Ultimate Blogging Challenge January 2026 - Wrapping things up

I would like to say “I can’t believe January is already over”, but if I’m being completely honest, it was a long and hard month. Work, hockey, hair, doctor’s and dentist appointments kept me constantly busy, and some days the daily blogging felt more like a chore than a joy. I guess that’s where the challenge part comes in: keep going even when you don’t feel like it.

Also, I’m not impressed by the year 2026 so far.

It began with the terrible bar fire in Crans-Montana. Investigations are slow and unsatisfactory, I agree, but Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni making it her personal mission to interfere with Switzerland’s approach isn’t helping.

Then the U.S. president came to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Again, my country. Did I mention he wasn’t officially invited? He simply announced his participation, and boom: the main road leading to and from Davos was completely blocked for his 30-vehicle motorcade, causing massive traffic jams for everyone else. At Zurich Airport, authorities activated a special “head-of-state slot” protocol: commercial departures were held at their gates while Air Force One taxied and landed/took off. Meanwhile, regular people missed their connections.

Was he grateful? Did he thank or praise Swiss hospitality? Ah, nope. Quite the opposite. He mocked Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter for objecting to his arbitrarily set tariff rate of 39%.

While criticizing European allies over NATO and territorial issues, including his desire to buy Greenland, he told European leaders that "without the United States, you’d all be speaking German and a little Japanese perhaps.”
Uh… you’re in Switzerland. We are speaking German. We're only speaking English to accommodate you!

Meanwhile, “back home,” ICE agents were involved in two fatal shootings in Minneapolis, killing 37-year-old mother Renée Nicole Good and 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti during aggressive immigration enforcement operations.

The Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, was captured by U.S. forces and taken to the United States.

In Iran, people protested against soaring inflation and the rising cost of living. The authorities responded by “restoring order”, which, for thousands of citizens, meant being shot.

Sudan’s war continues to deepen the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with nearly 1,000 days of conflict worsening hunger and collapsing health systems.

And then there were the natural disasters: deadly earthquakes in Mexico and Pakistan; a major landslide and evacuations in Sicily after heavy rains; severe flooding in southern Mozambique displacing hundreds of thousands; record heat and wildfires in Australia and Chile; floods in parts of Algeria and northern Morocco; and a brutal winter storm across North America that killed more than 30 people, knocked out power to nearly a million homes, and caused thousands of flight cancellations.

Closer to home, for what feels like the umpteenth time, a group of teenagers climbed onto a train wagon. One of them came into contact with a live overhead line, suffered an electric shock, fell from the carriage, and died. Same age as Colin. Despite barriers and clear warning signs, these tragedies keep happening. Is this a TikTok challenge? Do young people genuinely believe they’re immune to high-voltage power lines?

So yes, all in all, I’m glad this month is over. Sorry about the rant.

On a positive note, I did manage to meet up with my two high-school friends this month, which was really nice. I usually try to focus on the good things in my own little bubble, but this January made that very hard.

PS: I asked AI to create a picture summarizing the topics of today's post. and It refused! "It includes depictions of violence, shootings, human suffering, and other unsafe or distressing scenarios, which I’m not able to generate" it said. So I had to do it myself. Photo credits: Getty Images and Reuters.

Will February be better? Please say yes.

Thank you for being part of January’s UBC. I hope to see you again in April, and I promise I’ll be in better spirits.