On Thursday, January 22, 2018, this is the situation:
Fighting
According to the regional prosecutor’s office’s message on the Telegram messaging app, a 52-year-old woman was killed in a hospital after being hurt by Russian shelling in the Kherson region of Ukraine’s Dniprovskyi district.
According to Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Russian forces have dropped 768 guided missiles and high-explosive aerial bombs in areas of Ukraine’s Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control over the past ten days, destroying almost all remaining infrastructure.
Following recent Russian attacks, Ukrainian energy company DTEK announced on Facebook that the country’s capital Kyiv’s power supply had been restored to “critical infrastructure,” but that the “city’s power system is still in deep emergency mode,” with daily outages now lasting for a month.
About 44, 000 homes in the Dniprovskyi and Desnyanskyi districts, where about 44, 000 homes are still without power, were also affected by the attacks on Kyiv’s power generation facilities, according to DTEK in a separate post on Telegram.
Without providing further details, the Ukrainian state’s power grid operator, Ukrenergo, reported a senior executive died while overseeing repairs at a power plant that had been damaged by a Russian strike.
According to the regional emergency services task force, Ukrainian forces reportedly attacked a port in the village of Volna in the southern Krasnodar region of Russia, killing three people and injuring eight, according to the country’s TASS state news agency.
Four oil storage tanks were “engulfed in flames,” according to Veniamin Kondratyev, the regional governor of Krasnodar, earlier on Telegram.
An Uzbek man was found guilty of killing top Russian general Igor Kirillov and his assistant in a 2024 bombing attack and was given a life sentence by a military court in Moscow.
Regional security
Ruben Brekelmans, the head of Dutch defense, claimed in a post on X that Dutch navy ships “escorted Russian vessels away from the North Sea for the second time in a short period.” We are aware that these Russian ships can be used to eavesdrop on and map important maritime infrastructure, according to the minister.
A German-Ukrainian woman was detained on Wednesday after being accused of spying for Russia through contacts with former German Defense Ministry employees, gathering information about drone production for Ukraine, and attending political events.
Due to the crisis in Greenland, NATO members are faced with difficult decisions, but Western allies must remember that Russia, which is increasing its military presence in the Arctic, is their common adversary, according to Norway’s defense minister Tore Sandvik, who spoke to foreign correspondents in Oslo on Wednesday.
Politics and diplomacy
Donald Trump, the president of the United States, is meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine for the World Economic Forum, adding that he believes both the Ukrainian leader and Vladimir Putin want to end the nearly four-year conflict in Ukraine and that a resolution is “reasonably close.”
According to the TASS news agency, President Trump also stated to reporters in Davos that he wanted to see powerful people join the initiative.
Putin stated on Wednesday that the Russian foreign minister would respond to Putin’s request to join the board in due course.
Putin, who was cited by Russian news outlets as saying at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council, said he thought the proposed “board of peace” was primarily intended to deal with a Middle Eastern peace settlement and that Russia was willing to pay Trump for long-term board membership in exchange for $1 billion in Russian assets that had been frozen in the US due to its war against Ukraine.
Rustem Umerov, the negotiator for Ukraine, announced on Telegram that he had a meeting with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s top envoys.
Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Witkoff met on Wednesday in Davos, according to TASS, and Witkoff described the meeting as “very positive.”
Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has stated that he won’t impose himself on Greenland, but he has continued to push for enraging control of the Danish territory in a speech in Davos, Switzerland. He also hinted at consequences if his ambitions were thwarted.
At the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, Trump said, “People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force.”
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
He announced afterwards on his Truth Social platform that he had arrived at a “framework of a future deal” with respect to claiming Greenland, after meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Trump agreed to drop the tariffs he had threatened to impose on European allies starting February 1 with no information on the details of that framework.
Here are the key takeaways from his Davos speech:
Would you like to comment briefly on Greenland?
Trump opened his remarks about Greenland with an attempt at humour.
He made a joke about it, saying, “I was going to leave it out of the speech, but I think I would have been criticized very negatively.”
After a lengthy critique of Denmark, which he claimed was too weak to protect Greenland, Trump repeated his key position on the territory.
For both strategic national security and international security, we require it. This enormous, unsecured island is actually part of North America. He claimed that that is “our territory.”
Trump proceeded to assert that no nation other than the US can secure Greenland, and that it was therefore essential for European leaders to turn the self-governing island over to US control.
Trump stated that he wants to hold discussions with the United States about the United States’ acquisition of Greenland.
He proceeded to describe the NATO alliance as a money sink for the US, one that failed to offer the country any benefits.
Trump remarked, “We never asked for or received anything.”
The president’s remarks failed to acknowledge NATO’s assistance after the attacks on September 11, 2001, when the US invoked the alliance’s collective defence clause and member states sent military air defence in response.
Trump, however, continued to portray NATO as a flimsy investment that would not produce rewards unless required.
“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But he retorted, “I won’t do that.”
“That’s probably the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force. I am not required to use force.  , I don’t want to use force. I’m not going to use force.
Earlier this month, White House officials said Trump was considering “a range of options” for acquiring Greenland, including military action. Trump issued a second warning to Denmark at Davos, giving the United States an ultimatum to turn over Greenland.
“We’ve never asked for anything else. And we weren’t allowed to keep that piece of land. So they have a choice. We will be very grateful if you say yes. Or you can say no, and we will remember”, he said.
Hours later, the US president announced the “framework” for a Greenland deal, though it is unclear how much of an influence Denmark or Greenland had or how the deal might go.
Rutte later told Fox News that the issue of Greenland’s sovereignty did not come up in their conversation.
On January 21, 2026, a fjord in Nuuk, Greenland, is visible from residential buildings.
‘ You follow us down, and you follow us up ‘
Trump referred to the US economy as the engine of global growth, describing it as having global influence.
“The USA is the economic engine on the planet. The world also booms when America booms. It’s been the history”, Trump said.
He continued, “When it goes bad, it goes bad.” “You all follow us down, and you follow us up. And we’re at a point where we’ve never, I don’t think, ever been. I never thought we could do it this quickly”.
Trump, who won a second term in 2025, claimed he anticipated slower economic growth.
“My biggest surprise is I thought it would take more than a year, maybe like a year and one month. However, it has already occurred very quickly.
He then turned his attention to Europe, offering a bleak assessment of the continent’s trajectory. Without providing any supporting data, Trump attributed the continent’s problems to policies promoting green energy and migration.
“Certain places in Europe are not recognisable, frankly, any more. Trump, in response to anti-immigrant rhetoric, said, “They’re not recognisable.”
“I want to see Europe go good, but it’s not heading in the right direction”.
Donald Trump makes gestures at the 56th World Economic Forum, according to Jonathan Ernst/Reuters.
Tariffs and the trade deficit
Trump defended his frequent use of tariffs and other protectionist trade policies, saying that the measures had the power to reduce the US’s trade deficit and boost domestic production.
“With tariffs, we’ve radically reduced our ballooning trade deficit, which was the largest in world history. Every year, we lost more than $1 trillion, and that was a waste. It was going to waste”, Trump said.
However, I reduced our monthly trade deficit by an incredible 77% in a year. And all of this with no inflation, something everyone said could not be done”, he added.
Trump also cited the success of the policy as evidenced by what he termed gains in exports, manufacturing, and industrial capacity.
“During the process, we’ve made historic trade deals with partners covering 40 percent of all US trade, some of the greatest companies and countries in the world. Countries are also our partners, too. The European nations, Japan, South Korea, they’re our partners”, he said.
Trump’s prediction for Venezuela: “I’m going to do fantastically well.”
Speaking about Venezuela’s economy and oil sector, Trump said the country had suffered a sharp decline because of past policies under socialist leaders like Nicolas Maduro and the late Hugo Chavez.
However, he predicted that the South American nation is now on the verge of a quick recovery, aided in part by US and international energy companies’ cooperation.
Trump has taken an active interest in Venezuela’s governance since a January 3 military operation to abduct Maduro and transport him to the US to face criminal charges. Since Maduro’s ouster, he has since confirmed that the US has seized 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela.
“Venezuela has been an amazing place for so many years, but then they went bad with their policies”, Trump said.
It was a wonderful nation twenty years ago, but it now has problems. But we’re helping them. We’re going to be splitting up with those 50 million barrels, and they’ll be earning more money than they’ve ever done in a long time.
Trump proceeded to praise the interim government of President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, for cooperating with his ambitions in Venezuela.
Trump predicted that Venezuela would perform “fantastically well.”
“We appreciate all of the cooperation we’ve been given. Great cooperation has been provided for us. Once the attack ended, the attack ended, and they said, ‘ Let’s make a deal. ‘ That should be done by more people.
He went on to predict a dramatic economic recovery for the oil-rich nation, citing renewed foreign investment and support from major energy firms.
In the next six months, “Venezuela will make more money than they have in the last 20 years,” he said.
“Every major oil company is coming in with us. It is incredible. It’s a beautiful thing to see. The country’s leaders have done a lot of good. They’ve been very, very smart”.
Into the energy-related topic.
Trump then turned to energy policy, highlighting a shift in his stance on nuclear power and reiterating his longstanding criticism of renewable energy.
“We’re going deep into nuclear,” he said. I was not a big fan because I didn’t like the risk, the danger, but the progress they’ve made with nuclear is unbelievable, and the safety progress they’ve made is incredible”, Trump said.
“We’re very much into the world of nuclear energy, and it’s very, very safe,” he said.
His statements follow a news release from the US Department of Energy on Tuesday that announced Trump would be “unleashing America’s next nuclear renaissance” by expanding infrastructure to create such energy.
Trump’s personal ties to private nuclear power companies have also increased. In December, the Trump Media and Technology Group, of which Trump is the majority owner, announced a $6bn merger with TAE Technologies, a fusion energy company.
Trump has resisted opposing green energy initiatives that aim to combat climate change, despite switching to nuclear energy. Calling such efforts the “Green New Scam” – his spin on the “Green New Deal” – he blamed Europe’s economic wobbles on efforts to embrace renewable technology.
“Throughout Europe, there are windmills. There are windmills all over the place, and they are losers. He told his audience at Davos, “I’ve noticed that the more windmills a nation has, the more money that nation loses, and the worse that nation is doing.”
‘ Canada should be grateful ‘
Trump also responded to Mark Carney’s remarks from his podium on Tuesday, according to  .
The leader of Canada’s Liberal Party, Carney had encouraged world leaders to prepare for a future without US leadership and warned that the “great powers” of the world appeared to be abandoning “even the pretence of rules and values for the unhindered pursuit of their power”.
It was obvious that Carney’s remarks targeted the US leader, even though he did not specifically mention Trump. Trump replied more directly during his turn at the Davos podium.
Trump claimed that “Canada receives a lot of freebies from us.”
“They should be grateful. They are not, though. I watched your prime minister yesterday. He didn’t seem as appreciative. Canada lives because of the United States. Keep in mind that when you make your statements, Mark.
Trump says he is meeting Zelenskyy
Trump also discussed the Ukrainian conflict and his media relations efforts with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.
“I’m dealing with President Putin, and he wants to make a deal”, Trump said.
“I think President Zelenskyy wants to make a deal, and I think that’s what I’m talking to.” I’m meeting him today. He might be present in the audience at this time.
A post on Zelenskyy’s social media account, however, showed the Ukrainian leader at his presidential office in Kyiv on Wednesday, holding a meeting on the energy situation following Russian strikes. His office confirmed that he was in Ukraine and not in Davos.
Still, Trump insisted that he would help navigate Ukraine and Russia to an end to their war, which began nearly four years ago in February 2022.
They must end that war, they say. Because too many people are dying, needlessly dying. Too many people are losing their souls. It’s the only reason I’m interested in doing it. However, I’m assisting Europe by doing it. I’m helping NATO”, he said.
“Those lovely sunglasses,” you say.
At one point in his meandering speech, Trump stopped to poke fun at French President Emmanuel Macron, mocking the aviator sunglasses he wore to Davos.
“I had those gorgeous sunglasses on him yesterday. What the hell happened”? Trump posed a question.
Macron’s office said the choice to wear sunglasses during his speech, which took place indoors, was to protect his eyes because of a burst blood vessel.
Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, is present at the 56th annual World Economic Forum [Denis Balibouse/Reuters]
Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Seenivasan Jain discuss whether Bangladesh has a political future for itself.
Bangladesh’s upcoming elections are prohibited for The Awami League. Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister, is afugite. Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Hasina’s son, is enthralled by the party’s future, asks Seenivasan Jain.
Sheikh Hasina, the leader of the Awami League, is ruled out of the contest and lives in exile in Bangladesh, where she was overthrown in August 2024.
Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Hasina’s son and a prominent Awami League figure, is the subject of an interview with Sreenivasan Jain about whether the party has reacted to years of repressive rule and whether it sees a political future in Bangladesh.
On a chilly night in the Champions League, Barcelona came from behind to beat Slavia Prague 4-2. Fermin Lopez scored twice, Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski added two goals in the second half to secure the victory.
With just 13 points remaining, Barcelona moves up to ninth place in the standings after winning on Wednesday, which is in line with seven other teams that are battling for top-eight spots and direct qualification for the round of 16. With only three points, Slavia languishes third from the bottom.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Slavia stunned the visitors with an early lead on a bitterly cold evening in Prague, with temperatures dropping to -8 degrees Celsius (17.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Vasil Kusej bundled the ball across the line under pressure from Frenkie de Jong’s” cross in the 10th minute after being cleverly positioned in a corner to send it from the near to the far post.
After a deflection off the Slovak’s shoulder, Lopez squeezed the ball past keeper Jindrich Stanek at the near post to give Barcelona the lead in the 34th minute with a sharp, angled strike from inside the box.
In the 42nd minute, Lopez added another goal with a superb effort from the edge of the box to give Barcelona the lead. Stanek had no chance, as the attacking midfielder precision found the bottom right corner.
Slavia equalized after Barca’s only two-minute advantage was caused by an unfortunate defensive error. Lewandowski unintentionally deflected the ball into his own net while being held to a corner while defending the corner, putting the score at 2-2.
After resuming play at the break, Barcelona relentlessly attacked Slavia’s defense in the second half.
Before substitute Olmo created a magical moment, Raphinha, Pedri, and Lopez wasted numerous opportunities. He hammered an unstoppable shot into the top corner of the 64th minute to resurrect Barcelona’s lead in emphatic fashion from the box’s edge.
In the 70th minute, Lewandowski made up for his earlier own goal by winning.
Another second-half substitute, Marcus Rashford, launched a blistering run down the left flank and headed a cross into the box. Lewandowski quickly reacted after Stanek and Lewandowski initially struggled to control the pass and gave Barcelona a two-goal lead.
Our team put a lot of pressure on us because of the cold, but we were able to win, Lopez said to Movistar Plus. “We knew it would be a difficult match with the cold, but they put a lot of pressure on us. It was tough. My feet and hands hurt, I can barely feel them.
Liverpool swept aside Olympique de Marseille with a 3-0 away victory to extend their unbeaten run to 13 matches in all competitions and move a step closer to direct qualification for the Champions League last 16.
Goals on Wednesday from Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo, either side of a Geronimo Rulli own goal, lifted Arne Slot’s team to 15 points, leaving them well placed in the top eight ahead of the final round of matches. Marseille remain in the hunt for a playoff spot on nine points despite the defeat.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
The Ligue 1 side are 19th in the table and travel to Club Brugge in their final group match, needing a positive result to keep their European campaign alive, while Liverpool, in fourth, will host Qarabag, knowing another win would secure their place in the last 16.
Liverpool looked sharp as they continued their recovery after a difficult period earlier in the season, while Marseille once again showed their limitations on the biggest stage.
“It’s always difficult to play against]Roberto] De Zerbi teams because if you aren’t front-footed, they can play out pretty easy”, said Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, who made his 350th appearance for the club.
“They keep on playing and taking a risk, so if you win the ball between the lines, then you have a chance. I’m pleased with the team, everybody put a shift in”, added the Dutch centre-back before warning of the dangers of Saturday’s Premier League opponents, Bournemouth.
“We always say after a win or good result to keep momentum. But Bournemouth are a difficult team to beat, play very good football, and we have to be more than ready. We will recover and go again”.
In the bottom half of the 36-team league, OM were left contemplating the gap between them and their opponents.
“It’s tough, they played a good game, we were not well in the first half. We tried our best, but it’s very tough, they’re used to playing like this”, Marseille defender Leonardo Balerdi said.
“You can’t see it from outside the pitch, but it’s very tough”.
Mohamed Salah made his first start since November as Liverpool lined up with Joe Gomez stepping in at centre-back in the absence of Ibrahima Konate, who missed the game due to a personal matter.
Marseille came into the match having gone 30 Champions League games without a draw, while Liverpool were also without a stalemate in their previous 27 matches, the two longest such runs in the competition’s history.
Free kick from the wall
Liverpool’s Arne Slots had a tense opening half, but they lacked some sharpness in the closing third. Salah almost got in front of the goal when Jeremie Frimpong found him near the post, but the forward pushed his shot past the post.
Marseille was in flashes of danger. Amine Gouiri hit a powerful free kick that made it impossible for Alisson Becker to save it thanks to Mother Greenwood.
The visitors then believed Hugo Ekitike had scored, but offside, the goal was decided against.
Szoboszlai sent a low free kick under the wall to give Liverpool a much-needed lead just before half-time.
After the break, Marseille gave their game some new life, but they were undoubtedly second-bes, and Liverpool doubled their lead in the 73rd minute when Frimpong’s low cutback deflected off goalkeeper Rulli and rolled into the net for an own goal.
Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, refrained from calling for a cap on credit card interest rates from the administration of US President Donald Trump, claiming that if Congress follows through, it will lead to “economic disaster.”
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday, Dimon made his remarks.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Trump has called for legislation to require a year-long cap on interest rates on credit cards and has called for it to be done, but he has not provided a clear plan for how the cap will be implemented.
As Trump continued to call for the cap, Dimon said on Wednesday, “It would remove credit from 80% of Americans, and that is their backup credit.”
The Electronic Payments Coalition, a trade group for the banking industry, claims that credit cards for people with credit scores below 740, which account for up to 88 percent of credit card holders, could be closed or restricted if the interest rate cap is implemented.
Credit card issuers would only be required to impose limits on lending to those with credit scores below 600, and would need to lower rewards for those with FICO scores below 760. According to a report from Vanderbilt University for 2025, ten percent caps would save borrowers about $100 billion annually.
According to Trump, “surging credit card debt has been one of the biggest obstacles to saving for a down payment.”
The comments represent a rare instance of bipartisan agreement in Washington.
An unlikely alliance
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, claimed last week in an interview with CNBC that the president had called her to talk about working together on the proposal.
Warren responded, “Great, let’s get something done.”
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont’s proposed interest rate cap of 10%, which would be extended for a longer period of time, expire in 2031, is already in place, according to Trump’s comments. However, the legislation has been stumbling in Congress. In early February 2025, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs received its most recent report.
The president’s handling of the US economy is receiving more and more negative feedback as interest rates are being put in place. A recent CNN poll found that 63 percent of people disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, which was confirmed by a Wall Street Journal poll earlier this month.
Dimon said, “I believe we should test it.” Sanders and Warren represent in two states, Vermont and Massachusetts, and they should force them to do it, according to Sanders and Warren.
The credit card issuers won’t be the ones who cry the most. Because people will miss their water payments, this payment, and that payment, Dimon said, “it will be the restaurants, retailers, travel companies, travel companies, schools, municipalities.”
While his credit card interest rate idea is making headlines, “President Trump is still awaiting real people’s savings.” He claimed interest rates would be capped by January 20 last week, but this week he claims Congress is required to assist him. According to Julie Margetta Morgan, president of the economic think tank The Century Foundation, it’s still to be seen whether he’s serious about fulfilling his promise.
political challenges
There are slim chances that this bill will be passed by Congress, according to Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser and banking executives like Dimon.
The bill will face obstacles in Congress in addition to Trump’s and progressive Democrats’ support. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier this month predicted that the proposal might have “negative secondary effects.”
The president won’t attempt to personally set credit rates because he is asking Congress to pass legislation. According to Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management, it is highly unlikely that a 10 percent cap will be implemented anytime soon. If it doesn’t happen, it does give him the opportunity to point the finger at Congress.
In response to Dimon’s comments, bank stocks and credit card companies on Wall Street are largely in the minority. Both MasterCard and Visa have declined by 1.1 percent and by 1.7 percent respectively. American Express, on the other hand, has increased by 1.9 percent since the market’s opening on Wednesday.
