AnewZ Morning Brief - 18 January, 2026
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for 18 January, covering the latest developments you need to know....
Poland and Romania detained eight people suspected of planning sabotage on behalf of Russia, authorities in Warsaw said on Tuesday, with three arrests concerning an alleged new plan to send exploding parcels, this time to Ukraine.
European officials have previously blamed Russia for detonations of parcels carried by DHL and DPD in Europe in 2024, in what security services said was part of a test run for a Russian plot to trigger explosions on cargo flights to the United States.
Poland says it has been targeted with tactics such as arson and cyberattacks in a "hybrid war" waged by Russia to destabilise nations that support Kyiv in the Russian war in Ukraine.
Moscow has denied both accusations.
"Preliminary information indicates that they created a route of some kind to send explosives through Poland and Romania to Ukraine," Jacek Dobrzynski, spokesman for the Special Services Coordinator, told reporters.
"One of them, a 21-year-old Ukrainian, was detained here in Poland near Warsaw. His colleagues, who were traveling to Romania, were detained by the Romanian special services in Bucharest."
There was no immediate comment from Romanian authorities.
The Polish National Prosecutor's Office said that the shipments of parcels were intercepted by Romania before they did any harm.
The prosecutor's office said the shipments were supposed to spontaneously combust or explode during transport, and the aim of the planned actions was to intimidate the population and destabilise European Union countries supporting Ukraine.
Dobrzynski also said that in recent months the Internal Security Agency has detained a total of 55 people who acted to the detriment of Poland and on behalf of Russian intelligence.
The Turkish Defence Ministry has voiced its support for recent military operations by Syrian government forces against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which enjoy the support of the United States.
Tens of thousands of users were left unable to access Elon Musk’s social media platform X on Friday, with outages reported across multiple countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
Armenia has reaffirmed that it has no intention of taking any actions directed against Iran, with senior officials stressing that relations with Tehran remain friendly and constructive.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held separate calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on 16 January, offering Russia’s help to mediate tensions and promote dialogue in the Middle East.
The Kremlin has welcomed recent signals from several major European capitals suggesting a renewed openness to dialogue with Moscow, calling the shift a “positive evolution” in Europe’s stance towards Russia.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for 18 January, covering the latest developments you need to know.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened a sweeping new round of tariffs on several European allies unless the United States is allowed to buy Greenland, escalating a diplomatic row over the Danish Arctic territory.
Leaders from several countries have received invitations to join a so-called U.S.-led ‘Board of Peace’, an initiative that would initially aim to end the conflict in Gaza before expanding to address other global disputes, diplomats said on Saturday.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday (17 January) that concerns over security in Greenland should be addressed within the framework of NATO, describing a ground military intervention as highly unlikely.
The European Union and South American bloc Mercosur have signed a long-awaited free trade agreement in Paraguay, opening the way for what would become the EU’s largest-ever trade deal.
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