genital mutilation (FGM) is constitutional. The practice, common in Gambia, often involves forcibly restraining girls while parts of their genitals are cut, sometimes with the wound sewn shut.

KABUL, January 28 (IPS) - Young women in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, are trying their hands at unfamiliar tasks in embroidery, tailoring and designing beads in market stalls. Many should instead have been sitting at desks writing computer software or reporting news, the fields they trained for.

CHIANG MAI, Thailand , January 28 (IPS) - From construction and hotel workers to kitchen and restaurant staff—estimates of the numbers of Myanmar migrants living in Thailand range up to six million, with a surge of new arrivals since the 2021 military coup.

CIVICUS speaks to the Business and Human Rights Centre (BHRC) about labour rights abuses in Myanmar’s garment industry since the 2021 military coup.

UNITED NATIONS, January 28 (IPS) - As Haiti’s Transitional President Council (TPC) approaches its February 7 expiration date and the country remains without a newly elected president, humanitarian experts warn the nation risks further sliding into insecurity, raising fears of broader collapse.

BERLIN, Germany, January 28 (IPS) - The United States’ attack on Venezuela marks a key watershed in the world order. We still cannot predict how this violation of another state’s sovereignty will ultimately play out.

The Security Council-endorsed UN Support Office in Haiti is on track to deliver on behalf of the Haitian people, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Wednesday.

The UN Security Council is holding a high-level open debate on the Middle East which is expected to focus on the Gaza peace plan – including the role of President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace – the continuing humanitarian crisis in the enclave and turmoil in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, following the demolition of UNRWA’s headquarters there. Follow live coverage below, and UN News app users can click here.