Haiti officials announce plan to oust prime minister, deepening US standoffOn Friday, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that he had spoken to Fils-Aime and “emphasised the importance of his continued tenure as Haiti’s Prime Minister to combat terrorist gangs and stabilise the island”. Rubio added that the TPC “must be dissolved by February 7 without corrupt actors seeking to interfere in Haiti’s path to elected governance for their own gains”.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/23/haiti-officials-announce-plan-to-oust-prime-minister-deepening-us-standoffhttps://archive.ph/xd8VSMexico weighs stopping oil shipments to Cuba amid concerns of Trump retaliation, sources sayPublicly, Sheinbaum has said Mexico will continue oil shipments to Cuba, saying they are based on longterm contracts and considered international aid. But the senior Mexican government sources said the policy is under internal review as anxiety grows within Sheinbaum's cabinet that the shipments could antagonize Trump. Mexico is trying to negotiate a review of the USMCA North American trade pact, while also persuading Washington it is doing enough to combat drug cartels and that U.S. military action against the groups on Mexican territory is neither welcome nor needed.
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mexico-weighs-stopping-oil-shipments-cuba-amid-concerns-trump-retaliation-2026-01-23/US threatens to starve Iraq of its oil dollars over Iranian influence, sources sayThe U.S. warning was delivered repeatedly over the past two months by the U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Baghdad, Joshua Harris, in conversations with Iraqi officials and influential Shia leaders, according to three Iraqi officials and one source familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters for this story. The message was delivered to some heads of Iran-linked groups via intermediaries, they said.
https://www.newarab.com/news/us-threatens-starve-iraq-its-oil-dollars-over-iranian-influenceUAE abruptly cuts aid to vital hospitals after withdrawing from YemenUAE-funded hospitals played a vital role for Yemenis after more than a decade of conflict had damaged public health infrastructure and left many unable to afford private healthcare. Patients from far and wide sought these these facilities in search of high-quality, free healthcare. Many undertake long journeys to access specialised surgeries that are unavailable in public hospitals and prohibitively expensive in private clinics.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-abruptly-cuts-aid-vital-hospitals-after-withdrawing-yemenAustralian, Palestinian lawyers seek police probe of Israeli presidentThree Australian and Palestinian legal groups have formally called on the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to investigate Israeli President Isaac Herzog for his role in alleged war crimes amid reports he will visit Australia early next month. The organisations said on Friday that they had written to “urgently alert” the AFP of their concerns “in light of serious and credible criminal allegations of incitement to genocide and advocating genocide” by President Isaac Herzog during Israel’s “military onslaught” in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/23/australian-palestinian-lawyers-seek-police-probe-of-israeli-presidenthttps://archive.ph/8v2m9Thousands of workers flee Cambodia scam centres, officials sayThousands of people, including suspected victims of human trafficking, are estimated to have been released or escaped from scam compounds across Cambodia over recent days, after growing international pressure to crackdown on the multibillion-dollar industry. The Indonesian embassy in Phnom Penh said it had received reports from 1,440 of its nationals who had been released from scam centres, while large queues of Chinese nationals were also seen outside the Chinese embassy.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/21/thousands-of-workers-flee-cambodia-scam-centres-officials-sayMalaysian farmers warn of threats to country’s seed and food sovereigntyThe Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has proposed amendments to national seed regulations in order to align the country’s law with the UPOV Convention. The planned changes are a mandatory condition for membership in the Geneva-based organization.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2026/01/23/malaysian-farmers-warn-of-threats-to-countrys-seed-and-food-sovereignty/Spanish court points finger at Israel as it drops Pegasus spyware case againSpain’s highest criminal court has again shelved its investigation into the use of Israeli-made Pegasus software to target the mobile phones of senior Spanish ministers, including the prime minister, citing a chronic lack of cooperation from the Israeli authorities that has violated “the principle of good faith” between countries.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/23/spanish-court-drops-pegasus-spyware-case-again-israel-spain-nsoFrench PM forces budget through parliament after surviving two no-confidence voteLecornu had sought to make concessions in the spending bill to please the Socialists, a key swing group in the hung parliament, in order to survive the votes to oust him. Among the concessions was Lecornu’s agreement that a controversial pension reform would not be implemented until after the 2027 presidential elections.
https://www.france24.com/en/france/20260123-french-pm-lecornu-survives-first-of-two-no-confidence-voteshttps://archive.ph/nvHibThousands in unsafe homes following 'catastrophic' government insulation schemesMajor defects have been identified in more than 30,000 homes fitted with insulation under the Eco4 and Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) since 2022, according to a damning report by the Commons public accounts committee. The committee said the schemes were so badly designed they were almost “bound to fail” and warned that the extreme level of non-compliance by installers should be investigated for fraud.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/thousands-unsafe-homes-following-catastrophic-government-insulation-schemes