DAILY NEWS Stream – January 18, 2026

The United Kingdom condemns Iran’s violent crackdown on protesters, with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper urging Tehran to immediately halt repression, respect fundamental rights, and guarantee the safety of British nationals. Secretary Cooper says she delivered the message directly to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, calling the killings and brutality against peaceful demonstrators “horrific” (The Guardian)

Iran stages a large pro‑government rally in Tehran [Iran] as authorities try to project control amid the country’s biggest protest movement since 2009. Senior Iranian officials frame the unrest as a foreign‑backed “four‑front war,” even as internet blackouts, rising casualties, and continued nighttime demonstrations show the protest wave persisting despite an increasingly lethal crackdown (The Guardian)

US President Trump and Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodriguez hold a phone call that both describe as positive, discussing oil, minerals, trade, and security as Washington DC seeks to help Venezuela stabilize (Reuters)

Venezuela releases multiple detained US citizens, saying the move aims to “seek peace” (Tuổi Trẻ)

Russia is losing 20,000–25,000 troops each month in Ukraine (Ureign), NATO chief Mark Rutte says (Fox News)

US President Trump urges Iranians to keep protesting, says “help is on its way” and that the regime will “pay a big price” (New York Post)

G7 [Group of Seven nations] foreign ministers warn Iran they are ready to impose new sanctions if the regime continues its violent protest crackdown. They express grave concern as reported deaths exceed 3,000 and condemn deliberate killings, detentions and intimidation. The ministers urge restraint, demand respect for human rights and signal unified readiness for further action (Fox News)

The United States welcomes Qatar as the eighth country to join the Pax Silica Declaration, a new economic-security coalition focused on compute, semiconductors, minerals, energy, and trusted technology supply chains (US Department of State)

The UAE [United Arab Emirates] signs new trade agreements with the Philippines and Nigeria to cut tariffs, expand investment, and strengthen supply chains (The National)

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meet in Nara [Japan] and agree to deepen cooperation on economic security, defense, supply chains and AI [artificial intelligence] (AP News)

Thailand launches SHIELD — the Scam and Human-trafficking Information Exchange and Linked Database — to enable intelligence-sharing among regional and international law-enforcement agencies against online scams and trafficking (Sài Gòn Giải Phóng)

London [UK] records 97 homicides in 2025, the lowest annual total in 11 years and the lowest homicide rate ever recorded for the city (Good News Network)

Scientists reveal that cognitive decline often blamed on aging may actually stem from a disrupted circadian rhythm. Research shows a striking correlation between weak activity patterns and a significantly higher dementia risk. By maintaining consistent sleep, seeking morning sunlight, and moving regularly, individuals can better protect their brain health. This biological approach suggests that managing the body’s internal clock is a vital key to mental longevity (Your Weak Body Clock Might Be Causing Dementia - Dr.RobertJunior)

University of Maryland [US] researchers halt flu transmission in a bold hotel experiment. Flu-infected university students live with healthy, middle-aged volunteers for two continuous weeks on a hotel floor, interacting regularly. But high-quality ventilation and rapid air mixing prevent any new cases. The trial shows that environmental controls and air filtration could effectively stop viral spread, suggesting that stagnant air and frequent coughing— rather than mere proximity— drive respiratory outbreaks in indoor settings (Fox News)

Ghana is the first malaria endemic country to launch use of the first-ever newborn malaria treatment called Coartem Baby, which is designed for infants under five kilograms. Previously, such babies were administered adult formulations, risking either dangerous toxicity from overdosing or treatment failure from underdosing (News Ghana)

Storm Goretti destroys most of St Michael’s Mount forest [southwest of England, UK], with over 80% of trees lost to extreme winds blamed on climate change (The Guardian)

Santa Barbara County [California, US] declares an emergency after back-to-back storms cause flooding, landslides, highway disruptions and around US$7.6 million in damage, thus enabling state and federal disaster aid requests (CalCoastNews.com)

Pacific storms shifting direction are reshaping US winters as scientists find the North Pacific storm track has moved around 320 kilometers north over past decades, thus causing wetter, milder winters in Alaska and worsening drought and wildfires in the western United States (Earth.com)

Melting glaciers release long-preserved antibiotic resistance genes into rivers, lakes, and vital water supplies as Lanzhou University [China] warns these ancient ice microbes may spread drug resistance by interacting with modern bacteria downstream and thus impair antibiotic effectiveness (Earth.com)

Australia’s Kangaroo Island reports a 90% rebound of endangered species like the dunnart-folk and native bird-people thanks to a cat-person-proof fence aiding recovery after the 2020 wildfires (Good News Network)

Volunteers in Spain clear more than two metric tons of waste from Mar Menor in a single day, tackling the flooded 300,000-square meter El Vivero site. The effort aims to protect Europe’s largest saltwater lagoon from waste flowing into the water after storms (Euro Weekly News)

An engineer and YouTube content creator has built a fully autonomous, hands-free flying umbrella that hovers above the user, tracks their movements, and shields them from rain or sun without being held (Tuổi Trẻ)

South Korea food tech company DADDY FOOD launches CONGPAM, a vegan canned ham alternative offering low sodium, zero cholesterol, and vegan comfort food appeal (EIN Newsdesk)

Veganuary returns for its 12th year as the global campaign adds celebrity supporters, expands into Iceland and Ireland, and endeavors to top the 25 million vegan participants in 2025 (VegNews)

Vegan cafe The Eating Gorilla in Penrhyndeudraeth [Wales, UK] ranks seventh worldwide on the 2025 list of top vegan restaurants by HappyCow [world’s biggest app dedicated to helping users find vegan and vegetarian food] as Welsh vegan dining gains global recognition (Nation CYMRU)

The US State Department congratulates Portugal as the 60th Artemis Accords signatory, joining other nations in committing to peaceful and sustainable civilian space exploration (State.gov)

US first responders rescue six ill puppies from a home, with three revived with CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation], oxygen, and Narcan [medication used to reverse or reduce the effects of opioids] after suspected fentanyl exposure, in Gold Bar [Washington, US] as all recover at Everett Animal Shelter and will be available for adoption (6ABC)

Japan grants nearly US$19 million to boost a Cambodian landmine clearance project, expected to benefit 27,000 families, and enhance custom functions at the new container terminal of Sihanoukville port (Cambodianess)

Thoughtful quote of the day: “The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.” – Paulo Coelho Brazilian Lyricist and Novelist (GoodReads)

With my body fighting for its life, I as a spirit broke free. And when I broke free… American minister and healer Barbara Jean Lindsey recounts a near-death experience in which she left her body. In 1989, Barbara was a single mother of three, working two jobs, when an ordinary day took an extraordinary turn. That morning, Barbara woke surrounded by a white, misty cloud that followed her all day. She felt out of sync with reality, as if conversations were delayed.

That evening, I went to a women’s healing clinic. And in that healing clinic, I walked in, and I had a lot of pain in my chest, so much so that there were like thousands of knives (going) into my chest, and I couldn’t breathe. And the next thing I remember is popping out of the body and going somewhere else. My body was being fought for by a group of beings — by Thor. When the being from Egypt went to collapse my lungs, a being called Thor came in with his hammer and moved him out and actually saved my life. Barbara’s body was rushed to the ICU [Intensive Care Unit]. Doctors gave her massive defibrillation, leaving a scar from her arm to her heart. She received last rites and lost significant oxygen. Five years later, her doctor told her it was the most electricity he’d ever put through anyone, certain she would die.

With my body fighting for its life, I, as a spirit, broke free. And when I broke free, I went to this beautiful water, this dark, warm undulating water. And in this water was so much love, more love than I had ever experienced in my whole life, even more love than my three children, which I absolutely adore. And this love just became one with me, and I became one with it. And then, I looked down, and I noticed I didn’t have a body there. And when I noticed I didn’t have a body, it kind of freaked me out a little bit. I just went, “Oh my God, I don’t have a body. How can I exist without a body?” In that moment, I went on a spaceship, and I was up on a spaceship. And I looked down, and I was in a kind of a dentist jump seat chair. I still don’t have a body. I don’t have one, but I can feel the weight of the body, which is interesting. A being approached her — 2.4-meters tall, white, beautiful robe, square shoulders, big hood, no face, radiating love and intelligence.

He told me I could call him “the guardian.” And he said he was there to be the communicator between myself and a council of beings that I will be meeting very shortly. When he waved his hand, you could see a large opening open up in a glass pane, and behind the glass pane were a group of beings. They were tall. But they had a lot of personality. They would get all excited and jump around, and then they would all come to a conclusion. They were there to give me experiences, and that’s how they teach us, through experience.

So, off to the right, he moved his hand again, and a hologram of the Earth came towards me, and I came towards it, and then we meshed as one. I became one with our Earth Mother, our planet. And I got to see that she was feminine, that she was alive, that I was a part of her, she was a part of me, and our heartbeats became one. And then later, I did a lot of work with a First Nation Chief, and it felt like the drumming of a native First Nation drum. That beat of the drum is that heartbeat of the Earth, the heartbeat of her. What they told me is that she’s beautiful, and that she’s very important in the bigger scheme of things, and that we need to protect her and take care of her, and that we’ve been disrespecting her.

Barbara and the guardian then flew over thousands of acres of pristine forest. Then the next moment, he looks at me. I can’t see his face, but it’s time for us to go to the next experience. So then, I find myself stepping up on these alabaster stairs going up. They’re beautiful, long, expansive stairs. And then you hit the top, and to my right, floating in the cosmos with all the stars, is a beautiful Grecian temple of columns. And so, we go up to it, and when I do, there’s a circle, a group of beings. And it’s the same ones with the same hoods– I can’t see their faces – and the same square shoulders. And they broke their synergistic field, and I grabbed both their hands, one being on one side and one on the other. And then I got kind of locked in their energetic circle and became one with that energy. In the middle of the group was a column, and in this column was a hologram of the Earth again, with this white mist. And they told me that their names were “the Watchers,” and that they watch and protect the Mother Earth. And that I was a part of them, and they were a part of me, and that I could come back there anytime I wanted.

Next, Barbara entered what looked like a Victorian spaceship. It had a black and white checkered floor. There was some jazzy music in the background, and it was filled with hundreds of different kinds of beings. And I was so excited. They said they were there as an ambassador gala for people from all different planets to come together and to keep peace in the galaxies. And it was very sophisticated. Barbara then spiraled up into the cosmos, surrounded by beautiful women in colorful satin dresses who sang in tones, helping her find her own tone.

Finally, the guardian told her it was time to go home. He says, “It’s time to go home.” And I go, “Oh no, I don’t want to go home.” He goes, “Oh yeah, you’ve got to go home.” And then he says, “Well, you have three children.” I go, “Oh my children. I’m back. Let’s go.” And so then, I go back down. [I said,] “I’m going to need some serious help down there. And so can I get like a get out of jail free card or something like that to help me?” And he says, “Well, Barbara, we’ll give you the gift of white light.”

I go back to the body. I go down into the body. I acclimate the body. I fill the body with all white light till it’s all filled up. And then I sit up, and I have all these chords. So, I have to pull out the chords, and then I go, “I’m starving!” And my friend goes, “Oh my God! You’re alive! And you can talk!” I had no negative reactions from it. It was a total miracle. Barbara had been in a coma for three days. She quit her jobs, became an ordained minister, and has spent 34 years doing healings and readings.

I think that’s what changed me the most. I was always afraid of dying before that, and now it’s just I see it’s an organic process. It’s like the changing of the seasons, and you can count on that — from spring into summer into fall into winter. It’s the same with living that we’re living, and then we die. And then we get to be reborn and have some experiences, maybe on a different planet somewhere else. But what we really get to have here is this experience to love, to really love and know that we came from love, we are loved, we return to love, and we never die.

I would say don’t settle. If you’re unhappy in a relationship, change it, or get out of it, or heal it, or do something. Take some action. We’re not alone here on this planet. We have a lot of helpers that don’t have bodies, but they have a lot of energy, and they can help give you energy. Have a passionate life. And we each have our part in this huge, huge puzzle, but if we all show up and we’re passionate, then we have a chance. Ultimately, peace on this planet, we can have it. It’s not a dream. It can be a reality. (NDE Diary)