While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Jan 19, 2026
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People protesting against US President Donald Trump's demand that the Arctic island be ceded to the US in Nuuk, Greenland, on Jan 17, 2026.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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World markets jolted as Trump vows tariffs on Europe over Greenland
Global markets are facing volatility after President Donald Trump vowed to slap tariffs on eight European nations until the US is allowed to buy Greenland, news that pushed the euro to a seven-week low in late Jan 18 trading.
Mr Trump said he would impose an additional 10 per cent import tariff from Feb 1 on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Britain, which will rise to 25 per cent on June 1 if no deal is reached.
Major European Union states decried the tariff threats over Greenland as blackmail on Jan 18. France proposed responding with a range of previously untested economic countermeasures.
As early trade kicked off in Asia-Pacific, the euro fell 0.2 per cent to around US$1.1572 (S$1.50), its lowest since November. Sterling also dipped, while the yen firmed against the dollar.
More than 65 missing, six dead after huge Karachi blaze
PHOTO: EPA
Firefighters in Karachi searched on Jan 18 for more than 65 missing people after a massive fire tore through a shopping mall in the historic downtown district, killing six and reducing parts of the building to rubble.
Videos showed flames rising from the building as firefighters laboured through the night to stop the blaze, which started on the night of Jan 17, from spreading in the dense business district. After fighting the flames for over 24 hours, firefighters began cooling the steaming rubble of the nearly collapsed structure.
Firefighters told Pakistan’s local television station Geo News that the lack of ventilation in the mall, which houses over 1,200 shops, caused the building to fill with smoke and slowed rescue efforts.
Syria government, Kurdish forces agree sweeping integration to end clashes
PHOTO: REUTERS
Syria and the main Kurdish fighting force struck a wide-ranging deal to bring Kurdish civilian and military authorities under central government control on Jan 18, ending days of fighting in which Syrian troops captured territory including key oil fields.
US envoy Tom Barrack hailed a “pivotal inflection point”, but noted that there was still challenging work to be done to finalise details of a comprehensive integration deal.
The terms of the deal appeared to be a major blow for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which ran a semi-autonomous region in Syria’s north-east for more than a decade.
Two high-speed trains derail in Spain, broacaster reports five people killed
PHOTO: REUTERS
Two high-speed trains derailed on Jan 18 in southern Spain, the rail network operator said, and state-run television channel RTVE said five people had died, citing police sources.
The accident happened near Adamuz, which is near Cordoba. An unknown number of passengers have been injured, RTVE said, citing Civil Guard sources.
"The Iryo 6189 Malaga - (to Madrid) train has derailed from the track at Adamuz, crashing onto the adjacent track. The (Madrid) to Huelva train which was travelling on the adjacent track has also derailed," Adif, which runs the rail network, said in a social media post.
Everton’s Thierno Barry puts dent in Aston Villa’s Premier League title hopes
PHOTO: AFP
Thierno Barry scored a second-half winner as Everton ended title-chasing Aston Villa’s 11-game home winning run with a 1-0 Premier League victory at a wet Villa Park on Jan 18, a result that will be celebrated in North London.
Villa stay in third place in the table on 43 points from 22 games, seven points behind leaders Arsenal, who now have a sizeable lead in the title race. Everton climb to 10th place on 32 points.
The visitors took the lead on 59 minutes when Pau Torres’s poor touch was collected by Dwight McNeil and when the latter's shot was parried by Emi Martinez in the home goal, Barry followed up to chip the ball into the net.
