A proposed “Board of Peace” that was originally intended to rebuild Gaza but has since been hailed as a global conflict organization has been unveiled by US President Donald Trump. The gap between its lofty promises and political reality is apparent to critics. Ruby Zaman from Al Jazeera examines the growing skepticism about whether it can bring about lasting change.
Published On 19 Jan 2026
Published On 19 Jan 2026
In an unusual display of support from the chair of the central bank, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will speak at the Supreme Court’s oral argument in a case involving the Fed governor’s , attempted firing , of course.
In an unprecedented attempt to remove one of the seven members of the Fed’s governing board, the high court is considering whether US President Donald Trump can fire Cook, as he promised to do in late August. According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Powell plans to attend the high court’s Wednesday session.
The Fed chair has previously shown Cook more public support than it has shown. However, it comes in response to Powell’s announcement last week that the Trump administration had issued subpoenas to the Fed, threatening an unprecedented criminal indictment of the chair. Powell appears to be reversing Trump’s less-than-distant approach to the central bank in favor of a more public dispute now that Trump has been appointed to the position in 2018.
On January 11, Powell condemned the subpoenas as “pretexts” for Trump’s attempts to slash the Fed’s key interest rate in a video statement released on January 11. Few economists agree with Powell’s recommendation that the rate should be as low as 3%, but Trump has argued that this should be as low as 1%, which he oversaw three rate cuts late last year.
Cook has denied the accusations made by the Trump administration regarding mortgage fraud. Cook has not been charged. She filed a lawsuit to keep her job, and the Supreme Court granted her a brief stay of office while the case was being considered.
Despite some rumor-based clashes, the Syrian army and the SDF continue to implement their new ceasefire. The SDF is anticipated to re-establish control of the Syrian army’s public infrastructure and services and bring them under the federal government’s control.
Published On 19 Jan 2026
Before declaring a ceasefire, the Syrian army has taken control of territory that Kurdish-led forces had previously held.
The national power balance is altered by the lightning offensive.
Are Kurds’ issues with Syria going beyond Syria’s borders?
Presenter: Maleen Saeed
Guests:
Professor at the Thayer Marshall Institute, David Des Roches
Mohammed Salih, Senior Non-resident at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, is
Published On 19 Jan 2026
Omar Yaghi, a Nobel laureate, describes how pioneering science combating the climate crisis was fuelled by humble beginnings.
Omar Yaghi, a 2025 Nobel Laureate, is working with The Take to create metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which are a form of carbon storage and storage. Yaghi, who was born into a Palestinian refugee family in Amman, describes how hardship affected his creative process, from having fresh water only once per week to developing irrigation systems that draw water from the desert air.
In this episode:   .
Credits for each episode:
Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Tamara Khandaker, Kylene Kiang, Sar el-Khalili, and our host, Malika Bilal, were the producers of this episode. Noor Wazwaz and Sar el-Khalili edited it.  ,
Marcos Bartolomé, Sonia Bhagat, Spencer Cline, Sar el-Khalili, Tamara Khandaker, Kylene Kiang, Phillip Lanos, Chloe K. Li, Melanie Marich, and Noor Wazwaz make up the Take production team. Malika Bilal is our host.  ,
Adam Abou-Gad and Vienna Maglio are the wedding planners. The audience engagement lead is Andrew Greiner.
Alex Roldan is our sound designer. Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem are our video editors. Executive producer of The Take is Alexandra Locke. The head of audio for Al Jazeera is Ney Alvarez.  ,
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Published On 19 Jan 2026