DAILY NEWS Stream – January 12, 2026

Indonesia and Japan deepen strategic cooperation on renewable energy and advanced technology, agreeing to pursue applied research in clean energy, digital systems, transport and environmental solutions (Antara News)

US President Trump reaffirms US commitment to NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] while expressing doubts about the alliance. He stated America will always stand with NATO but questioned if its members will always support the US (Fox News)

Canada pledges nearly US$59 million to fund development projects in Âu Lạc (Vietnam) The funding supports sustainable economic growth, climate resilience, and social development initiatives across multiple sectors (Vn Express)

The United Kingdom implements a new ban on advertising high-fat, high-salt and high-sugar foods to curb childhood obesity. High Fat, Salt and Sugar (HFSS) advertisements are now prohibited on TV before 9 pm and online entirely, covering items like certain cereals, porridge, pizza, sweets and soft drinks. The government expects the policy to prevent 20,000 obesity cases annually and encourage healthier product reformulation (Independent)

Australia urges its citizens to leave Iran immediately due to heightened security risks. The advisory follows Iran’s military chief threatening preemptive strikes against countries supporting Israel amid escalating regional tensions (New York Post)

Russia has released French humanitarian researcher and Caucasus expert Dr. Laurent Vinatier, PhD after more than six months in detention (France 24)

Zimbabwe has secured support from at least 80 countries outside Africa for its bid to win a non-permanent United Nations Security Council seat for 2027-2028 (ZBC News)

Venezuela’s interim government announces the release of a significant number of political prisoners as a unilateral peace gesture. Confirmed releases include opposition leader and former Venezuelan presidential candidate Enrique Márquez and five Spanish citizens, though only a small fraction of the hundreds still detained have been freed so far (Washington Post)

US tech firm OpenAI launches the artificial intelligence model ChatGPT Health with physician-designed tools able to link to users’ medical records and data for personalized insights. OpenAI says over 230 million people ask the standard ChatGPT model health-related questions weekly (Euronews)

Parsley ranks as the world’s eighth most nutrient-dense fruit or vegetable per a 2014 study by William Paterson University [US] and flourishes across Aulacese (Vietnamese) farms. The affordable herb provides vital antioxidants and heart health benefits. Experts highlight its role in boosting immunity and digestion through traditional and modern cuisine (eva.vn)

Australia faces the fast-spreading Super-K flu [Influenza A H3N2 known as subclade K] as more than 2,500 infections in early January prompt health authorities’ concern. Its severity is unchanged compared to previous H3N2 strains (The Guardian)

HCM CT [Âu Lạc (Vietnam)] supermarkets urgently pull suspected African swine fever–contaminated products after authorities find over 120 metric tons of infected pork at canned food firm Halong Canfoco’s warehouse (Báo Tin tức)

Storm Goretti batters Europe, triggering major incidents across Britain and the Netherlands. Hurricane-force winds topping 160 kilometers per hour shut down Birmingham Airport [UK] and disrupt transit networks. Approximately 71,500 properties lost power across England and Wales [UK] during the storm’s peak. Massive snowfall and sub-zero temperatures are projected to isolate northern Dutch provinces with extremely slippery roads and hazardous travel nationwide (Sky News and NL Times)

Powerful storms batter Epirus [northwestern Greece] as landslides cut roads and water supplies in the Tzoumerka area and strong winds, rain, and mountain snow disrupt travel across western regions (Kathimerini English Edition)

Severe storms knock out power for nearly 7,300 people in Oklahoma [US] as downed lines damage homes and businesses and crews work to restore electricity. No injuries are reported (News 9)

The Western US enters 2026 with worsening snow drought [a condition where the snowpack’s water content is low compared with historical conditions] as warm storms bring rain, not snow, and cut the mountain snowpack, threatening water supplies reliant on snowmelt (Phys.org)

Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions fall only 1.5% in 2025, compared to 2024, to 640 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent, covering carbon dioxide, methane and other gases (Reuters)

Taiwan (Formosa)’s Executive Yuan [executive branch] approves stricter amendments to the Animal Protection Act on January 8, 2026, raising penalties for animal-people abuse to up to five years in prison and around US$95,000 in fines, and increasing abandonment fines to up to around US$31,600. Caregivers must report lost pet-folks within five days to prevent false claims they cannot be found when they were actually abandoned (Taipei Times)

A man in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut [India] was arrested for animal-people cruelty after a viral video showed him forcing a dog-person to drink alcohol. The disturbing footage sparked public outrage, leading police to act swiftly under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (Times of India)

La Trobe University [Australia] researchers develop a portable biosensor for rapid on-site detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances [PFAS] “forever chemicals” in water (Phys.org)

Day 1 at CES—the Consumer Electronics Show and the world’s largest tech showcase [US] — delivers a slate of standout innovations. The Antigravity A1 emerges as the first 360-degree immersive drone, complete with goggles and a one-handed controller for true first-person flight. Realbotix introduces more autonomous humanoid robots equipped with AI (artificial intelligence) vision that can interpret human emotions, while Boston Dynamics unveils its newly productized Atlas, a heavy-duty humanoid capable of manipulating objects up to 50 kilograms. LG advances the smart-home category with its CLOiD robot assistant, an autonomous household manager powered by ‘Affectionate Intelligence’ to handle chores, security, and appliance coordination. And Lenovo offers a glimpse of the future with its Legion Pro Rollable concept, a gaming laptop whose display expands from 40 centimeters to nearly 61 centimeters for an ultra-wide play experience (Cybernews)

China launches the S2000 SAWES, the world’s first megawatt-class high-altitude airborne wind energy system for urban use. During a test flight, the helium-filled airship with integrated turbines hovers at 2,000 meters, and generates 385 kilowatt-hours of electricity (SOHA)

England, UK’s first vegan hotel Beck Hall in Yorkshire Dales wins repeat guests as the owners Andrew and Louise Macbeth (both vegans) keep customers returning with tasty dishes like vegan chicken, pancetta, leek suet pudding, plant steak and Guinness pot pie (Veg News)

Vegan foods grow across Europe in 2025 as non-profit GFI [Good Food Institute] Europe says rising animal-people meat prices and the better taste and nutrition of affordable vegan options make them appealing beyond ethics (Food Ingredients First)

A UK study finds commercial dog-people food causes about 1% of national emissions as animal-people meat-heavy options pollute far more compared to the vegan canine-folk food brands available (Sky News)

Mexico reports a sharp murder drop under Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as daily killings have fallen nearly 40% since her taking office in October 2024, and the 2025 rate hits the lowest since 2016 (Reuters)

A railway names calico cat-person Yontama as the newest stationmaster at Kishi Station in Wakayama Prefecture [Japan] and continues a tourism-boosting tradition that has been ongoing for two decades (Kyodo News)

The United Arab Emirates’ operation Chivalrous Knight 3 launches a new Gaza humanitarian aid cycle reaching camps and homes across all governorates, with a goal of assisting 420,000 beneficiaries with vital items like food parcels (Gulf News)

Inspirational quote of the day: “Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.” – Samuel Smiles Scottish Author and Government Reformer (Brainyquote.com)

And they gestured their hands over to a golden glowing sphere. And the women— their skin was black, and they had yellow dresses. And I knew them. I remember them as my deepest sisters, that they had always been there to greet me, and I’d known them for lifetimes. American healer and artist Robin Landsong shares how, at age eight, she was abducted from the US, taken to war-torn Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), shot in the head by a soldier, and during her near-death experience, met eternal spiritual sisters in golden light before returning transformed.

Robin grew up in an abusive family, surviving through art and nature. In 1977, a man abducted her, drugged her, and took her to a military base in Rhodesia during a civil war. He assaulted her severely, breaking her ribs. She was passed to another man, lost in the bush, nearly executed by soldiers, then delivered to a rural Venda village. The women there fed her, applied clay to her wounds, sang healing songs, and gave her the first unconditional love and mothering she had known, welcoming her as family.

One day, alone by the river in African clothes, Robin was spotted by a soldier. And he spotted me there by myself dressed in the African clothes, because the women had dressed me as their own. And, immediately, he brought up his gun. And when I saw his gun barrel, my heart was so broken. It was just the circle; I knew he was lined up right here. And I couldn’t understand how the people of this village found me valuable, found me precious, found me worthy of caring for and being part of, and how could he see me as just erasable, as disposable. So before I could even turn to run— I was so close—I actually saw him pull the trigger. And I heard the gun go off. And what I now know is that scopes are designed for long distances. So he was so close, the scope was off. So the bullet grazed the top of my head. It blew me off my feet. I fell to the ground, immediately was bleeding out. And I was praying for someone from my village to come find me and to help me. And what happened was my consciousness, my awareness, went above my body. I was looking down, and I was watching my life force ebb in and out of my body. And I thought, if that doesn’t go back in and stay in my body, that’s the end of me. And so it ebbed out, and it had one more time going back in. My awareness went through my heart, through the back of my heart.

Swept into a fast-moving tunnel where she felt completely held and at peace— no more struggle to survive— Robin landed in a new realm. At first, her perception was limited, but soon she opened her new eyes. And I was seeing that it was a golden light area. And that there were two female presences with me. And they were touching my face. And I realized, “Oh, I have a face.” And they were bringing me back to being able to see the whole area I was in. And they gestured their hands over to a golden glowing sphere. And I remember that golden glowing sphere— that I could go in there and be fully restored. And that the energy of that source wouldn’t be diminished at all by all my needs.

And the women— their skin was black, and they had yellow dresses. And I knew them. I remember them as my deepest sisters, that they had always been there to greet me, and I’d known them for lifetimes. And so they were gesturing, “Oh, you can go home to Source.” But I wasn’t done with my African family. I wanted them to still be part of it. I wanted to be connected to them because they were the first people who really loved me. And so I started wondering, “Where have they gone? Why am I separated from them?” And this wondering, this kind of not being ready to go home to Source yet, sent me backwards. And I started falling backwards through layers, through layers. And I landed in this new place, which wasn’t quite as warm. It was more like Ireland on a cold, cloudy day.

In this colder realm, an elder figure appeared and offered his hand. Robin hesitated but finally accepted, allowing him to lead her deeper. We went through a stone archway into this dark cave. And I thought, “Oh, I had it better before. Why am I going to this dark cave?” And I didn’t understand at that moment that I still had more to purify, more to clear out before I could go home to Source. And in that dark cave was all my repressed emotion, all my disturbance about having been abused.

Guided by spiritual beings and the distant singing of her African mother calling her back, Robin was gently led out of the darkness. She returned to her body— still fragile but alive— and was nurtured by the village women until repatriated to America, where her family repressed the events. Years of trauma recovery followed before she embraced her gifts.

And my then-husband asked me, if you could go back and erase it and change being abducted and all of this experience, would you? And I said one, it’s not an option— that’s just how reality happened. And two, no, because if you asked me when I was 20 and I was doing inpatient trauma treatment, I would say yes. But now, on the other side of what I call the gritty years of healing, there’s the fruition. There’s the capacity to— I mean, like art comes through me like a river. And intuition comes through me so easily— like I can just read people, and it’s not a challenge at all. It’s lovely. And it’s fun, and it’s exciting— and to get to contribute to people’s healing because I can say, “I see you.” I can see [the] underlying cause of people’s distress. And actually getting to freedom. Actually getting to fluidity. Actually getting to creativity. Because connection heals— self-connection and connection in nature, connection to good, safe people. That’s the antidote to loneliness, to the isolation that trauma creates. Just what immediately pops in mind is we’re indestructible. You know, I was so little, I was so fragile— I was shot by a soldier. And I’m indestructible. You’re worthwhile. You’re lovable. You’re just fine the way you are. You don’t need to strive so hard. You don’t need to [put in] effort so much. It’s going to work out in the big picture.

Compassion—is turning towards yourself and saying I see you. And that as long as we don’t avoid our full spectrum of experience— avoid our sadness, avoid our anger— that we’re going to come back into our wholeness. And just turning towards ourselves: I see you. You belong. You matter. It’s all we really need for healing. (Next Level Soul Podcast)