The Guardian·Wednesday, January 14, 2026

The Guardian - Wednesday, January 14, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Trump administration ends temporary protected status for Somalis in US

Critics condemn ‘bigoted attack’ as Trump bids to revoke citizenship of naturalized immigrants convicted of fraud The Trump administration is terminating temporary protected status (TPS) for Somalis living in the United States, giving hundreds of people two months to leave the country or face deportation. The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said in a statement that conditions in the east African country had improved sufficiently and that Somalis no longer qualified for the designation

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Quarter of developing countries poorer than in 2019, World Bank finds

Global growth ‘downshifted’ since Covid pandemic and sub-Saharan Africa particularly affected, report says Business live – latest updates A quarter of countries in the developing world are poorer than they were in 2019 before the Covid pandemic, the World Bank has found. The Washington-based organisation said a large group of low-income countries, many in sub-Saharan Africa, had suffered a negative shock in the six years to the end of last year. Continue reading...

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Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie accuses Lagos hospital of negligence after son’s death

Lawyers for Adichie and her husband serve Euracare hospital with legal notice after death of 21-month-old The Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has accused a Lagos hospital of negligence after the death of one of her 21-month-old twin boys. Nkanu Nnamdi died on 6 January after a brief illness. He was one of twin boys born to Adichie and Ivara Esege, a doctor, in 2024 by surrogacy, eight years after the birth of their first child, a girl. Continue reading...

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Attempt to overturn the Gambia’s ban on FGM heard by supreme court

Case brought by Muslim leaders and MP follows failed 2024 bid and seen as part of global anti-women’s rights backlash A group of religious leaders and an MP in the Gambia have launched efforts to overturn a ban on female genital mutilation at the country’s supreme court. The court case, due to resume this month, comes after two babies bled to death after undergoing FGM in the Gambia last year. Almameh Gibba, an MP and one of the plaintiffs, tabled a bill to decriminalise FGM that was rejected by

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Two weeks on, questions linger over targeting and impact of US airstrikes in Nigeria

Very little information has been shared about strikes in Sokoto state Two weeks after the US carried out Christmas Day airstrikes in north-west Nigeria on what it described as Islamic State fighters, questions remain over the specific group that was targeted and the operation’s impact. In the aftermath of the strikes, Donald Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that “ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christia

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US plan to exploit Venezuela’s oil could eat up 13% of carbon budget to keep 1.5C limit

Exclusive: ClimatePartner analysis shows how move would risk plunging Earth further into climate catastrophe US plans to exploit Venezuela’s oil reserves could by 2050 consume more than a tenth of the world’s remaining carbon budget to limit global heating to 1.5C, according to an exclusive analysis. The calculation highlights how any moves to further exploit the South American nation’s oil reserves – the largest in the world, at least on paper – would put increasing pressure on climate goals, a

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Trump’s other Latin American feud: why Colombia’s Petro is not Maduro

Leftwing leader rallies his supporters as US president accuses him of drug trafficking and threatens military action A leftwing South American firebrand calls for his followers to rally in public squares nationwide to defend his country’s sovereignty and decry verbal attacks from Donald Trump. The US president accuses the leader of personally flooding American streets with illegal drugs and imposes sanctions against him and his wife. Threats of military action are followed by a phone conversatio

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US frackers were already facing a global oil supply glut. Trump’s Venezuelan dream could make it worse

Picture is as murky as a barrel of oil, with US companies in 2026 expecting their first production drop in four years US shale-oil producers were already contending with oil prices at four-year lows. News that they may soon face a significant competitor in their back yard probably wasn’t how frackers wanted to greet 2026. The US capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, hit the share prices of independent shale-oil producers, such as Diamondback Energy and Devon

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Carney heads to Beijing as Trump’s America First agenda forces Canada into trade rethink

Canada’s PM seeks to smooth over past ructions in relationship with China as trade war takes its toll During the final stretch of Canada’s spring election campaign, Mark Carney told a debate audience that China was the country’s “biggest geopolitical risk”. He pointed to its attempts to meddle in elections and its recent efforts to disrupt Canada’s Arctic claims. When Carney’s government plane touches down in Beijing this week, it will be the first time a Canadian prime minister has been welcome

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Trump threatens to block ExxonMobil from Venezuela after CEO calls country ‘uninvestable’

US president says company is ‘playing too cute’ after CEO responds sceptically to his push for oil investment after deposing Nicolás Maduro Donald Trump has said he might block ExxonMobil from investing in Venezuela after the oil company’s chief executive called the country “uninvestable” during a White House meeting last week. Darren Woods told the US president that Venezuela would need to change its laws before it could be an attractive investment opportunity, during the high-profile meeting o

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