By OCHEFA, with agency reports

The UN was formed on October 24, 1945, after World War II, with 51 founding members.

Currently, there are 193 member countries in the United Nations (UN), representing nearly every sovereign state in the world.

Its main goals are to:- Maintain international peace and security- Promote human rights- Deliver humanitarian aid- Support sustainable development- Uphold international law .

However, 80 years after, US President Donald Trump launched on January 22, 2026, in Davos, Switzerland’ what he called “Trump’s Board of Peace ” – an international organisation aimed at resolving global conflicts.

The board’s primary goal is to promote peace, stability, and governance in areas affected by conflict, with an initial focus on the Gaza Strip.

Memberships:

Around 35 countries have joined, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Argentina, with permanent seats available for $1 billion.

Leadership:

Donald Trump serves as chairman, with powers to veto decisions and remove members.-

Executive Board: Includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, Tony Blair, and Jared Kushner.

Concerns: Critics worry about Trump’s indefinite chairmanship, potential UN competition, and lack of Western allies’ participation.

The board’s formation is part of Trump’s Gaza peace plan, endorsed by the UN Security Council.

The charter declared the body as an international organisation mandated to carry out peace-building functions under international law, with Trump serving as chairman – and separately as the US representative – and holding authority to appoint executive board members and create or dissolve subsidiary bodies.

BBC reported that on Wednesday evening of January 22, Trump said that Vladimir Putin had also agreed to join – but the Russian president said his country was still studying the invitation.

The board was originally thought to be aimed at helping end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and oversee reconstruction.

But its proposed charter does not mention the Palestinian territory and appears to be designed to supplant functions of the UN.

However, Saudi Arabia said that the group of Muslim-majority countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Qatar – endorsed the aim of consolidating a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, supporting reconstruction and advancing what they described as a “just and lasting peace”.

At the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Trump told reporters that Putin had accepted his invitation to join. “He was invited, he’s accepted. Many people have accepted,” Trump said.

Putin responded quickly, saying the invitation was under consideration, Reuters reported. He said Russia was prepared to provide $1bn from frozen Russian assets and that he viewed the board as primarily relevant to the Middle East.It is not clear how many countries have been invited to join Trump’s new body – Canada and the UK are among them, but have not yet publicly responded.

The UAE, Bahrain, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Morocco and Vietnam have already signed up.

On Wednesday the Vatican also confirmed Pope Leo has received an invitation.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said the Pope would need time to consider whether to take part.

However Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob said he had declined the invitation because the body “dangerously interferes with the broader international order”.

A leaked document says the Board of Peace’s charter will enter into force once three states formally agree to be bound by it, with member states given renewable three-year terms and permanent seats available to those contributing $1bn (£740m), it said.

The charter declared the body as an international organisation mandated to carry out peace-building functions under international law, with Trump serving as chairman – and separately as the US representative – and holding authority to appoint executive board members and create or dissolve subsidiary bodies.

Last Friday, the White House named seven members of the founding Executive Board, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and former UK prime minister Tony Blair.

TikTok has announced it has established a majority American-owned joint venture to operate its US business, allowing the company to avoid a ban over its Chinese ownership.

The video-sharing app is a global digital entertainment powerhouse but its mass appeal and links to China have raised concerns over privacy and national security.

The TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will serve more than 200 million users and 7.5 million businesses while implementing strict safeguards for data protection and content moderation, the company said.

AFP reported that the new structure responds to a law passed under US President Donald Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden that forced Chinese-owned ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations or face a ban in its biggest market.

Trump welcomed and claimed credit for the deal, but also thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for approving it.

“I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social late Thursday.

“It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice.”

“I would also like to thank President Xi, of China, for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal,” he added.

FILE – Vice President JD Vance, right, and second lady Usha Vance.

Usha Vance, the wife of United States Vice President JD Vance, has announced that she is pregnant with her fourth child.

In a post on X on Tuesday, the second lady said she is expecting a baby boy in late July.

“Usha and the baby are doing well,” a statement posted on Tuesday to the second lady’s social media account read.

The couple, who married in 2014, already have three children — Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel.

Usha Vance, née Chilukuri, was born and raised in the working-class suburbs of San Diego, California, to a mechanical engineer father and a molecular biologist mother who moved to the US from Andhra Pradesh, India.