World news digest of January 26, 2022

Some news around the world that didn’t make global headlines, in short:

• January 26 is Australia’s national day. Thousands protested against the treatment of Indigenous people across Australia and call the date “Invasion Day.” A day before, the government spent US$14 million to buy the copyright to the Aboriginal flag.
• Saudi Arabia and Thailand resume diplomatic relations after decades of tensions sparked by the Blue Diamond affair.
• Dutch women considered the Netherlands liable for forcing unmarried women to surrender their children for adoption between 1956 and 1984. A Court dismissed the case.
• The OECD Council decided to open accession discussions with six candidates for OECD Membership: Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru, and Romania.
• Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he rejected a plea deal with a clause that would ban him from politics for the next seven years.
• The International Monetary Fund revised on January 25 its global growth forecast for 2022 to 4.4%, which is 0.5 percentage point lower than previously forecast, mainly because of downgrades for the United States (4% instead of 5.2%) and China (4.8% instead of 5.6%).
• The San Jose City Council in California voted to require most gun owners to pay a fee and carry liability insurance, a first in the U.S. The bill may pass into law in August, but gun rights advocates threaten to file a lawsuit.
• Sweden wants to regulate the parking of electric scooters that are spread on bike and walk lanes.
• In Norway, Noah was the most popular name given to boys in 2021 before Oscar. Norah was the most popular name for baby girls before Emma. Noah and Emma were as popular in Norway as in the Netherlands.
• A Dutch woman died after a cosmetic operation, a Brazilian butt lift, in Turkey. Another Dutch died after complications of similar surgery in Turkey last year.