School Assembly News Headlines (January 18): Top National, World, Sports, Business News

Here's a summary of the top news headlines as of January 18, 2026, covering national, world, sports, and business events.

National News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting West Bengal and Assam on January 17th and 18th to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for multiple development projects. These projects are worth over ₹830 crore and include flagging off India's first Vande Bharat sleeper train connecting Howrah with Guwahati. Modi will also perform "bhoomi pujan" for the Kaziranga elevated corridor project, valued at over ₹6,950 crore. This 86-km long corridor aims to be an environmentally conscious national highway project.

In other news, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will inaugurate a bronze statue of Kalingarayan and a library named after him in Erode via video conferencing.

Commuters in Mumbai should note that there will be a mega block on the Western line on Sunday, January 18th, which will lead to cancellations of multiple local train services. This is to facilitate the construction of the 6th line between Kandivali and Borivali stations.

World News

International relations are tense as Russia and China have denounced the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro and continue to back his government. Saudi Arabia has launched airstrikes against separatists in eastern Yemen. One year into President Donald Trump's second term, "Sunday Morning" on CBS will feature a discussion on the implications of the past year and the upcoming 250th anniversary of the colonies' declaration of independence. This comes amidst reports of military incursions in Venezuela, a Justice Department investigation of the Federal Reserve chairman, and the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by an ICE agent.

Myanmar is defending itself against genocide allegations at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the Rohingya minority.

Sports News

The ICC Men's Under-19 World Cup 2026 is underway in Zimbabwe and Namibia. Sri Lanka Under-19s played against Japan Under-19s on January 17th. Other matches include New Zealand Under-19s versus the United States and Zimbabwe versus England on January 18th.

In handball, the EHF EURO 2026 continues with Poland facing Iceland in an exciting Group D match.

Nicol Delago has won her first World Cup Downhill, while Lindsey Vonn is preparing for the home Olympics in Milan-Cortina.

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are facing criticism in the Big Bash League (BBL) for their performance. Rizwan was even retired out in a recent match.

Business News

U.S. stocks experienced slight declines on Friday, January 16th, due to uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve's next actions, which pushed Treasury yields to a four-month high. All three major indexes posted weekly losses of less than 1%.

Shares of Micron soared after a company insider purchased nearly $8 million of stock, boosting confidence among tech investors. GE Vernova's shares jumped, while Constellation Energy and Vistra slumped following reports of the Trump administration's plans to overhaul America's largest electricity grid.

The January effect in the market is being analyzed, with investors considering potential trades and trends for 2026.

The U.S. financial markets reached record highs following the release of surprising jobs data indicating a resilient economy. The S\&P 500 breached 6,900 for the first time, and the Nasdaq Composite gained significantly.