Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least one person and wounded 18 overnight into Saturday, as negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States were set to meet in Abu Dhabi for a second day of talks to end Russia's nearly four-year full-scale invasion. One person was killed and four wounded in Russian drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, according to Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko. In Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, drone attacks wounded 14 people, the State Emergency Service said Saturday. The attacks came as envoys were expected to meet in the United Arab Emirates for a second day of talks on Saturday. The talks are the first known instance that officials from the Trump administration have sat down with both countries as part of Washington's push for progress to end Moscow's nearly 4-year-old invasion. The UAE's foreign ministry said the talks are part of efforts "to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis." The White House described Friday's first day as productive. There has been a flurry of diplomatic activity in recent days, from Switzerland to the Kremlin, even though serious obstacles remain between both sides. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday that a potential peace deal was "nearly ready," certain sensitive sticking points - most notably those related to territorial issues - remain unresolved. Just hours before the three-way talks began, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed a Ukraine settlement with US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during marathon overnight talks. The Kremlin insists that to reach a peace deal, Kyiv must withdraw its troops from the areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed but has not fully captured. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
24 January,2026 02:56 PM IST | Kyiv | APAt least six people were killed, and more than a dozen others sustained injuries after a suicide bombing struck wedding celebrations in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, local media reported on Saturday. The blast targeted the residence of Noor Alam Mehsud, head of the Aman (Peace) Committee, in Dera Ismail Khan district late on Friday. Mehsud himself was also injured in the incident. The explosion occurred while the wedding ceremony was underway, triggering panic and chaos at the venue. Several people were wounded in the blast and were immediately shifted to nearby hospitals for treatment, according to leading broadcaster Geo News. Authorities said the exact nature of the blast is still being ascertained, but preliminary findings indicate that it was a suicide attack. Police also said that the attackers resorted to firing after carrying out the bombing. Investigation teams and forensic experts remained present at the site for several hours, collecting evidence to identify the attacker and trace the network behind the attack. According to police and security officials, the severed head of the suicide bomber, believed to be around 17 years old, was recovered from the blast site and taken into custody for forensic examination and identification, reported leading Pakistani daily The Express Tribune. KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi strongly condemned the suicide blast and sought an immediate report from the provincial police chief. He also directed the concerned authorities to ensure that the injured receive the best possible medical facilities. Calling the incident “unfortunate,” the chief minister said that those responsible for the attack would be brought to justice. The provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which share borders with Afghanistan, have been particularly affected by such attacks in recent times. This was not the first time Noor Alam Mehsud, head of the Mehsud Peace Committee in South Waziristan, has been targeted. In 2022, two suicide bombers attempted to attack him at his office in Dera Ismail Khan. Both attackers were killed outside the office, and peace committee volunteers successfully thwarted the attempt, according to The Express Tribune. Last month, three police personnel were killed in a bomb attack targeting a police vehicle in Dera Ismail Khan. According to data released by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Pakistan recorded more than a 25 per cent increase in overall violence last year, with at least 3,187 fatalities and 1,981 injuries linked to violence involving civilians, security forces and criminals. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa emerged as the worst-hit region, accounting for nearly 68 per cent, or 2,165, of the country’s total violence-related fatalities and over 62 per cent, or 732, of all reported incidents. In the province, deaths during security operations stood at 1,370, exceeding fatalities from militant attacks, which numbered 795, by 72 per cent. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
24 January,2026 12:53 PM IST | Islamabad [Pakistan] | IANSUS President Donald Trump gives. And he takes away. Offended by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's increasingly assertive posture toward the US, Trump revoked an invitation to join his Board of Peace. Many Western allies are suspicious of the organisation, which is chaired by Trump and was initially formed to focus on maintaining the ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas but has grown into something sceptics fear could rival the United Nations. Appearing at the World Economic Forum, Trump spoke of imposing tariffs on Switzerland - which he ultimately lowered - because the country's leader "rubbed me the wrong way" during a phone call. Before shelving sweeping tariffs on multiple European countries, Trump pressed Denmark to "say yes" to the US push to control Greenland "and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no and we will remember," he said, imperiling the NATO alliance. Over his decades in public life, Trump has never been one for niceties. But even by his standards, the tumult of the past week stood out because it crystallised his determination to erase the rules-based order that has governed US foreign policy - and by extension most of the Western world - since World War II. The president and his supporters have dismissed that approach as inefficient, overly focused on compromise and unresponsive to the needs of people contending with rapid economic change. But in its place, Trump is advancing a system that is poorly understood and could prove far less stable, driven by the whims of a single, often mercurial, leader who regularly demonstrates that personal flattery or animus can shape his decisions. Returning to the US from Davos, home to the World Economic Forum, Republican Sen Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said the phrase she heard "over and over" was that "we are entering this new world order" as she described a sense of confusion among allies. "It may be you just had a bad telephone call with the president and now you're going to have tariffs directed at you," she told reporters. "This lack of stability and reliability, I think, is causing what were traditionally reliable trade partners to be saying to other countries, Hey, maybe you and I should talk because I'm not sure about what's going on with the United States.'" The Trump-centric approach to governing The Trump-centric approach to governing is hardly surprising for someone who accepted his first Republican presidential nomination in 2016 by declaring that "I alone can fix" the nation's problems. As he settles into his second term with a far more confident demeanour than his first, he has delighted supporters with his to-the-victor -goes-the-spoils style. Steve Bannon, Trump's former adviser, recently told the Atlantic that Trump is pursuing a "maximalist strategy" and that he must keep going "until you meet resistance." "And we haven't met any resistance," Bannon said. That's certainly true in Washington, where the Republican-controlled Congress has done little to check Trump's impulses. But leaders of other countries, who have spent much of Trump's administration trying to find ways to work with him, are increasingly vocal. Carney is quickly emerging as a leader of a movement for countries to find ways to link up and counter the US. Speaking in Davos ahead of Trump, Carney said, "Middle powers must act together because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu." "In a world of great power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice: to compete with each other for favour or to combine to create a third path with impact," he continued. "We should not allow the rise of hard powers to blind us to the fact that the power of legitimacy, integrity, and rules will remain strong - if we choose to wield it together." Trump did not take kindly to those remarks, responding with threats in Davos before yanking the Board of Peace invitation. "Canada lives because of the United States," Trump said. "Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements." Some leaders are pushing back Carney, however, was unbowed, speaking of Canada as "an example to a world at sea" as he crafted a potential template for other world leaders navigating a new era. "We can show that another way is possible, that the arc of history isn't destined to be warped toward authoritarianism and exclusion," he said in a speech before a cabinet retreat in Quebec City. In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer blasted Trump on Friday for "insulting and frankly appalling" comments in which he expressed doubt that NATO would support the US if requested. The president seemingly ignored that the only time Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty, which requires all member countries to help another member under threat, was invoked was after the 9/11 attacks on the US. Referring to non-US troops, Trump told Fox Business Network, "You know, they'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that, and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines." Starmer, noting the 457 British personnel who died and those with life-long injuries, said he will "never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice they made for their country." Denmark, which Trump has belittled as "ungrateful" for US protection during World War II, had the highest per capita death toll among coalition forces in Afghanistan. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 January,2026 12:02 PM IST | Washington | APTaiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) on Saturday said that it detected 26 sorties of Chinese aircraft and six People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels operating around Taiwan up to 6 am (UTC+8). In a post on X, the MND said that 18 out of the 26 PLA sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's northern, central and southwestern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). "26 sorties of PLA and 6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6am. (UTC+8) toda.18 out of 26 sorties crossed the media lineand entered Taiwan's northern, central and southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situationand responded," MND said. On Friday, Taiwan's MND detected overall 23 sorties of Chinese aircraft alongwith other naval vessels. 26 sorties of PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 18 out of 26 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, central and southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded. pic.twitter.com/n5U2PyYdIJ — 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) January 24, 2026 Of the 23,17 sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the northern, central and southwestern ADIZ. In a post on X, the MND said, "Overall 23 sorties of PLA aircraft in various types (including J-10, H-6K, KJ-500, etc.) were detected from 1040hr today. 17 out of 23 sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the northern, central and southwestern ADIZ. in conducting air-sea joint training along with other PLAN vessels. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly." On the same day, the MND said that eleven sorties of PLA aircraft and five PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up to 6 am (local time). In a statement, the MND said nine of the sorties crossed the median line into Taiwan's northern and southwestern air defence identification zone (ADIZ), prompting the MND to monitor and respond to the situation. In a post on X, it said, "11 sorties of PLA aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) Today. 9 out of 11 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern and southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded." According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence, a Chinese surveillance drone entered the southwestern section of Taiwan's air defence identification zone in the early hours of the morning and moved toward the Pratas Islands, also known as Dongsha, as reported by The Taipei Times. According to The Taipei Times, the ministry said the aircraft approached the islands shortly before dawn and briefly entered territorial airspace at an altitude beyond the effective reach of local air-defence systems. The garrison stationed on the islands was immediately instructed to raise alert levels and intensify aerial monitoring. After repeated warnings broadcast through international radio frequencies, the drone withdrew several minutes later. The ministry condemned the manoeuvre as reckless and provocative, stating that it violated international norms and further destabilised the region. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 January,2026 11:37 AM IST | Taipei | ANIBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmer has signalled that US President Donald Trump should apologise for his false assertion that troops from non-US NATO countries avoided the front line during the Afghanistan war, describing Trump's remarks as "insulting" and "appalling." Trump said that he wasn't sure NATO would be there to support the United States if and when requested, provoking outrage and distress across the United Kingdom on Friday, regardless of individuals' political persuasion. "We've never needed them, we have never really asked anything of them," Trump said of non-US troops in an interview with Fox News in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday. "You know, they'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that, and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines." In October 2001, nearly a month after the September 11 attacks, the US led an international coalition in Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaida, which had used the country as its base, and the group's Taliban hosts. Alongside the US were troops from dozens of countries, including from NATO, whose mutual-defense mandate had been triggered for the first time after the attacks on New York and Washington. UK sacrifice In the UK, the reaction to Trump's comments was raw. Starmer paid tribute to the 457 British personnel who died and to those have been left with profound life-long injuries. "I will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice they made for their country," Starmer said. "I consider President Trump's remarks to be insulting and frankly appalling and I am not surprised they have caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured and, in fact, across the country." Without naming Trump, Prince Harry weighed in to the furor too, saying the "sacrifices" of British soldiers during the war "deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect." "Thousands of lives were changed forever," said Harry, who undertook two tours of duty in Afghanistan in the British Army and who lost friends there. "Mothers and fathers buried sons and daughters. Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost." After 9/11, then Prime Minister Tony Blair said that the UK would "stand shoulder to shoulder" with the US in response to the al-Qaida attacks. British troops took a key role in many operations during the Afghan war until their withdrawal in 2014, particularly in Helmand Province in the south of the country. American troops remained in Afghanistan until their chaotic withdrawal in 2021 when the Taliban returned to power. More than 150,000 British troops served in Afghanistan in the years after the invasion, the largest contingent after the American one. Ben Obese-Jecty, a lawmaker who served in Afghanistan as a captain in the Royal Yorkshire Regiment, said that it was "sad to see our nation's sacrifice, and that of our NATO partners, held so cheaply by the president of the United States." Trump and Vietnam Anger was further fuelled by the fact that the comments came from someone who didn't serve in the Vietnam War at a time when he was eligible. "It's hugely ironic that someone who allegedly dodged the draft for the Vietnam War should make such a disgraceful statement," said Stephen Stewart, author of "The Accidental Soldier," an account of his time embedded with British troops in Afghanistan. Trump received a deferment that allowed him to not serve in Vietnam because of bone spurs, but he has been unable to remember in which foot, leading to accusations of draft dodging. Repeated NATO slights It wasn't the first time that Trump downplayed the commitment of NATO countries over the past few days. It has been one of his pivotal lines of attack as he escalated his threats to seize Greenland, a semiautonomous territory belonging to Denmark. Trump's allegation that NATO countries won't be there when requested stands in stark contrast to reality. The only time Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty has been used was in response to the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. The article is the key mutual defense clause, obliging all member countries to come to the aid of another member whose sovereignty or territorial integrity might be under threat. "When America needed us after 9/11 we were there," former Danish platoon commander Martin Tamm Andersen said. Denmark has been a stalwart ally of the US in Afghanistan, with 44 Danish soldiers killed there - the highest per capita death toll among coalition forces. Eight more died in Iraq. The latest controversy surrounding Trump comes at the end of a week when he has faced criticism - and pushback - for his threats to Greenland. Trump also threatened to slap tariffs on European nations opposed to his ambitions to annex Greenland, which raised questions over the future of NATO. And though Trump backed down after a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in which he said they formed the "framework" for a deal over Arctic security, trans-Atlantic relations have taken a hit. His latest comments are unlikely to improve relations. Diane Dernie, whose son Ben Parkinson suffered horrific injuries when a British Army Land Rover hit a mine in Afghanistan in 2006, said that Trump's latest comments were "the ultimate insult" and called on Starmer to stand up to Trump over them. "Call him out," she said. "Make a stand for those who fought for this country and for our flag, because it's just beyond belief." Taking her up on that, Starmer said "what I say to Diane is, if I had misspoken in that way or said those words, I would certainly apologise and I'd apologise to her." This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 January,2026 10:23 AM IST | London | APSPARK Microgravity GmbH revealed plans to build Europe’s first dedicated commercial orbital cancer laboratory. The facility will operate in low Earth orbit and focus on experiments that gravity-bound labs cannot perform. The company says the lab will shorten the timeline between discovery and therapy by unlocking new biological insights. SPARK said space-based research could expose biological signals that remain hidden on Earth, as gravity affects how cells grow, settle, and interact. These constraints don’t exist in orbit. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 January,2026 09:07 AM IST | Berlin | AgenciesRussian President Vladimir Putin discussed the settlement in Ukraine with US President Donald Trump’s envoys during marathon overnight talks. The Kremlin meeting, which lasted past 3 am on Friday, came hours after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sharply criticised his European allies on Thursday for their slow and fragmented response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, who participated in Putin’s meeting with Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, said “it was reaffirmed that reaching a long-term settlement can’t be expected without solving the territorial issue.” Ushakov added that it was agreed that Russian, Ukrainian and US officials will hold talks on security issues related to a prospective peace deal in the United Arab Emirates on Friday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 January,2026 09:04 AM IST | Moscow | AgenciesThe US has finalised its withdrawal from the World Health Organisation, one year after President Donald Trump announced America was ending its 78-year-old commitment, federal officials said Thursday. But it’s hardly a clean break. Th US owes more than USD 130 million to the global health agency, according to WHO; and Trump administration officials acknowledge that they haven’t finished working out some issues, such as lost access to data from other countries that could give America an early warning of a new pandemic. Tehe withdrawal will hurt the global response to new outbreaks and will hobble the ability of US scientists and pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines and medicines against new threats, said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University. “It’s the most ruinous presidential decision.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 January,2026 09:00 AM IST | New York | AgenciesResearchers from Jilin University identified single-walled carbon nanotubes in soil samples brought back from the far side of the moon by China’s 2024 Chang’e-6 mission. Until now, it was believed that these carbon nanotubes could only be made in high-tech laboratories and was impossible due to natural phenomena. This is the first definitive evidence that nature can build these advanced nanostructures on its own. These structures were first synthesised in labs in the 1990s. The discovery showcases how future space missions might process local soil into advanced materials for deep-space exploration. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 January,2026 08:57 AM IST | Beijing | AgenciesThe toll in Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests has reached at least 5,002 people killed, activists said Friday, warning many more were feared dead as the most comprehensive internet blackout in the country’s history crossed the two-week mark. The latest death toll was given by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which reported that 4716 people killed were demonstrators, 203 were government-affiliated, 43 were children, and 40 were civilians not taking part in the protests. It added that more than 26,800 people had been detained in a widening arrest campaign by authorities. The challenge in getting information out of Iran persists because of authorities cutting off access to the internet on January 8, even as tensions rise between the US and Iran as an American aircraft carrier group moves closer to the Middle East. ‘False claims’ Iran’s top prosecutor on Friday denied a claim by US President Donald Trump that his intervention halted the execution of 800 people detained in nationwide protests, calling his comments false. “This claim is completely false; no such number exists, nor has the judiciary made any such decision,” Mohammad Movahedi said. It again calls into question whether there will be mass executions over the nationwide protests. Officials have already said some detainees face death penalty charges. ‘Fleet heading to Iran’ Trump said Iran is under close watch and a “massive fleet” is heading to the Gulf region. “If you hang those people, you’ll be hit harder than you’ve ever been.. It will make what we did to your nuclear sites look like peanuts,” Trump said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 January,2026 08:54 AM IST | Dubai | AgenciesThree people were killed, and another was wounded on Thursday in a shooting in a town in Australia's New South Wales state, police said. Emergency services were called to an address at Lake Cargelligo, a town of around 1,500 people, following reports of a shooting, a police statement said. Three people - two women and a man - were dead, and another man was taken to the hospital in serious but stable condition, police said. The shooter or shooters appeared to be at large. Police urged the public to avoid the area and for local residents to stay inside. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
23 January,2026 04:29 PM IST | Melbourne | APADVERTISEMENT
-1769245047137_d.png?tr=w-436,h-271 "Russian strikes killed one person and injured at least 15 others in Ukraine's capital and the northeastern city of Kharkiv overnight. (Pic/AFP)")
-1769236765394_d.png "Representation pic")
-1769071957970_d.png "Residents were asked to stay inside by authorities. Representational Image")