“U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown targeting demonstrators there, a move coming as activists said the death toll in protests rose to at least 544. … More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces. With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.” (01/11.26)
“The dollar and Wall Street futures dropped and gold jumped on Monday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Trump administration had threatened him with a criminal indictment over the refurbishment of the central bank’s headquarters. … S&P 500 futures fell more than 0.5%, while safe-haven gold – which investors buy as hedge against both turmoil and inflation – hit another record high as money markets priced in a slightly higher chance of short-term U.S. interest rate cuts. … Fed chief Powell had responded to the Trump administration’s threat of a criminal indictment by calling it a ‘pretext’ aimed at pressuring the central bank to cut interest rates.” (01/12/26)
“Hamas announced on Sunday that it will dissolve its current administration in Gaza after a Palestinian technocratic leadership committee assumes control of the region, as is required by the US-brokered plan for the enclave. The Gaza militant group and the rival Palestinian Authority, the Palestinians’ internationally recognised representative, have not announced the names of the technocrats, who are not supposed to be politically affiliated, and it remains unclear if they will be cleared by Israel and the US. The government and other elements of the truce that went into effect on 10 October, such as disarming Hamas and sending an international security force, are to be supervised by the ‘Board of Peace,’ an international body headed by US President Donald Trump. The members of the board are still unknown.” (01/12/26)
“Mounting outrage over an ICE agent’s [murder] of a woman in Minneapolis spilled into streets across the country on Saturday, as crowds of protesters mobilized against what they called the excesses of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. The ‘Ice Out for Good’ campaign held demonstrations in small towns and major cities, including some that have been central targets of President Trump’s immigration crackdown. The protests came three days after an ICE agent in Minneapolis [murdered] Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen at the wheel of a car, during an encounter in South Minneapolis.” (01/10/26)
“Ukraine struck three Russian oil rigs operating in the Caspian Sea on Sunday following Moscow’s large-scale bombardment over the weekend that left thousands without heat or power in Kyiv. Footage released by Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO) revealed the moment Kyiv launched three separate explosive drones overnight targeting drilling platforms belonging to Lukoil, one of Russia’s largest oil producers. … Ukraine has ramped up its attacks on Moscow’s oil and gas plants as a way to cripple Russia’s war machine after targeting oil rigs in the Caspian Sea last month. Along with the drone strikes on the oil rigs, Ukraine also targeted the Russian city of Voronezh on Sunday, killing one woman and injuring three others, according to regional Gov. Alexander Gusev.” (01/11/26)
“A Virginia man has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of planting two pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican national parties on the eve of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Brian J. Cole Jr., of Woodbridge, Virginia, entered the plea at a brief hearing on Friday. He is facing two counts of transporting and attempting to use explosives. Justice Department prosecutors have said that Cole confessed to placing pipe bombs outside the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee headquarters only hours before a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol. Cole said he hoped the explosives would detonate and ‘hoped there would be news about it,’ prosecutors wrote in court documents.” (01/10/26)
“X may soon provide more insight into how its algorithm works. On Saturday, Elon Musk posted on the platform to say that the company ‘will make the new X algorithm, including all code used to determine what organic and advertising posts are recommended to users, open source in 7 days.’ X’s recommendation algorithm has been the subject of investigations by France and the European Commission, the latter of which recently extended through 2026 a retention order that it sent to the company at the beginning of last year.” (01/10/26)
“The Conservatives say they would ban under-16s from accessing social media platforms if they win power, promising to follow the example of Australia, which became the first country to introduce the policy last month. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said her party would also seek to ban smartphones in schools if it entered office. Speaking to the BBC, she said many parents wanted to stop their children using social media but ‘don’t know how.'” [editor’s note: They’re about as likely to successfully repeal the laws of gravity – TLK] (01/11/26)
“The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said Sunday that they agreed under a ceasefire to withdraw their fighters from the two districts they held in Aleppo after deadly clashes in the city. … The United States and the European Union on Saturday urged the Syrian government and Kurdish authorities to return to negotiations after days of clashes. The violence in Aleppo erupted after efforts to integrate the SDF’s de facto autonomous administration and military into the country’s new government stalled. Since the fighting began on Tuesday, at least 21 civilians have been killed, according to figures from both sides, while Aleppo’s governor said 155,000 people have been displaced.” (01/11/26)
“The organization that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize rejected recent suggestions that Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado could give or share her award with President Donald Trump. The Norwegian Nobel Institute shut down the idea Friday, after Machado suggested that she might transfer the prestigious award to Trump earlier this week. ‘Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others,’ the institute said in a statement. ‘The decision is final and stands for all time.’ The statement comes after Machado floated the idea during an appearance Tuesday on Fox News'[s] ‘Hannity.'” (01/10/26)
