World

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met in Nara, Takaichi’s hometown, on Tuesday and agreed to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation at a time of rising geopolitical uncertainty around the world.

All three are members of Lighthouse, a group investigated for a BBC documentary and podcast in 2023

Information trickling out of Iran on Tuesday suggests that a crackdown by authorities to end more than two weeks of widespread anti-government protests has likely been far more deadly than activists outside the country have reported. With phone lines opening back up for calls from inside the Islamic Republic, two sources, including one inside Iran, told CBS News on Tuesday that at least 12,000, and possibly as many as 20,000 people have been killed.

At least five Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as a fierce winter storm toppled buildings damaged by Israeli attacks in its genocidal war on the territory, the Wafa news agency is reporting.

Road project, part of blueprint for new illegal settlement in E1 area east of Jerusalem, is considered a tool of annexation

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Four people have been killed in the latest strikes by Russia that have mainly targeted the power grid.

*Exclusive: China Labor Watch says people aged 16-18 employed without required special protections*

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Chinese officials are using a ‘highly specific’ interpretation of EU rules to suggest Taiwanese figures should not be granted visas, EU officials say.

In short: The National Socialist Network says it will disband in response to proposed new hate speech laws by the federal government.

Already facing chronic power shortages in freezing temperatures, Kyiv’s energy infrastructure was once again the target of Russian drones, cruise, and ballistic missiles overnight on Jan. 13 which came just four days after the last mass attack.

High-profile studies reporting the presence of microplastics throughout the human body have been thrown into doubt by scientists who say the discoveries are probably the result of contamination and false positives. One chemist called the concerns “a bombshell”.

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More children die from exposure to cold in Gaza amid winter storms. Destroyed buildings collapse and crush tents and makeshift homes west of Gaza City, killing at least four Palestinians. Gaza’s doctors are without proper medical instruments leading to “total diagnostic collapse.” UN warns rain and cold are reversing humanitarian gains in Gaza. UN finds acute malnutrition in 6.4% of screened children in Gaza. Israeli police probe uncovers abuse by Haredi Border Police unit. An unnamed Iranian official says around 2,000 killed in Iran’s protests with the country’s internet and telecommunications partially restored. President Donald Trump announces secondary tariffs for Iran’s trading partners and weighs strikes on Iran as diplomacy remains in play. Iran’s national security secretary dismisses Trump’s threats to Tehran rallies. Iran’s parliamentary speaker threatens regional retaliation in address to Trump. Iran summons European ambassadors, screens protest violence footage. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado set to meet Trump at White House. The Trump administration more than doubles annual visa revocations. Minnesota, Minneapolis, Saint Paul sue Homeland Security to stop “federal invasion” by ICE. Right-wing groups fundraise for Minneapolis ICE agent. Billionaire Steve Cohen pushes renewed bid to privatize veterans’ mental health care. Israeli attacks hit multiple southern Lebanon villages near the border. Sudan’s army prepares a major offensive to retake Kordofan and Darfur. A Rapid Support Forces (RSF) drone strike hits an army base in Sinja, killing 27, while another strike kills at least 10 in southeastern Sudan. Somalia cancels UAE security and defense deals over alleged transit of Yemeni secessionist leader. Regional backlash disrupts UAE arms flights to Sudan’s RSF. Darfur governor accuses Ethiopia of backing Sudan’s RSF. Boulos says that the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and UAE aligned on defeating Houthis. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks with Trump amid security tensions.

Translation to English by Mistral AI (French):

Officials say over 100,000 residents in the Texas border city of El Paso were left with little to no water after a main break over the weekend, and it was expected to take till mid-week for operations to return to normal.

Investors are now asked to detail their overseas income and financial investments.

The director of a leading Australian writers’ festival has resigned after the board cancelled an appearance by a Palestinian-Australian author.

An Indian rocket carrying 16 loads of equipment and experiments including an earth surveillance satellite went off track after liftoff on Monday in a fresh setback to the workhorse launch vehicle of the Indian Space Research Organisation.

One source said the talks revolved around the sale of JF-17 jets, a multi-role combat aircraft jointly developed by Pakistan and China, and drones designed for surveillance and striking targets. The other two sources said the talks were in an advanced stage and involved more than 40 JF-17 jets. One of them said Indonesia was also interested in Pakistan’s Shahpar drones.

The hypocrisy and irony of Trump and his cronies are just so fucking ridiculous.

Israel launches weekend attacks in Khan Younis, the Al-Bureij refugee camp, and Gaza City, killing at least two Palestinians on Saturday and seven more on Sunday. Two more children freeze to death in Gaza. Grave and headstone built for renowned Palestinian poet and professor Refaat Alareer ten months after he is laid to rest. Israel released twelve detainees into Gaza on Sunday. Israel is filling Gaza with junk food, while blocking food with nutritious value and medicine. The shooting of the director of police investigations in Khan Younis is under investigation. A Palestinian summit on Gaza’s governance is expected in Cairo this week. The last Bedouin community in the southern Jordan valley is being forcibly displaced, B’Tselem says. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he hopes to “taper” Israel’s reliance on U.S. military aid. The death toll in Iran amid nationwide protests may be as high as 544. Iran’s army pledges to defend the country’s “national interests.” President Donald Trump says Iran’s leaders have reached out to discuss a nuclear deal. U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent says more sanctions on Venezuela might be lifted this week, as Trump signs an E.O. declaring Venezuela’s oil funds “sovereign property.” The Venezuelan government releases at least 18 prisoners, human rights groups say. ICE buys a surveillance system with the capacity to monitor entire neighborhoods. Federal Reserve Chair Powell addresses the threat of criminal charges. U-Haul truck attacks protestors in Los Angeles. Rapid Support Forces seize Jarjira in Darfur, as Sudanese government returns to Khartoum. Pakistan nears an arms deal with the Sudanese Army. An anti-Houthi “Supreme Military Committee” is announced in Yemen. Fighting ceases in Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods. Bolivia’s government will restore fuel subsidies after protests. Somalia’s defense minister says Israel wants to move Palestinians to Somaliland.

Human rights groups estimate more than 500 people have been killed and more than 10,600 arrested in the ongoing protests.

The Swedish defense company Saab has released a promotional video showcasing the RBS-15 missile, which, much like the Ukrainian Neptune, has evolved from a purely anti-ship weapon into a versatile system designed to engage a wide range of targets.

Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces continue to systematically dismantle Russia’s air defense network deep behind the front line, demonstrating a growing ability to strike high-value targets at operational depth. On January 12, 2025, Ukrainian drone operators destroyed three key enemy systems across the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk directions in what was described as a single coordinated combat episode.

U.K. ministers are warning Elon Musk’s X it faces a ban if it doesn’t get its act together. But outlawing the social media platform is easier said than done.

The protests in Iran have grown increasingly violent, but most Iranians don’t see the US and Israel as their saviours

Political score-settling has come early in Gaza, with Palestinian militias, backed by Israel, picking off Hamas leaders one by one

Self-governing island stresses it is member of Nato, which is looking at improving Arctic defences, through Denmark

As Kyiv faces prolonged blackouts and subzero temperatures, officials and energy experts warn that the city’s infrastructure is nearing its limits. Although the number of buildings without heat has decreased since the Jan. 9 mass missile and drone attack, the broader impact of the crisis on daily life is only deepening.

Three Palestinians have been killed in the southern Gaza Strip in Israel’s latest violation of October’s ceasefire in its genocidal war on the besieged enclave, according to sources in Gaza, as an anti-Hamas militia has claimed an attack that has killed a senior security officer.

LONDON (AP) — Iran’s leadership is under incredible pressure as the largest protests in years against the Islamic theocracy shake the country.

11 January 2026 09:42 GMT Last update: 10:13 ET by Penny Green

Research conducted by researchers at the University of Gothenburg shows that people tend to rate their own risk of being affected by climate change as lower than that of others. This perception may reduce individuals’ willingness to act and slow down necessary climate measures.

The Somali government has cancelled security and defense agreements with the UAE linked to several key ports, citing alleged breaches of the country’s sovereignty, national unity, and political independence, the prime minister’s office said in a statement on Monday, Anadolu reports.

Iran’s main trading partners are China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, according to Trading Economics

“This policy will cause more deaths of vulnerable Americans, like infants and the elderly,” said one critic. “Also, it appears to be a violation of the Clean Air Act.”

As the Trump administration openly discusses purchasing or seizing Greenland, UK officials have carefully avoided confrontation.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has directly addressed the EU’s consideration of further sanctions against Iran.

Spanish police have made their largest seizure of cocaine at sea after finding almost 10 tonnes of the drug hidden among a cargo of salt on a merchant ship off the Canary Islands.

Heng Guan, a Chinese national who documented a network of detention facilities in China’s northwestern Xinjiang province, has spent months in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody as the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attempted to deport him.

Uganda heads to the polls this Thursday, but for opposition leaders, the election is being overshadowed by concerns over political repression and the detention of government critics.

The proposal, announced via social media on Saturday, comes just one week after the United States military captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in Caracas. Petro’s vision seeks to revive the 19th-century state — which comprised modern-day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela — as a defensive and economic bloc, a move critics view as a populist strategic pivot amid heightened regional tensions and U.S. interventionism.

Jacques Moretti has been placed in pretrial detention for at least three months. He and his wife, Jessica Moretti, are under investigation over possible negligence.

Authorities in the Landes region of south-west France said three people died and 15 were injured in road accidents on Tuesday, while two more were killed in accidents in the Paris area. One driver died in hospital on Monday night after veering into the Marne River and another was killed after a collision with a heavy goods vehicle in the east of the French capital.

*The move comes after the bot was found to be generating explicit images of women and children, without consent, on Elon Musk’s X.*

*Canada’s PM seeks to smooth over past ructions in relationship with China as trade war takes its toll*

The future of a leading Australian arts festival hangs in the balance after former New Zealand premier Jacinda Ardern became the latest prominent figure to pull out in solidarity with a Palestinian writer.

Washington (United States) (AFP) – Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Sunday that US prosecutors have opened a probe into his comments to lawmakers and threatened an indictment, a move he said is part of President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on monetary policy decisions.

Somalia’s Defence Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi has accused Israel of planning to forcibly displace Palestinians to the breakaway region of Somaliland, denouncing the alleged plan as a “serious violation” of international law.

The EU is reportedly demanding guarantees the UK will compensate the bloc if a future government reneges on the Brexit “reset” agreement Keir Starmer is currently negotiating.

The UK has settled out of court by paying a “substantial sum” to a Guantánamo Bay detainee who was suing the government for its alleged complicity in his rendition and torture, according to the inmate’s legal team.

The only thing that kept Dr Ahmed Muhanna going during his 22 months inside Israeli prisons and detention centres was dreaming of his return to his family and to Gaza. When he was finally released after 665 days as a prisoner, he arrived home to find every place he had returned to in his memories had been obliterated.

The “put her in a bikini” trend began quietly at the end of last year before exploding at the start of 2026. Within days, hundreds of thousands of requests were being made to the Grok chatbot, asking it to strip the clothes from photographs of women. The fake, sexualised images were posted publicly on X, freely available for millions of people to inspect.

As Agence France-Presse reports, Venezuelan officials say the US air strikes that killed at least 56 soldiers also destroyed numerous non-military targets, including the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC).

*Organisers clarify award ‘cannot be revoked, shared or transferred’ after Venezuelan opposition leader’s comments*

Summary: the Iranian government has intensely used lethal force on protesters. In Tehran alone, several hundred people have been killed. In the whole country - most likely several times more.

Iran’s foreign minister said on Monday that the situation has come under total control after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.