This Week's Brief

And so it begins.

The flood of “Delighted to be at Davos” posts have begun, soon to be followed by selfies with famous faces and hourly updates from social media influencers wandering Klosters.

What many won’t admit is that they won’t hold the coveted all-access WEF White Badge. Meaning the real power of access is still reserved for paying C-suite executives, world leaders, NGO heads, and legacy media. But everyone will be enduring hypothermia and 20-hour workdays (parties count as work!) for the privilege of being seen.

By the end of the week, the barrage of “I’m here” selfies may leave you wondering if you should’ve somehow wangled your way onto the mountaintop, if you haven’t already.

But beyond the usual WEF hoopla, who is actually influencing world economics? White Badge holders tend to be representative of the global power dynamics of our time. Are those gathered even remotely representative?

That’s exactly what we’ll be digging into on Thursday, because data beats selfies every time.

These are the stories that caught our eye, because nothing distracts us from connecting the dots!

📌 Greenland: Davos Party Small Talk/Not

📌 EU-India Trade: Finally, Nineteen Years Later

📌 India Targets Debt Reduction

📌 Japan and Philippines Sign Defence Pact

📌 EU Internal Trade Barriers Exceed US Tariffs

📌 Former Moderna Covid-19 Boss Appointed CEO by UK’s Health Service

📌 New Female Corporate Leaders in Nigeria

📌 Signal Pushes Open-Source AI Safeguards

📌 IMF Warns on AI Disruption

📌 Conflict Watch This Week

Greenland: Davos Party Small Talk/Not

🚨 Trump has told Norway he “no longer feels an obligation to think purely of peace” after missing out on the Nobel Peace Prize. On Greenland, he insists Denmark has no “right of ownership,” noting “its only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also.”

🚨 When asked if he would seize Greenland by force, Trump gave a “no comment” to NBC News, but doubled down on tariff threats.

🚨 Denmark has sent more troops on top of the 200 already stationed, while a multinational exercise over the weekend involving eight countries now comes with a side of potential 10% US tariffs.

🚨 European leaders are navigating the chaos like being in the denial phase of a bad breakup: Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said the bloc has “no interest to pick a fight, but we will hold our ground”. She added, “Sovereignty is not for trade.”

🚨 The German Chancellor wants to “avoid escalation,” the French President calls it “unacceptable,” UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is towing the PM’s rather vanilla line, saying Greenland’s future “is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes, and them alone.”

🚨 Meanwhile Italy’s Giorgia Meloni has called Trump’s move a “mistake” while mockingly asking if Italy should “storm McDonald’s” in response to tariffs. She has though offered to be the EU’s Trump whisperer if needed.

🚨 Greenland’s foreign minister Vivian Motzfeldt says the country is under “intense pressure” but “not for sale.” Denmark’s PM Mette Frederiksen warns that “Europe will not be blackmailed.”

🚨 Ursula von der Leyen says “tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” and the European Parliament President Roberta Metsola was quick to reiterate: “Greenland is not for sale.”

🚨 EU capitals are “considering” €93 billion in retaliatory tariffs. Economists have warned of the recessionary impact of such a move.

🚨 Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova in the meantime has denied Russia has any official objective to seize control of the Arctic island. She has called such suggestions unfounded and politically motivated.

🚨 In the meantime, orders for 6 icebreakers (ships that can break through ice) have been placed by the United States with shipbuilders in Finland. Finland is the undisputed world leader when it comes to icebreakers. Finnish companies have designed 80% , external of all those currently in operation, with 60% built at shipyards in Finland.

In Other Politics This Week

The speed at which Canada’s done a trade deal with China this week should give Europe whiplash. Because its trade deal with India might finally be happening. It’s only taken them 19 years to agree on some elements.

EU-India Trade: Nineteen Years Later

The EU and India are set to conclude their largest free trade agreement on 27 January in New Delhi. Agriculture is excluded to protect India’s politically sensitive farming sector. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the agreement as a “massive signal” for EU trade relations.

India Targets Debt Reduction

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans to actively reduce India’s public debt burden, targeting a debt-to-GDP ratio of 50 percent by FY31 (plus or minus one percent). The ratio fell to 56 percent in FY26, down from a pandemic peak of 61 percent, signalling a disciplined fiscal pivot as the country engages in major trade deals.

Japan and Philippines Sign Defence Pact

In China’s neck of the woods, Japan and the Philippines signed a defence agreement, with the very sex title, ‘Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement’ allowing tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities during joint military exercises. Signed by Foreign Ministers Toshimitsu Motegi and Theresa Lazaro in Manila, the pact strengthens deterrence against China while improving preparation for natural disasters.

Business This Week

EU Internal Trade Barriers Exceed US Tariffs

New research from the European Central Bank finds regulatory fragmentation, administrative hurdles and anti-competition practices impose costs equivalent to a 67 percent tariff on goods and 95 percent on services within the EU. The ECB argues that internal inefficiencies now threaten growth more than American trade policy.

UK Appoints Dr Melanie Ivarsson to Lead Health Data Research Service

Dr Melanie Ivarsson, who led Moderna’s clinical trials for one of the world’s first Covid-19 vaccines, has been appointed CEO of the UK Health Data Research Service. HDRS will begin operations by the end of 2026 with up to £600 million in backing from the government and the Wellcome Trust.

New Female Leadership in Nigeria

Wola Joseph-Condotti becomes interim CEO of Eko Electricity Distribution Plc (Eko DisCo), one of Nigeria’s largest electricity distribution companies. Kemi Omotosho is appointed CEO of MultiChoice Nigeria, the South African-owned operator of the DStv satellite television service. The appointments mark notable female leadership in critical African energy and media sectors.

AI This Week

Philippines Bans X Over Grok AI Feature

The Philippines has now banned Elon Musk’s X due to Grok AI’s “undressing” feature. Malaysia and Indonesia previously imposed similar bans. EU countries and the UK are still investigating.

IMF Warns on AI Disruption

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva urged governments to overhaul education systems and expand worker protections, warning nearly 40 percent of global jobs face disruption from AI. She called for “proactive and comprehensive policymaking” to ensure AI’s benefits are widely shared, noting that concerns about job displacement and declining opportunities for certain groups “are becoming more acute.”

Meta Executive Calls for Human-Centred AI

In her first public interview since joining Meta, newly appointed president and vice chairman Dina Powell McCormick called on AI competitors to collaborate and put “humanity” at the centre of their efforts.

Signal Pushes Open-Source AI Safeguards

Signal president Meredith Whittaker described a GitHub-hosted PowerShell script, “Remove Windows AI,” as “harm reduction infrastructure” against Microsoft’s Copilot, Recall, Windows Studio Effects, and other AI components.

Elyos AI Secures $13 Million Series A

London-based Elyos AI raised $13 million to expand its AI platform for automating front-office operations in trade and field service businesses. Co-founder Philippa Brown wrote on LinkedIn: “2025 was about building. Being obsessed with our customers. 2026 is about scaling—UK and beyond.”

AI-Native Ransomware Emerges

PromptLock, first identified by ESET researchers in August 2025, is the first widely documented ransomware to leverage Large Language Models to generate entirely new scripts for each execution. Researchers describe this as the start of a “post-malware” era, requiring autonomous security systems.

Science This Week

Toby Kiers Wins Tyler Prize

Evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers has won the 2026 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, often called the “Nobel Prize for Environment.” The prize recognises her research into underground fungal networks critical for biodiversity, underground transfers, and climate resilience. The Tyler Prize Executive Committee called her work “transformative.” Kiers, a professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, is the youngest ever female recipient and will receive $250,000 at a ceremony in Amsterdam on 23 April.

Conflict Watch

17% of the world’s population of women lived in conflict zones in 2024. In 2026, that statistic is set to skyrocket.

💣 Iran

In the deadliest crackdown since the 1979 revolution, Iran has confirmed at least 5,000 protestor deaths during three weeks of nationwide demonstrations, the first such acknowledgement from the government. Human rights groups report higher figures: the HRANA agency confirmed 3,308 deaths, with 4,382 under review, and more than 24,000 arrests. A network of Iranian doctors cited by The Sunday Times placed the toll at 16,500, with roughly 330,000 injured. Street protests appear temporarily suppressed.

💣 Gaza

The White House released members of Donald Trump’s new “Board of Peace” for Gaza, including World Bank President Ajay Banga, former UK Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Marco Rubio, Mark Rowan, and Robert Gabriel. Nickolay Mladenov will represent the Board on the ground. Trump has invited Vladimir Putin. No women or Palestinians have been announced. Membership costs $1 billion; it is unclear whether this is annual or a flat fee.

💣 Taiwan

A Chinese military drone entered Taiwanese airspace near Pratas Island for approximately four minutes, according to Taiwan’s defence ministry. The island is located in the southern Taiwan Strait, about 400 km from the mainland.

💣 Thailand–Cambodia

Tensions resurfaced as Thailand reinstalls razor-wire barriers around homes and shops owned by Chinese businessmen on Cambodia’s side of the western border in Pursat province’s Thmar Da area. Cambodia protested, citing concerns about sovereignty and territorial integrity.

💣 Sudan

ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told the UN Security Council that Darfur’s situation “has darkened even further,” with civilians subjected to collective torture amid conflict between rival military forces.

“The picture that is emerging is appalling: organised, widespread, mass criminality including mass executions. Atrocities are used as a tool to assert control,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government faces criticism from human rights groups for a charm offensive in the UAE despite evidence it has armed the RSF militia accused of genocide and widespread sexual violence. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes is scheduled to travel to Dubai and Abu Dhabi later this month.

💣 Yemen

Yemeni politicians met in Riyadh for their first public gathering since the disbanding of a southern separatist group backed by the UAE. The meeting discussed southern Yemen’s future ahead of a Saudi-sponsored conference, though dates have not been announced.

💣 Sahel (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger)

Air forces from the Sahel States Alliance conducted surveillance and strike operations on 16 January in northeastern Mali, killing several armed fighters and destroying a tricycle near the Niger border. Armed groups linked to ISIS and al-Qaeda have operated in the region for more than a decade, driving instability across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

💣 Ukraine–Russia

President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of a “large-scale attack” from Russia and urged citizens to remain “extremely vigilant.” Repeated Russian air attacks have heavily damaged Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leaving five regions without power on Monday following another drone barrage.

💣 Haiti

Armed gangs continue to control an estimated 90% of Port-au-Prince and are expanding into other areas. Violence persists this week.

💣 Cuba

Cuba has declared a “state of war” in response to US threats following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. Thirty-two Cuban soldiers killed in the US bombing of Venezuela have been returned to Cuba, with former President Raul Castro standing in guard of honour.

💣 Venezuela

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez submitted a proposal to reform the hydrocarbon law, aiming to increase US investment in the oil-rich country, less than two weeks after US forces captured Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela’s Defence Ministry reports 83 deaths during the operation, including 47 soldiers, 9 of whom were women.

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