Ilayda Cakirtekin
22 January 2026•Update: 22 January 2026
ISTANBUL
Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Thursday, including US President Donald Trump's announcement of a framework for a future deal on Greenland and a pause in tariffs against European nations, Russia considering to pay $1 billion from its frozen assets for membership in Trump's Gaza 'Board of Peace,' Trump denying concerns that amassing more rare earth minerals is driving his push to acquire the Danish territory of Greenland, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan telling his Brazilian counterpart that Türkiye considers all initiatives aimed at establishing peace in Gaza to be important.
TOP STORIES
- Trump says framework reached on Greenland, Arctic region; tariffs paused
US President Donald Trump said a framework for a deal involving Greenland and the broader Arctic region was established following his meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Davos, Switzerland.
"Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump did not provide details but said additional discussions are ongoing.
"Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st," he added.
- Putin says Russia could pay $1B from frozen assets for membership in Trump's Gaza 'Board of Peace'
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow could pay $1 billion from frozen assets, a fee necessary for permanent membership in the "Board of Peace," a new international body proposed by US President Donald Trump.
Speaking at a meeting of the Russian Security Council in Moscow, Putin said he instructed the Foreign Ministry to study the proposal to join the US-promoted body and coordinate the position with partners.
"We could send 1 billion US dollars from Russian assets frozen during the previous US administration to the Board of Peace," he said.
- Trump denies push to acquire Greenland is about rare earth minerals
US President Donald Trump denied concerns that amassing more rare earth minerals is driving his push to acquire the Danish territory of Greenland.
"I want Greenland for security. I don't want it for anything else. We have so much rare earth, we don't know what to do with it. We don't need it for anything else," Trump said as he met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
"In terms of Greenland, you know, you have to go 25 feet (8 meters) down through ice to get it. It's not something that a lot of people are going to do, or want to do. No, this is security we're talking about," he added.
- Türkiye sees all Gaza peace initiatives as important: President Erdogan
Türkiye considers all initiatives aimed at establishing peace in Gaza to be important, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, expressing appreciation for Brazil's refusal to remain silent on the Gaza genocide.
In a phone call, Erdogan and Lula da Silva discussed bilateral, regional and global issues, Türkiye's Communications Directorate said on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal on Wednesday.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir authorized residents of 18 additional illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank to obtain personal gun permits.
- The EU has put work on its trade agreement with the US on hold, according to an announcement by the chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee.
- NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he did not discuss with US President Donald Trump whether Greenland would remain part of the Kingdom of Denmark under a newly announced framework for a future deal.
- The Mauritanian army said it lost contact with a military boat carrying seven soldiers while it was taking part in a rescue operation for a disabled vessel off the coast of the capital, Nouakchott.
- Spain’s King Felipe VI warned that the European Union cannot accept, "much less endorse, geopolitical approaches from another era as if they were signs of a new time" as he addressed the European Parliament.
- US President Donald Trump said Iran must not resume its nuclear program, warning that if it does, it could trigger military action.
- The UN warned that Haiti has reached a "critical juncture" in its efforts to restore democratic institutions, as political fragmentation, escalating gang violence and deepening humanitarian needs threaten to derail the country's fragile transition.
- Eleven Palestinians, including three journalists, were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, in the latest violation of a ceasefire agreement, according to the Palestine Health Ministry.
- Authorities have identified a male body found in the sea in Istanbul’s Besiktas district as Nikolai Andreevich Svechnikov, a Russian swimmer who went missing on Aug. 24, 2025 during the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race.
- The French presidency dismissed US President Donald Trump's claim that President Emmanuel Macron was forced to increase the price of prescription medicines because of a tariff threat, saying Macron does not set drug prices.
- The foreign ministers of eight countries – Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – welcomed US President Donald Trump’s invitation to their leaders to join the “Board of Peace” for Gaza.
- Pakistan said it has accepted US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the “Board of Peace” on Gaza.
- The US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said it launched a mission to transfer ISIS (Daesh) detainees from northeastern Syria to Iraq to help ensure the terrorists remain in secure detention facilities.
- The European Parliament approved the use of the enhanced cooperation procedure to allow the EU to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion (over $105 billion) support loan.
- Japan, for the first time, will offer refueling support to South Korean military planes, the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) said, as a South Korean aerobatic team will make a stop at a base in Okinawa in the coming weeks.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will not attend the signing ceremony for US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" initiative, a government spokesman said.
- Türkiye welcomed the ceasefire reached in Syria on Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, expressing hope that it would lead to a permanent resolution without further bloodshed.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
- Artificial intelligence could lift GDP between 1% to 45%: White House report
Artificial intelligence (AI) could increase gross domestic product (GDP) by 1% to 45%, according to a report released by the White House Council of Economic Advisors.
"A variety of recent studies have attempted to quantify the impacts of AI on GDP levels. These studies produced a broad range of estimates: AI could increase GDP by 1 percent up to more than 45 percent. The wide range reflects the high degree of uncertainty surrounding the economic characteristics of AI," the report stated.
- Trump says he will soon announce new Fed chair
US President Donald Trump said he plans to soon announce a new chairman of the Federal Reserve as he continued to criticize current Chair Jerome Powell.
“I’ll be announcing a new Fed chairman in the not-too-distant future. I think he’ll do a very good job," Trump said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
He renewed his long-running criticism of Powell, accusing him of acting too slowly on interest rate decisions.
“We have a terrible chairman right now. Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell. He’s always too late, and he’s very late with interest rates, except before the election. He was just fine for the other side,” he said.
