The Guardian·Friday, January 16, 2026

The Guardian - Friday, January 16, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Cloth wraps treated with ‘dirt cheap’ insecticide cut malaria cases in babies

Soaking fabrics in a commonly used insect repellent is a simple and effective tool as mosquito bites become more common during daytime, study shows From Africa to Latin America to Asia, babies have been carried in cloth wraps on their mothers’ backs for centuries. Now, the practice of generations of women could become a lifesaving tool in the fight against malaria. Researchers in Uganda have found that treating wraps with the insect repellent permethrin cut rates of malaria in the infants carrie

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Death of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s son prompts calls for overhaul of Nigeria’s healthcare sector

Pleas for scrutiny of system fraught with accusations of negligence after one-year-old’s death in hospital Nigerians have called for urgent reforms to the healthcare sector after the death of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 21-month-old son prompted an outpouring of grief and accounts of negligence and inadequate care. In a leaked WhatsApp message, the bestselling author said she had been told by a doctor that the resident anaesthesiologist at the Lagos hospital treating her son Nkanu Nnamdi had admi

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Controversial US study on hepatitis B vaccines in Africa is cancelled

$1.6m project drew outrage over ethical questions about withholding vaccines proven to prevent disease The controversial US-funded study on hepatitis B vaccines among newborns in Guinea-Bissau has been halted, according to Yap Boum, a senior official at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “The study has been cancelled,” Boum told journalists at a press conference on Thursday morning. Continue reading...

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Opposition candidate Bobi Wine claims ‘massive ballot stuffing’ as Uganda goes to polls

Wine calls for voters to ‘reject the criminal regime’ on tense day of voting as some poll stations remain closed for hours Uganda’s most prominent opposition presidential candidate has accused the government of ballot stuffing and arresting and abducting his party’s officials during Thursday’s general election, which took place against against the backdrop of an internet shutdown. The pop star turned politician Bobi Wine wrote on X: “Internet switched off. Massive ballot stuffing reported everyw

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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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Three US citizens sue Trump with the ACLU over encounters with ICE agents – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. Trump news at a glance: The medal may be in Trump’s hands, but peace prize is not his, Nobel officials say Donald Trump is in Washington today. He’s due to meet with Mariá Corina Machado – Venezuela’s opposition leader – at 12:3opm ET. At the moment that’s closed to the press but we’ll let you know if that changes and bring you the latest. Later, Trump is set to host the champions of the 2025 Stanley Cup, the Florida Panthers, at the White House. We’ll be watching

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Andean artist Antonio Paucar wins Artes Mundi prize in Wales

Artist and beekeeper who highlights eco crisis plans to spend £40,000 award on building cultural centre in Peru An artist and beekeeper from a remote corner of the Andes has won one of the UK’s most prestigious contemporary arts awards and plans to spend the £40,000 prize on building a cultural centre in the Peruvian mountains. Antonio Paucar was declared the winner of the biennial Artes Mundi prize after presenting work ranging from a spiral made of alpaca wool to a video of him writing a poem

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Trump to discuss Venezuela’s future with Machado after Maduro’s capture

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel prize winner had been sidelined by White House after US seized Maduro Donald Trump will host María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel peace prize winner, at the White House on Thursday for high-stakes talks on the oil-rich nation’s future following the US capture of Nicolás Maduro. Many in Venezuela and abroad had expected Machado to take charge after an elite US military team seized Maduro in a pre-dawn raid on 3 January and tr

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Why big oil giants may not rush to buy into Donald Trump’s Venezuelan vision

It may well be safer, easier and cheaper for US companies to procure whatever oil the US economy needs at home There are a few reasons that Donald Trump – now self-anointed acting president of Venezuela, as well as the United States – might be so excited about appropriating Venezuela’s oil. Trump may be counting on some boost from cheap oil to the US economy: he is obsessed with the price of gas. As the midterm elections approach, he has become concerned about unemployment. Deeply imprinted memo

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Venezuela regime claims release of political prisoners is sign of new era

NGOs estimate that there are still close to 1,000 political prisoners in Venezuela despite claims by new leaders Venezuela’s acting president has claimed that the regime’s release of political prisoners sent a “very clear message” that the country was “opening up to a new political moment”, days after the seizure and rendition of the dictator Nicolás Maduro. Delcy Rodríguez also vowed to continue the releases and accused NGOs that have described the process as slow and opaque of “lying to the wo

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