News Links - January 24, 2026

Saturday 24 January 2026

USA

ICE detention of very young children – ICE detained Liam Conejo Ramos, five, wearing a Spider Man backpack.  Attorneys for the boy's family say the child was used as 'bait' to knock on the family's door in an attempt to find more adults for arrest.   A 2 year old toddler and her father were detained Thursday, flown to Texas, but then returned to Minnesota on Friday afternoon after a federal court order barred ICE from sending the father outside Minnesota. Four other Minnesota children have been arrested this week, bringing renewed attention to the arrests and attempted deportations of families with young children from families who have valid asylum cases allowing them to remain in the US while their cases are heard.

ICE booked 3,800 minors into family detention January-October 2025, including children as young as one or two, with more than 2,600 apprehended inside the country rather than at the border. 

California joins WHO network after US withdrawal – Governor Gavin Newsom announced California became the first state to join WHO's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, one day after US officially withdrew from the organization after nearly 80 years as founding member. Newsom met with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during World Economic Forum trip to Davos, Switzerland. California has increasingly separated from federal government on health policy, joining the West Coast Health Alliance and Governors Public Health Alliance to lead public health policies diverging from White House. Newsom called Trump administration's WHO withdrawal "a reckless decision that will hurt all Californians and Americans."

Syria

Access partially restored to Al Hol camp; Kobane remains besieged – UNHCR regained limited access to Al Hol camp Friday with Syrian officials, resuming bread and water deliveries after three-day interruption. The displacement site houses tens of thousands, mostly women and children with alleged family links to ISIL fighters. 

In Kobane, all roads remain closed with electricity, water and internet disruptions hampering basic needs access, and partners reporting shortages of food and medicines. Kurdish official Elham Ahmad calls cutoffs "war crimes" amid ongoing Damascus siege of the city, which holds symbolic importance from the 2014-2015 battle when Kurdish forces defeated ISIS in the group's first major military defeat. 

Afghanistan 

Afghan crypto startup expands aid delivery to Syria – HesabPay, developed in Afghanistan, delivered $25 million via 80,000 digital wallets to returning Afghans through UNHCR since February 2025. Platform now has 650,000 wallets in Afghanistan with 50,000 in regular use, moving approximately $60 million monthly in afghani-backed stablecoins. 

Heavy snow and rain kill 61 in three days – National Disaster Management Authority reports 61 dead, 110 injured across 15 of 34 provinces, with 458 homes completely or partially destroyed and hundreds of animals dead. Estimated 270,000 children in areas affected by 2025 earthquakes at severe risk of life-threatening cold-related diseases, according to December UNICEF assessment. UN launched $1.7 billion appeal to assist nearly 18 million Afghans in urgent need in 2026.