Sunday, January 26th, 2025 

Saudi Arabia announces that it will invest 600 billion USD in the United States economy. (Al Arabiya) 

The Syrian newspaper Enab Baladi announces it will return to Syria after a decade in exile following the Syrian civil war. (The New Arab) 

A heist at the Drents Museum in Assen, Netherlands, results in the loss of valuable Dacian gold and silver artifacts, including the Helmet of Coțofenești. (Dutch News) 

Spirit Airlines announces a ban on passengers who wear “lewd” clothing or have “offensive” tattoos. (The Hill) 

Newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces the release of American citizen Anastasia Nufer from a prison in Belarus. (Rferl.org) 

A vote is held in Belarus for president, with President Alexander Lukashenko expected to extend his rule, in an election that the Belarusian opposition, the United States, and the European Parliament have called a sham election. (Al Jazeera) 

Israeli forces open fire on a crowd of displaced Palestinians waiting at the Netzarim Corridor, killing two people and wounding seven others, including a child. Israeli authorities allege that the shooting was due to the delayed release of Israeli hostage Arbel Yahud. (Anadolu Ajansi) 

Israeli soldiers open fire against the Lebanese Army and civilians in two villages in southern Lebanon, killing 22 people and wounding at least 124 more. (Al Jazeera)

Israel reneges on part of its ceasefire deal and blocks Palestinians from returning to North Gaza through the Netzarim Corridor. Israel said that Hamas breach the deal first when it didn’t releases civilians first including Arbel Yehud as part of the deal. (BBC News) 

Hamas frees four Israeli hostages, including Naama Levy, in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners, including 121 people serving life sentences after being convicted of carrying out deadly attacks against Israelis, as part of the ceasefire deal. (AP) 

Russian forces capture the village of Velyka Novosilka. (Mathrubhumi) 

At least 27 Nigerian soldiers, including the commanding officer of the 149th Battalion, are killed and dozens of others wounded in a suicide bombing carried out by an Islamic State fighter in the Malam-Fatori, Borno State, Nigeria. (Al Jazeera) 

President of Colombia Gustavo Petro blocks two US military aircraft carrying deported Colombians as part of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown from landing in his country. (The Guardian) 

United States president Donald Trump enacts a 25% tariff on all goods traded to the US from Colombia, which will be raised to 50% in one week. (CNN) 

The dispute was settled following Trump’s actions, when President Petro agreed to accept repatriated deportees, and even offered his presidential plane to fly them from the U.S. to Columbia.(Fox News) 

March 23 Movement rebels begin their advance into the city of Goma. (Al Jazeera) 

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urges Rwanda to end its support for rebels in DR Congo and withdraw Rwandan soldiers from Congolese territory. (Al Jazeera) 

Congolese foreign minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner called Rwanda’s military support for M23 rebels a “declaration of war.” (DW) 

DR Congo severed its diplomatic relations with Rwanda as Rwandan-backed rebels advance on the city of Goma, the capital of the DRC’s North Kivu province. (The Guardian) 

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is formally indicted on insurrection charges over his declaration of martial law in December 2024. (The Washington Post) 

In tennis, Jannik Sinner defeats Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7(7)-6(4), 6-3, in the men’s singles final to win his second Australian Open title and his third Grand Slam overall. (The Guardian) 

Chelsea F.C. Women sign American defender Naomi Girma coming from San Diego Wave FC for a world-record fee of $1.1 million making her the most expensive women player and the first million-dollar transfer in women’s soccer history. (CBS Sports) 

In motor racing, the Porsche Penske Motorsport team wins the 63rd 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race with drivers Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, and Laurens Vanthoor. 

Saturday, January 25th, 2025 

Pete Hegseth is confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Defense in a 51–50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. (NBC News) 

The U.S. State Department freezes nearly all foreign aid except military aid to Israel and Egypt, as well as emergency food programs. (Global News) 

Mexico denies a request from the United States to allow a military aircraft deporting migrants from the U.S. to land in Mexico. (Reuters) 

Hamas frees four Israeli hostages including Naama Levy in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners including 121 people serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis. The exchange is part of the ceasefire deal. (AP) 

30 people are killed in a drone attack on the Saudi Hospital, one of the last functioning hospitals in El-Fasher, Sudan. (Al Arabiya) 

Eighty-four ELN combatants surrender to Colombian authorities as offensive operations resume in the Catatumbo region. Colombian authorities also rescue 20 child soldiers from ELN’s 33rd Front. (El Colombiano) 

A police officer was shot dead by a sniper from the National Liberation Army (ELN), in Río Iró, Chocó Department.(El Tiempo) 

Six peacekeepers, three from South Africa and three from Malawi, are killed as fighting intensifies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between government forces and M23 rebels. (24news) 

A Pakistani court sentences four people to death for blasphemy, allegedly because they posted sacrilegious material on social media about Islamic religious figures and the Quran. (Al Arabiya) 

In tennis, Madison Keys wins her first major title after defeating the two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, 6–3, 2–6, 7–5, to win the women’s singles title at the Australian Open. (CNN) 

Henry Patten and Harri Heliövaara defeat Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 6(16)-7(18), 7(7)-6(5), 6-3, in the men’s doubles final to win their first Australian Open title and their second joint Grand Slam title. (BBC News) 

Friday,  January 24th, 2025 

The US Department of State ban consular posts from flying any flags other than that of the United States Flag as part of the Trump administration targeting several instances during the Biden administration when LGBTQ pride and Black Lives Matters flags were flown at embassies abroad. (The Guardian) 

US Federal law enforcement and ICE agents have arrested nearly 500 undocumented migrants with arrest warrants in sanctuary cities, including New York and New Jersey. The arrests include an alleged El Salvadorian MS-13 gang member, a Jamaican citizen who had been arrested for alleged sexual exploitation of a minor, and a Honduran citizen. (CTV News) 

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order to declassify files related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. (Axios) 

Ukraine finalizes military reforms aimed at recruiting 18- to 25-year-olds to the armed forces, penalizing draft dodgers, and lowering the minimum compulsory military service age to 25 from 27. (The Kyiv Independent) 

The Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War announces that, with assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross, the bodies of 757 Ukrainian soldiers have been returned to Ukraine. (The Kyiv Independent) 

A Ukrainian drone strike targets an oil refinery in Ryazan Oblast, Russia, in one of the largest Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russia of the conflict to date. The Russian military says it shot down at least 121 drones over 13 regions overnight. (BBC News) 

Over 60,000 people demonstrate across Slovakia in protest of Prime Minister Robert Fico‘s anti-Ukrainian, pro-Russian, and Eurosceptic policies. (AP) 

Mass protests and a general strike are held across Serbia, in an escalation of months of anti-government protests. (France24) 

A Russian drone strikes a ten-storey apartment building in Fastiv, Kyiv Oblast, killing at least three people. (Euronews) 

Hamas confirms that an Israeli airstrike last summer killed Rawhi Mushtaha, according to Israel “head of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip“, along with Sameh al-Siraj, who held the security portfolio in Hamas’s political bureau, and Sami Odeh, the head of Hamas’s “general security mechanism”. (Al Sharq AlAwsat) 

The Colombian National Army and National Police begin offensive operations across eleven municipios of the Catatumbo region. (El Tiempo) 

At least thirteen Islamic State militants are allegedly killed in heavy fighting as Puntland forces claim they successfully took over the towns of Turmasaale and Janno-Jiifta in the Bari region, Puntland, Somalia. (The Somali Digest) (Idil News) 

I’m Still Here becomes the first Brazilian movie to be nominated for Best Picture. (The Washington Post) (Reuters) 

The Canadian Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship department announces a limit of 437,000 study permits for 2025, a 10% reduction from 2024, as part of efforts to address pressures on housing, healthcare, and other public services caused by the country’s rapid population growth. (Reuters) 

At least 140 dolphins are found stranded on the shores of Mareero Beach near Bosaso, Puntland, Somalia, with 60 confirmed dead and 30 returned to the sea. ( (Reuters) 

The Cabinet of Hun Manet approves a bill that strengthens penalties for Cambodian genocide denial, proposing prison terms of one to five years and fines of US$2,500 to $125,000. (AP) 

A wind gust provisionally measured at 183 km/h was recorded in Connemara in County Galway, which would surpass Ireland’s record wind gust of 182 km/h set in 1945. A mean wind speed of 135 km/h was also measured, which would surpass Ireland’s sustained wind record also set in 1945. (The Irish Times) 

Thursday, January 23rd, 2025 

The International Criminal Court prosecutor requests arrest warrants against Afghanistan’s Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Taliban chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, accusing them of crimes against humanity. (Reuters) 

U.S. district judge for Washington John C. Coughenour temporarily blocks President Donald Trump’s executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional”. (Reuters)

Four people are killed and five more injured in a stampede at a delivery of food and money amid Lunar New Year celebrations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (AP) 

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael form a coalition government with the backing of several independent TDs. Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin is elected as Taoiseach, with Fine Gael leader Simon Harris as Tánaiste. (Politico) 

The End