A projection by Swiss activist group Campax showing US president Donald Trump alongside the words “Spirit of plutocracy” is cast onto a ski slope ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on 19 January 2026 — a play on the conference’s theme, “Spirit of Dialogue”. (Keystone/EPA/Gian Ehrenzeller)

💺Davos tests the limits in a world of power, profit and inequality. As billionaires and political leaders converge on the Alpine ski resort this week to diagnose the world’s problems, the multilateral system watches from the back seat while the development sector is left wondering whether it still has a seat at all.

👔Broad mandate of Trump’s Board of Peace sets it up for rivalry with UN. The body was initially set up to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction and governance, but its charter suggests it could be called to mediate in other conflicts, bypassing the UN.

🇮🇷Iranian diplomat in Geneva seeks asylum in Switzerland, sources say. Alireza Jeyrani Hokmabad, a senior official at Iran’s permanent mission to the UN in Geneva, reportedly sought asylum in Switzerland with his family amid political instability and protests back home, according to London-based opposition outlet Iran International. Tehran and Bern haven't commented on the report.

🏷️The missing number: The price of legal certainty & the cost of compliance for Pabs. As negotiations on a scheme to exchange pathogen data for benefit-sharing enter another round this week, industry is pushing back against financial obligations – even as it acknowledges the value of a single global mechanism over navigating hundreds of national laws. Just how much that convenience is worth, however, is kept conspicuously under wraps.

🇾🇪Yemen humanitarian crisis set to worsen in 2026: UN. Julien Harneis, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, warned that a decline in donor support, the economy's collapse, disruptions to key services and political uncertainty combined were driving humanitarian needs in the Gulf state.

🕹️UN rights chief: Sudanese civilians living in 'hell' as war deepens. Following his first visit to several Sudan cities since the war broke out in April 2023, Volker Türk expressed alarm at the growing use of advanced military weapons such as drones by both warring sides, worsening the country’s humanitarian situation.