Wildfires in Chile have wiped out entire towns, killing at least 20 people. Tens of thousands of others have been forced from their homes. Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman has been seeing the damage in one of the worst hit areas.
Published On 20 Jan 2026
Reuters reports that Universal Music Group is poised to receive approval from the EU to acquire Downtown Music.
Reuters reports that Universal Music Group is set to receive conditional approval from the European Commission for its proposed $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings.
The report on Tuesday (January 20) follows UMG’s December offer to divest Downtown’s Curve royalty accounting business to address the EC’s competition concerns about the transaction.
The news agency, citing people with ‘direct knowledge’ of the matter, reported that the EU antitrust watchdog has not demanded further concessions.
UMG declined to comment on today’s Reuters report.
The European Commission has until February 27, 2026, to reach a final decision on the proposed acquisition.
UMG’s Virgin Music Group announced the Downtown acquisition in December 2024.
The deal would see Universal acquire Downtown’s subsidiaries, including FUGA music distribution, CD Baby, and Songtrust publishing administration, while selling off Curve as a standalone business to an independent buyer.
The European Commission opened an in-depth Phase II investigation into the proposed acquisition in July 2025, following an initial 25-day Phase I review.
The regulator cited preliminary concerns that the transaction could allow UMG to reduce competition in the wholesale distribution market for recorded music in the European Economic Area by acquiring commercially sensitive data from rival record labels.
In November, the EC issued a Statement of Objections to UMG, formally escalating its investigation.
The Commission said it was concerned that UMG could gain access to commercially sensitive data stored and processed by Downtown’s Curve platform, and that such an information advantage would hamper rival labels’ ability to compete with Universal.
UMG submitted formal commitments to the EC on December 11, outlining a plan to sell Curve Royalty Systems as a standalone business to an independent buyer approved by the Commission.
A document outlining the remedies package, seen by MBW, committed UMG to divesting the entire Curve business, including all employees (except two retained engineers), customer contracts, and the Curve Platform software and related assets.
The divestiture aimed to address the EC’s primary competition concern about the transaction. In November, when the Commission issued its Statement of Objections, it said it was “concerned that UMG may have the ability and incentive to gain access to commercially sensitive data that is stored and processed by Downtown’s Curve.”
UMG told MBW in a statement last month that it had submitted “a robust remedy” to the EC to address its “only remaining concern”.
“Following constructive conversations with the European Commission, we have submitted a robust remedy that comprehensively addresses the Commission’s only remaining concern,” the company added.
“This deal is about offering independent music entrepreneurs access to world-class tools and support to help them succeed. We are confident that the Commission will recognize the benefits of the transaction for artists, labels, independent music, and fans in Europe, and clear the transaction swiftly.”
At the conclusion of a Phase II investigation, the Commission can clear the merger with or without conditions, or prohibit it entirely if competition concerns cannot be adequately addressed.
The deal has attracted fierce opposition from independent music organizations.
In July, over 200 people signed a letter objecting to the acquisition, including 20 employees from Beggars Group and Secretly Group companies, while a “100 Voices” campaign launched in October featuring testimonies from indie reps urged the EC to block the deal.
In December, IMPALA issued a statement in response to the news on Friday that the EC had extended the deadline to February 27, following UMG’s remedy proposal. IMPALA said that it is “repeating its calls on the regulator to prohibit the deal outright”Music Business Worldwide
UN compound in East Jerusalem demolished, BBC reports
Israeli demolition teams have begun to tear down the headquarters of the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency, known as Unrwa, in occupied East Jerusalem.
Israel says it owns the land on which the compound stands and has accused Unrwa of being infiltrated by Hamas.
Unrwa says its premises are protected under international conventions and, while it admits that nine Unrwa staff may have been involved in the 7 October Hamas-led attacks, it says Israel hasn’t proven anything more extensive than that.
The BBC’s John Sudworth reports from the site.
The Valuable Lessons Learned from Swimmer Injuries
Courtesy: Larry Reines
In swimming, time away from the pool doesn’t feel like time paused.
It feels like time stolen from you.
I didn’t fully understand that until I watched my son Joshua live it.
At what should have been a critical point in his age-group progression, Joshua had shoulder surgery. Then another. Torn labrums. Both shoulders. One after the other. What we were told would be a temporary interruption turned into 14 months out of the water without any meaningful training.
In a sport where improvement is measured in weeks—and sometimes tenths—that kind of absence changes everything.
There were no interval sets taped to the wall. No conversations about taper. No meet calendars planned months in advance. Instead, there were physical therapy appointments, resistance bands scattered around the house, and long stretches where progress wasn’t obvious to anyone, including him.
Some days, the hardest part wasn’t rehab; it was the pool he couldn’t enter.
Eventually, the question came up. Not dramatically. Not in a single conversation. Just quietly; Who am I if I’m not swimming?
Joshua didn’t answer that question quickly. And he didn’t answer it out loud.
At first, there was loss. Then frustration. Then a kind of silence. Not sadness exactly—more like detachment.
Swimming had always provided feedback. You swim. The clock answers. Take the clock away, and the noise shows up somewhere else.
What I noticed as a parent was that, slowly, swimming stopped being the only organizing force in his life. Without times to chase, he had to decide whether the work itself still mattered.
And it did.
Not because of cuts or rankings, but because of what the sport demanded when no one was watching: discipline, accountability, patience, and of course, he said, “I love swimming.”
Swimming stopped defining him by default and became something he chose, again.
He chose that swimming would be part of his life—not the sum of it. That distinction mattered. It gave him room to recover without panic and return without trying to make up for lost time. When he finally came back to the water, it wasn’t to reclaim an identity he’d lost—it was to continue the journey.
The Part of Injury No One Talks About
Physical recovery is easy to measure. Strength comes back. Stability improves. Range of motion increases.
Mental recovery doesn’t show up on a spreadsheet.
Joshua didn’t just lose conditioning. He lost rhythm. He lost momentum. Friends kept racing and cuts were made without him in the water. Seasons passed.
One thing that mattered more than most people realize was that he wasn’t alone.
His brother, a swimmer of comparable caliber, was there the entire time. Not just cheering from the deck, but training, pushing forward, and also waiting. Injury isolates athletes. Brotherhood counteracts that isolation in a way no program or pep talk ever could.
Joshua’s comeback didn’t begin when he swam his first race back.
It began 18 months ago, when he committed to recovery without knowing what the outcome would be.
The Long Way Back
Getting back in the water wasn’t inspiring. It was awkward.
Before he swam a single lap, there were bands. Every day. Bands before you get into the water. Rotator cuff work. Slow, deliberate movements. No shortcuts. Swim came after preparation. It became a rule, not a suggestion.
The swims were short. Intensity was controlled. Pain wasn’t sharp, but it was always there—just enough to demand respect. Every practice required restraint, especially on the days he felt good. Those were often the hardest days to manage.
Progress came slowly. Then stalled. Then came back again.
There was no breakthrough practice. No moment where everything suddenly clicked.
Just showing up. Day after day. Month after month.
Stroke for Stroke
This weekend, Joshua raced the 400 IM.
It wasn’t the A final. It was the B final—earned, competitive, honest. He was seeded next to his brother. In the second 50 of the butterfly leg—the part of the race where effort starts to show—his brother was there. In sync, stroke for stroke. Setting the rhythm. Leading the way.
Nothing needed to be said.
Joshua missed the Summer Junior National cut by .84 seconds.
On paper, that’s a miss.
In context, it’s a marker of how far he’s come.
Because 18 months earlier, he wasn’t chasing cuts. He was chasing the ability to train consistently. He was racing doubt, frustration, and the quiet fear that too much time had passed.
The New Reality of Recovery
There’s something injured athletes eventually learn that doesn’t get talked about enough: recovery doesn’t end. Joshua’s orthopedist—who spent years working with an NBA team—was direct about it. There wasn’t a single practice or game when he walked into the locker room where players weren’t icing, taping, or doing some form of remediation. Not because they were injured, but because staying healthy at a high level requires constant maintenance.
The ice pack and the heating pad are part of Joshua’s routine now. And it always will be.
This reframed what “healthy” actually means.
Not pain-free but prepared.
What Injury Really Builds
Swimming doesn’t reward shortcuts, it rewards the people who put in the time.
Injury doesn’t help build grit in big moments. It builds it quietly—in rehab rooms, empty lanes, and races most people won’t notice.
Joshua isn’t defined by missing a cut by .84 seconds.
He’s defined by refusing to let injury decide the end of his story.
And that lesson—learned slowly, without guarantees—will last longer than any medal ever could.
ABOUT LARRY REINES
Larry Reines is a parent of a competitive swimmer and a former swimmer. He shares this story not as a professional writer, but as a parent hoping to give voice to an experience many families in the sport don’t want to face—but often do. Larry is also the CEO of Floafers, though this piece is written solely from the perspective of a parent.
Kickstarter features IdeaSpark Revolver S Titanium Screwdriver
If you work on cars, furniture, or electronics often, it helps to have a good set of screwdrivers handy. The Revolver S from EDC upstart IdeaSpark fits six driver bits into a rugged little titanium body to make it easy to carry these wherever you go, with a precise ratchet mechanism to boot.
Around the size of a C battery at 1.69 inches in length (43 mm) and 1.22 inches in diameter (31 mm), it resembles the chamber or cylinder of a revolver. Undo the top, and you’ll find six standard 1/4-inch bits securely held in place by magnets: PH1, SL4, SL6, T20H, T8H, and H3. These screw into the top of the Revolver S when it’s time to go to work. An included extension helps you deal with screws that are a little hard to reach.
IdeaSpark
What’s neat about this screwdriver top is that it drive screws forward or in reverse with a quick adjustment – without requiring you to change your grip. The Revolver S’ ratchet mechanism promises mechanical feedback as you turn it, which is useful when you need to be precise.
The bits are made from strong S2 tool steel. The cylinder, meanwhile, is made from grade 5 titanium, so you can expect it to resist corrosion and wear and tear. It’s also designed to be comfortable to grip and use.
The Revolver S – Compact Titanium Ratchet Screwdriver
The Revolver S is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter, where you can find it at a discounted US$79 – down from its expected suggested retail price of $129. That includes the driver and the set of six bits. You can tack on a 20-piece bit set, as well as 10-piece titanium plated bit set and a leather carrying case.
All crowdfunding campaigns carry an element of risk, so you’ll want to keep that in mind if you choose to back this campaign. This is IdeaSpark’s first campaign, but the brand’s already crossed its funding goal with more than 160 backers on board.
IdeaSpark
If all goes to plan, orders are slated to ship worldwide in June 2026, with free delivery wherever you are.
Source: Kickstarter
Note: New Atlas may earn commission from purchases made via links.
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Video: Over 100 vehicles caught in massive pile-up during US snowstorm
More than 100 vehicles crashed into each other or slid off a highway during a snowstorm in the US state of Michigan.
Spain uses heavy machinery to search for missing bodies in train crash debris
Spain deploys heavy machinery to find missing bodies among train crash wreckage
Nigerian Police Refute Claims of Mass Church Abductions in Northern Region Over the Weekend
Police in northern Nigeria say reports that worshippers were abducted on Sunday from churches in Kaduna state were false.
In a joint statement with local government officials on Monday, Kaduna state police commissioner Alhaji Muhammad Rabiu described the information as “mere falsehood which is being peddled by conflict entrepreneurs who want to cause chaos”.
Earlier, a local official in Kurmin Wali had told the BBC that gunmen had kidnapped dozens of people attending different churches.
There has been a series of mass kidnapping in Nigeria, where both Christians and Muslims have been targeted. Gangs frequently carry out such attacks to get ransom payments.
But referring to Sunday’s alleged abductions Kaduna’s police commissioner challenged “anyone to list the names of the kidnapped victims and other particulars”.
The chairman of Kajuru local government area, Dauda Madaki, said security forces were sent to Kurmin Wali after reports of an attack, but found “no evidence of the attack. I asked the village head, Mai Dan Zaria, and he said that there was no such attack.”
Police also quoted the state’s commissioner for internal security and home affairs saying religious leaders visited the area.
”They found out that what was pushed out to the public sphere was completely false,” he reportedly said.
However, a community leader in Kurmin Wali, Ishaku Dan’azumi Sarkin, had earlier told the BBC that armed men attacked the area on Sunday and kidnapped 177 people from three churches.
He said 11 people escaped, several others were injured, and no deaths were reported.
In November, more than 300 students and teachers were seized from a Catholic school. They were later released in two successive groups. It was among a spate of kidnappings that made international headlines.
Nigeria is facing numerous security challenges – including kidnappings for ransom by criminal gangs, an Islamist insurgency in the north-east, separatist violence in the south-east, and a battle between herders and farmers in the centre over access to land and water.
Experts say corruption, poor intelligence sharing and underfunded local policing have hampered efforts to tackle the various crises.
Nigeria’s defence minister resigned last month at the height of the kidnapping crisis, officially for health reasons, according to the president’s office.
The US has recently become militarily involved in Nigeria – launching airstrikes on Christmas Day on two camps run by an Islamist militant group in north-western Nigeria.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump warned of more strikes if Christians continued to be killed in the West African nation.
There are more than 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria, which is roughly divided into a mainly Muslim north, a largely Christian south, with intermingling in the middle – and the government says people of all faiths have been victims of attacks.
A Nigerian foreign ministry spokesman responded to Trump’s warning by saying that Nigeria would continue to engage constructively with partners such as the US.
”Nigeria remains committed to protecting all citizens, Christians and Muslims alike, without discrimination,” Alkasim Abdulkadir said.
Icon of a Down Arrow Button
For the past two-and-a-half decades, the mandate for global business leaders was relatively straightforward: grow the existing business, allocate capital efficiently, and implement technology to drive productivity. But Mohamed Kande, global chairman of PwC, speaking to Fortune in Davos, Switzerland, ahead of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, insisted that era is over. Kande argued that the CEO job has changed more in the past year than anything he’s seen over the last quarter-century.
“This is one of the most testing moments for leaders,” Kande told Fortune‘s Diane Brady, describing a new “tri-modal” mandate that requires executives to simultaneously run their current business, transform it in real time, and also build entirely new business models for the future. “I’ve not seen that in 25 years,” he said.
Despite this pressure, Kande’s message to the global business community is rooted in historical optimism. “Do not fear the future. It is unsettling. It is true. Every day something changes, but do not fear it,” he said, noting that all the uncertainty so stressful to executives has happened before, from tariffs, roughly 100 years ago, to the industrial revolution, even further back. “Eventually, something good will happen.” Kande allowed that he’s an optimist by nature, but he insisted that top leaders can adjust to this business climate.
The AI Execution Gap
Of course, a primary driver of this unsettling change is the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), as revealed in PwC’s 29th global CEO survey, “Leading Through Uncertainty in the Age of AI,” released at the onset of the annual meeting in Davos. Based on responses from 4,454 CEOs across 95 countries and territories, the survey reveals a stark disconnect between ambition and reality. Kande said the business community made huge strides from 2024 to 2025, going from asking themselves whether they can or should adopt AI to a point where “nobody is asking that question anymore. Everybody’s going for it.”
PwC’s survey finds, however, that only 10% to 12% of companies report seeing benefits on the revenue or cost side, while a staggering 56% say they are getting “nothing out of it.” This echoes the MIT study that shook markets in August with the finding that 95% of generative AI pilots were failing across the corporate sector.
Kande attributed this tension not to the technology itself, but to a lack of foundational rigor. “Somehow AI moves so fast … that people forgot that the adoption of technology, you have to go to the basics,” he explained, citing the need for clean data, solid business processes, and governance. PwC is finding that the companies that are seeing benefits from AI are “putting the foundations in place.” It’s about execution, not technology, he argued, and that comes down to good management and leadership.
The Confidence Paradox and U.S. Dominance
The uncertain environment has also created a paradox in business sentiment, Kande told Fortune. While CEOs express confidence in the global economy, only 30% have confidence that they can grow their own businesses. Kande questioned whether this hesitation stems from geopolitics, tariffs, technology, or a lack of leadership agility. The last 15 years, he noted, have been ones of solid growth and stable business models, making this time a real test for the C-suite. “This is one of the most testing moment for leaders, what we have today,” he said, because it requires the ability to change fast and adapt quickly without getting bogged down in day-to-day, tactical combat.
Only three in 10 CEOs were confident in PwC’s 29th survey about revenue growth over the next 12 months, down from 38% in 2025 and 56% in 2022, marking a five-year low in CEO confidence in their own revenue outlook. Another survey question may be more revealing, about CEO confidence in their company’s 12‑month revenue growth: this has fallen sharply over recent years, even as many leaders continue to pursue multiyear opportunities to reinvent their businesses through AI, innovation, and cross-sector expansion.
The transformation of the CEO role is trickling down to the workforce, necessitating a reimagining of career paths. Kande warned that the traditional “apprenticeship model”—where entry-level employees learn by doing basic tasks—is being disrupted by AI. That classic career ladder, starting at the entry level, taught lots of expertise through hands-on learning, but this will have to be redesigned, going forward, to teach “system thinking” rather than task execution, as AI increasingly handles the latter.
Ultimately, Kande urges executives to look at the last 50 to 100 years rather than the last five to understand the current moment. Citing the infrastructure booms of the railroad era and the early internet, he said he believes the current wave of investment will birth the next age of innovation. The CEO survey’s framing of a coming “decade of innovation and industry reconfiguration” supports this long-term view, highlighting that companies generating more revenue from new sectors tend to enjoy higher profit margins and higher CEO confidence in future growth.
“I’m an optimist,” Kande concluded. Rather than being afraid of all of the changes that are happening now, he urged leaders to remember that people fear what they don’t understand, and the best remedy for that is to seek understanding. “That’s why I spend so much time learning now and traveling a lot, just to understand what’s happening and thinking about what can be done differently. That’s why I don’t fear AI.”
“I’ve seen change,” Kande said. “You’ve got to embrace it.”