A decree formally recognizing Kurdish as a national language and granting citizenship to all Syrian Kurds has been signed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Published On 18 Jan 2026
Giorgia Meloni, the country’s prime minister, criticized US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose tariffs on European nations because they oppose a US invasion of Greenland. She describes it as a “mistake” caused by miscommunication.
Published On 18 Jan 2026
*Names changed to protect their identities.
Lancaster, United Kingdom – Maya* and Daniel* sit in a spare room at Global Link, an NGO helping migrants. Neither has heard from family or friends in Iran since the internet was shut down on January 8 during nationwide antigovernment protests.
Both came to the UK separately: Maya, a graduate student from near the capital, Tehran, six years ago and Daniel, a support worker from Sine in northwestern Iran, three years back. Both have family still in Iran.
Maya has yet to hear from her elderly parents on the outskirts of Karasht near Tehran. How Daniel’s father, who is sick with cancer, is coping remains unknown.
There is still no confirmed death toll for the latest round of unrest to have engulfed Iran since the national currency, the rial, crashed on December 28, leading traders of Tehran’s bazaar to take to the streets to voice their anger in a protest that spread across the country and evolved into a serious challenge to the government.
Speaking on Saturday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei acknowledged that “several thousand” people had been killed in the unrest, which he accused the United States and Israel of fuelling. The government has recognised the protesters ‘ hardships, pledging to address mounting economic grievances, but also said the demonstrations that saw government buildings attacked were later hijacked by “terrorists” and elements trained and armed by outside powers.
“I have a lot of stress”, Daniel said, his measured voice showing some degree of the tension that he and Maya have been living through. Before the communications shutdown, Daniel, who at university had been detained for his pro-democracy activism, learned that a number of his friends had been arrested.
Both Maya and Daniel lived through previous bouts of unrest but believe the demonstrations of recent weeks may mark a sea change in Iran’s direction. “I believe it’s not like before … because the economy’s collapsed”, Maya said.
She went on to describe those she calls the “losers” of Iranian society – the people, she said, “who can’t provide a meal for their family. They are tired, you know, fed up of being ashamed in front of their own family, to not be able to provide for them. And if they don’t die in the street, they will die from starving maybe the next year or next six months”.
The inflation rate in Iran is among the highest in the world. Even before the recent collapse of the rial, inflation was about 40 percent as the cost of chronic economic mismanagement and years of crippling Western sanctions conspired to hollow out what was left of Iran’s economy.
Maya spoke of those she used to pass in the metro on her way into Tehran, hawking whatever they could to feed themselves and their families. She recalled one older lady, shaking in humiliation at where she had found herself before overhearing her daughter reassure her. “And I realised that was the first time that lady, that middle-aged lady with a teenage girl, has had to do that, and she was ashamed”, Maya said.
Both speak to friends and family members in the United States and Canada. Daniel has one friend in Erbil, the capital of northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region, who has been able to talk to people in Iran for a few minutes every morning.
They have both heard unverified rumours, including militias patrolling the streets of Iran’s towns and authorities charging family members $3, 000 – the price, they allege, of a bullet – before allowing them to recover relatives ‘ bodies.
They have also heard of the the desire of Reza Pahlavi – the son of Iran’s last shah who was toppled by the Islamic revolution of 1979 – to return to Iran before dismissing the royal claimant as simply past rubbish that the country had already thrown away.
“Day and night are connected for us”, Maya said, describing how time loses all meaning in the absence of news from home.
Mornings no longer feel like the start of a new day so much as the continuation of the past night, she said. “It’s a continuous morning because you’re waiting for your parents, or you’re waiting for news because I don’t know what will happen”, she added.
Maya described the uncertainty as a permanent presence, like a looming deadline, that refuses to shift despite the temporary distractions of friends or socialising. “You might have the best ever meal, but you don’t enjoy it fully because in the back of your head, you’re worried about things”.
Daniel leaned forward, his voice breaking, “I stop everything, you know. … Every time I am on the phone and try to ring to Iran, and I try. … Life is up to me, and my job is going very, very badly. … Every time I’m unconscious that, yeah, when I sleep, I have a very, very bad dream, and yeah, everything is very bad”.
Neither Maya nor Daniel knows how things will pan out. Even if the government falls, the economic conditions would remain desperate. There are also too many factions, both domestic and international, interested in gaining power.
Current events are like a fever, Maya said.
Top seeds Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka have entered the second round of the Australian Open despite some early scares as the main draw of the first tennis Grand Slam of 2026 got under way in Melbourne.
Alcaraz was pushed in the second round by home qualifier Adam Walton despite a straight-sets win for the world number one on Sunday.
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The Spaniard won 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 in two hours and five minutes to launch his quest for his maiden Australian Open title, which would help him complete a career Grand Slam.
The reigning French and US Open champion hit eight aces and 38 winners to set up a second-round clash with Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann.
But he also made 36 unforced errors, more than his 81st-ranked opponent.
He has not made it past the quarterfinals in four trips to Australia, losing at that stage last year to Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev the year before.
Should he snap his Australia drought, Alcaraz would become the youngest man to bank a career Grand Slam, surpassing retired compatriot Rafael Nadal, who secured all four majors by the age of 24.
He would also be the youngest man in the Open era to win seven Grand Slams since Bjorn Borg, aged 23.
Meanwhile, an error-strewn Sabalenka made a stodgy start to her title charge in a 6-4, 6-1 win over French wildcard Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah.
The world number one, who is chasing a third Melbourne crown in four years, faces Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia or Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan next.
“I did not start my best, but she was playing great, it was a tricky start”, said Sabalenka, who lost last year’s final.
The 27-year-old Belarusian, fresh from winning the season-opening Brisbane International, made a sloppy start in losing the first three points of the match when serving.
In front of the watching Roger Federer, Sabalenka clawed back to deuce but then misfired again to fall a game down in front of a shocked Rod Laver Arena.
Sabalenka, who is favourite to add a fifth Grand Slam title to her career haul, pulled back level, but if she expected the spirited world number 118 to melt away, it did not immediately happen.
The reigning US Open champion offered an apology to her underdog opponent at 4-4 when she unleashed a forehand into the 20-year-old’s head.
Sabalenka’s error count was rising, but she finally broke Rajaonah’s resistance to claim the first set, then eased home in the second.
“I was super-happy I found my level”, said Sabalenka, who was guilty of 13 unforced errors in the first set.
“It is always tricky playing someone young, someone you don’t know, and a lefty]left-hander]”.
Earlier, Zverev, last year’s runner-up to Jannik Sinner, shrugged off a sluggish start to beat Gabriel Diallo 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in the afternoon match to enter the second round for the 10th straight year.
“Definitely, when I saw the draw, wasn’t too happy to be honest”, he said of the tricky challenge presented by 41-ranked Diallo. “He’s very young, very talented. Unbelievably aggressive.
” First set wasn’t my best tennis, I would say. It got a lot better after that for me. “
Seventh-seeded Jasmine Paolini beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-1, 6-2, and number 12 Elina Svitolina and Maria Sakkari also advanced in straight sets.
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova withdrew because of a shoulder injury before her scheduled first-round match, giving a place in the main draw to Taylor Townsend, the lucky loser from qualifying, to take on Hailey Baptiste, who won , 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3.
Frances Tiafoe overpowered Jason Kubler 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2, and Michael Zheng fended off Sebastian Korda 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (0), 6-3 in an all-American first-round match on Kia Arena.
Zheng will next face number 32 Corentin Moutet, who was booed after his underarm serve on match point in a 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-3 win over Tristan Schoolkate.
Number 20 Flavio Cobolli became the first of the seeded men’s players to exit the tournament in a 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-1 loss to British qualifier Arthur Fery.
In another eagerly-awaited match, former champion Venus Williams was unable to progress after being handed a wildcard by the tournament organisers.
Olga Danilovic beat Williams 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 after the Serbian fought back from 4-0 down in the deciding set to knock the American veteran out.
Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion who returned to tennis last season after a 16-month break, became the oldest woman ever to compete in the singles main draw on her return to the tournament after five years.
According to medical sources, Israeli drone fire in the Zeitoun neighborhood of southern Gaza City on Sunday caused injuries to residents of the area’s Wafa news agency. In al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, Israeli gunfire in southern Gaza caused injuries to two people, including a girl.
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In areas that Israel’s forces were supposed to have taken refuge in under the ceasefire, additional injuries were reported.
Three Palestinians were seriously injured by Israeli gunfire close to Netzarim, south of the city, according to medical staff at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in eastern Gaza City. An Israeli drone opened fire on the group, according to witnesses who spoke to the Anadolu news agency.
Two more Palestinians were seriously hurt by Israeli fire in al-Mawasi, according to doctors at Nasser Medical Complex. A Palestinian man was shot in the head by Israeli forces in Deir el-Balah, according to doctors at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, and he is in critical condition.
Israeli artillery shelled areas east of Jabalia in the north and the Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City, respectively, while the Israeli military carried out air attacks on buildings in Rafah in the south.
According to Al Jazeera Arabic, Israeli naval forces fired toward the coast of Khan Younis while helicopter gunfire was reported near the Bureij refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip.
The most recent attacks were carried out as Hamas welcomed the establishment of a 15-member technocratic committee of Palestinians, which would be run by United States President Donald Trump and be run by them.
The organization’s administrative body will be tasked with providing public services to Gaza’s more than two million Palestinians, but it still faces significant challenges and unanswered questions, including those relating to its funding and whether Israel will halt its activities.
More than 460 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,200 have been injured by Israel’s repeated violations of the US-brokered ceasefire, according to Palestinian officials, who spoke to the group’s representatives on October 10.
About 2.2 million people in Gaza, where they are hardly protected by flimsy tents, are in acute humanitarian need in the harsh weather. Israel continues to impose restrictions on the movement of food, medical supplies, and shelter supplies.
According to Israeli military data, Israel still has military control over large swathes of Gaza, including much of the south, east, and north, but it effectively occupyes the entire area.
More than 71, 000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 171, 000 have been injured in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza since October 7, 2023, the majority of whom are children and women.