UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on allies over Greenland are ‘completely wrong’, adding that Greenland’s future should be decided solely by the people of Greenland and Denmark.
Published On 19 Jan 2026
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Four people killed and 84 injured in factory explosion in Inner Mongolia province
A huge explosion at a factory in northern China has killed four people and injured 84 others, with six people still missing, state media reported.
The blast happened at around 15:00 local time (07:00 GMT) Sunday at Baogang United Steel plant in Inner Mongolia, causing noticeable tremors in the area.
Footage online showed the explosion sending large plumes of smoke into the sky, while the ground was littered with debris, including collapsed ceilings and pipes.
Five among the dozens hospitalised suffered serious injuries, state media reported. Authorities are investigating the cause of the blast.
Baogang United Steel is a major state-owned iron and steel enterprise.
China has a long history of industrial accidents, from factory explosions and mine collapses to mudslides.
In 2015, two massive explosions in the port of Tianjin killed 173 people, leaving hundreds more injured and devastating large areas of the city.
In May last year, an explosion in a chemical plant in the eastern province of Shandong killed five people and injured at least 19. The blast ripped the windows of building nearby from their hinges.
France moves closer to budget deal as Socialists welcome Prime Minister’s concessions
France edges towards budget deal with Socialists welcoming PM’s concessions
Oleksandr Usyk responds to Tyson Fury’s comeback announcement
It has been just over 12 months since Oleksandr Usyk sent Tyson Fury into retirement.
The pair met in two massive battles in 2024, the first of which took place in May of that year, as Usyk defeated Fury by split decision to become undisputed heavyweight champion.
A rematch occurred seven months later, this time with only the WBC, WBA and WBO titles on the line, but the Ukrainian was a more convincing winner, as he beat Fury by unanimous decision to retain his titles.
That prompted ‘The Gypsy King’ to announce that he was hanging up his gloves, while Usyk went on to become undisputed again, defeating Daniel Dubois in July to add the IBF belt to his collection.
The heavyweight landscape has continued to change since then, as Usyk has vacated his WBO belt, and Fury has announced he will make a return to the sport, even targeting a trilogy bout with the Ukrainian.
It seems that Usyk would be open to that possibility, as speaking to Ready To Fight about Fury’s plans to make a comeback, he said he would be happy to face ‘The Gypsy King’ again, but only if all of the world title belts were on the line.
“Why not, but only if it’s a fight for the undisputed status again.”
Fabio Wardley is the current WBO champion after Usyk vacated the belt in November, with Wardley having been linked to a fight with Fury himself. If ‘The Gypsy King’ can get his hands on the WBO belt, it seems a clash with his Ukrainian rival could happen again.
Ukraine Launches Its First Hydrogen-Powered Combat Drone
Ukraine has, for the first time, sent into combat a hybrid drone powered by hydrogen fuel. According to the builder Skyeton, a variant of its Raybird was deployed for full-scale combat duty with the Ukrainian Armed Forces in an active war zone.
Hydrogen-powered drones aren’t exactly new. They’ve been around for almost 20 years, though previous examples were mainly technology demonstrators and experimental prototypes. Usually, these were intended as long-endurance, high-altitude craft, though an Israeli-US system called Heven AeroTech Z1 is intended for front-line missions, but this has yet to be deployed.
According to Skyeton, the hydrogen variant of the Raybird has been modified to accommodate the new fuel system and to provide enough room and distribute weight for the hydrogen tanks, which are larger than their hydrocarbon fuel equivalents for internal combustion engines.
Skyeton
Because the Raybird is a hybrid, the hydrogen is used to generate electricity while electric motors provide thrust. With a takeoff weight of 51 lb (23 kg), a wingspan of up to 15 ft (4.7 m) and a payload of up to 22 lb (10 kg), the Raybird has a cruising speed of 68 mph (110 km/h) and an endurance of 12 hours. The hybrid system means that craft is quieter compared to a four-stroke engine and has a negligible heat signature, though its altitude is limited to 18,000 ft (5,500 m).
According to the company, the Raybird is not armed. Instead, it carries radar and other sensors for long-range reconnaissance missions. In addition, the design lends itself to mass production. Hydrogen is provided by interchangeable cartridges or field generating units.
“We have converted two years of laboratory testing into a new aircraft concept: it is the same class and weight, but a completely redesigned concept based on electric propulsion,” said Roman Knyazhenko, CEO of Skyeton. “Hydrogen fuel is a solution that allows us to combine all the advantages of an electric motor – high reliability, power, and ease of maintenance – with the long-duration continuous flight that is a hallmark of our UAV. Maintaining a balance of these characteristics is vital for us, as the Raybird performs complex deep reconnaissance tasks using high-tech payloads, and the average duration of such missions exceeds 10 hours.”
Source: Skyeton
Another storm approaching Gaza, exacerbating the hardships for thousands of displaced individuals | Updates on Israel-Palestine conflict
Nearly all of the flimsy tents in Palestinian displacement camps have been rendered unusable due to the harsh winter conditions.
A new storm is forecast to hit Gaza, adding further to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in makeshift tents in displacement camps that are already unfit to withstand the harsh winter weather.
Israel’s more than two-year genocidal war has forced nearly all of Gaza’s two million people from their homes to live in these temporary shelters.
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Last week, Gaza’s Government Media Office reported that 127,000 of the 135,000 tents in displacement camps have been rendered unusable because of the recent extreme weather.
“The reality on the ground tells a very painful and grim story,” said Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Gaza City on Monday.
“Hundreds of thousands of displaced families are still living in torn tents and roofless homes exposed to the rain and cold, and the freezing nights.”
This suffering is directly caused by Israeli restrictions, said Abu Azzoum, as Israel has not been allowing the “entry of prefabricated mobile housing units and the building materials that are essential for winter protection” or a free flow of desperately needed basic humanitarian aid.
Under a United States-brokered ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, and which Israel has violated hundreds of times on a near-daily basis, aid deliveries were supposed to be significantly ramped up, with at least 600 trucks a day due to enter Gaza to fulfil the population’s needs.
However, the Government Media Office says only an average of 145 trucks have been entering Gaza since the ceasefire.
In an attempt to ease their abject misery, Palestinians have been “improvising by reinforcing their makeshift tents with plastic sheets, by keeping themselves fully clothed and burning scraps inside the makeshift tents in order to use them for heating due to the unaffordability of fuel supplies and heating mechanisms along the Strip,” said Abu Azzoum.
Winter in Palestine can be “very brutal”, but what makes this one even worse is that it comes on top of months of “displacement, hunger and exhaustion”, he added.
The harsh winter conditions have also caused the collapse of previously damaged buildings by relentless Israeli bombing, leading to the deaths of at least 25 people since mid-December, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
“The elderly people, the sick and the children are among those who are most affected” by the harsh winter conditions, said Abu Azzoum.
Deaths caused by cold exposure have risen to 24, including 21 children, the Government Media Office reported last week.
“All the victims were displaced Palestinians living in forced displacement camps,” it said in a statement.
A Palestinian Civil Defence spokesperson in Gaza said last week that hospitals across the territory have been observing an influx of patients, particularly children, with cold-related illnesses, and the organisation had received hundreds of calls for support due to extreme cold.
The Palestinian Meteorological Department has warned of the risk of frost and freezing conditions in a polar air mass across large parts of Palestine on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Minneapolis mayor stands firm against the idea of troopers patrolling the streets: ‘It is unjust, unfair, and goes against the constitution’
The mayor of Minneapolis said Sunday that sending active duty soldiers into Minnesota to help with an immigration crackdown is a ridiculous and unconstitutional idea as he urged protesters to remain peaceful so the president won’t see a need to send in the U.S. military.
Daily protests have been ongoing throughout January since the Department of Homeland Security ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers.
Three hotels where protesters have said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were staying in the area stopped taking reservations Sunday.
In a diverse neighborhood where immigration officers have been seen frequently, U.S. postal workers marched through on Sunday, chanting: “Protect our routes. Get ICE out.”
Soldiers specialized in arctic duty told to be ready
The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers based in Alaska who specialize in operating in arctic conditions to be ready in case of a possible deployment to Minnesota, two defense officials said Sunday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans, said two infantry battalions of the Army’s 11th Airborne Division have been given prepare-to-deploy orders.
One defense official said the troops are standing by to deploy to Minnesota should President Donald Trump invoke the Insurrection Act.
The rarely used 19th century law would allow the president to send military troops into Minnesota, where protesters have been confronting federal immigration agents for weeks. He has since backed off the threat, at least for now.
“It’s ridiculous, but we will not be intimidated by the actions of this federal government,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “It is not fair, it’s not just, and it’s completely unconstitutional.”
Thousands of Minneapolis citizens are exercising their First Amendment rights and the protests have been peaceful, Frey said.
“We are not going to take the bait. We will not counter Donald Trump’s chaos with our own brand of chaos here,” Frey said.
Gov. Tim Walz has mobilized the Minnesota National Guard, although no units have been deployed to the streets.
Some hotels close or stop accepting reservations amid protests
At least three hotels in Minneapolis-St. Paul that protesters said housed officers in the immigrant crackdown were not accepting reservations Sunday. Rooms could not be booked online before early February at the Hilton DoubleTree and IHG InterContinental hotels in downtown St. Paul and at the Hilton Canopy hotel in Minneapolis.
Over the phone, an InterContinental hotel front desk employee said it was closing for the safety of the staff, but declined to comment on the specific concerns. The DoubleTree and InterContinental hotels had empty lobbies with signs out front saying they were “temporarily closed for business until further notice.” The Canopy hotel was open, but not accepting reservations.
The Canopy has been the site of noisy protests by anti-ICE demonstrators aimed to prevent agents from sleeping.
“The owner of the independently owned and operated InterContinental St. Paul has decided to temporarily close their hotels to prioritize the safety of guests and team members given ongoing safety concerns in the area,” IHG Hotels & Resorts spokesperson Taylor Solomon said in a statement Sunday. “All guests with existing reservations can contact the hotel team for assistance with alternative accommodations.”
Earlier this month, Hilton and the local operator of the Hampton Inn Lakeville hotel near Minneapolis apologized after the property wouldn’t allow federal immigration agents to stay there. Hampton Inn locations are under the Hilton brand, but the Lakeville hotel is independently operated by Everpeak Hospitality. Everpeak said the cancelation was inconsistent with their policy.
US postal workers march and protest
Peter Noble joined dozens of other U.S. Post Office workers Sunday on their only day off from their mail routes to march against the immigration crackdown. They passed by the place where an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, during a Jan. 7 confrontation.
“I’ve seen them driving recklessly around the streets while I am on my route, putting lives in danger,” Noble said.
Letter carrier Susan Becker said she came out to march on the coldest day since the crackdown started because it’s important to keep telling the federal government she thinks what it is doing is wrong. She said people on her route have reported ICE breaking into apartment buildings and tackling people in the parking lot of shopping centers.
“These people are by and large citizens and immigrants. But they’re citizens, and they deserve to be here; they’ve earned their place and they are good people,” Becker said.
Republican congressman asks governor to tone down comments
A Republican U.S. House member called for Walz to tone down his comments about fighting the federal government and instead start to help law enforcement.
Many of the officers in Minnesota are neighbors just doing the jobs they were sent to do, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told WCCO-AM in Minneapolis.
“These are not mean spirited people. But right now, they feel like they’re under attack. They don’t know where the next attack is going to come from and who it is. So people need to keep in mind this starts at the top,” Emmer said.
Across social media, videos have been posted of federal officers spraying protesters with pepper spray, knocking down doors and forcibly taking people into custody. On Friday, a federal judge ruled that immigration officers can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren’t obstructing authorities, including when they’re observing the officers during the Minnesota crackdown.
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Contributing were Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin in Washington; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles.
China’s population continues to decline for the fourth consecutive year
China’s population fell for the fourth straight year in 2025 as its birth rates sunk to a record low, despite the government rolling out a spate of incentives to boost them.
The country’s population fell 3.39 million to reach 1.4 billion by the end of 2025, marking a quicker decline than the previous year, government data showed on Monday.
Its birth rate fell to 5.63 per 1,000 people – a record low since the Communist Party took power in 1949 – while its death rate rose to 8.04 per 1,000 people, the highest since 1968.
Faced with an ageing population and sluggish economy, Beijing has been trying hard to encourage more young people to marry and have children.
In 2016, it scrapped its longstanding one-child policy and replaced it with a two-child limit. When that did not lead to a sustained upsurge in births, authorities announced that they would allow up to three children per couple in 2021.
More recently, China has offered parents 3,600 yuan (£375; $500) per each of their children under the age of three. Certain provinces are also dishing out their own baby bonuses, including additional payouts and extended maternity leave.
Some of these incentives have stirred controversy. For instance, a new 13% tax on contraceptives – including condoms, birth control pills and devices – has sparked concern about unwanted pregnancies and HIV rates.
China has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, at around one birth per woman, below the replacement rate of 2.1. Other economies in the region, such as South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, have similarly low fertility rates.
China is also one of the most expensive countries in which to raise a child, according to a 2024 report by the YuWa Population Research Institute in Beijing.
But some Chinese people have told the BBC they are hindered by other factors – including the desire for a carefree life without constantly worrying about their children.
“I have very few peers who have children, and if they do, they’re obsessed about getting the best nanny or enrolling the kids in the best schools. It sounds exhausting,” a Beijing resident told the BBC in 2021.
Experts at the United Nations believe China’s population will continue on a downward trajectory, estimating that the nation will lose more than half of its current population by 2100.
A shrinking population has economic and social implications for the world’s second-largest economy: exacerbating an already declining workforce and weak consumer sentiment.
With many young people moving away from their parents, there is also a growing number of seniors who are being left to look after themselves or rely on government payments.
But the pension pot is running dry, according to the state-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences – and the country is running out of time to build enough funds to care for its growing elderly population.
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