Portal:Current events/2026 January 1

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
  • At least 15 people are killed in coordinated attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces on three villages in Lubero, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • A Palestinian is killed and another is injured when Israeli forces open fire on stone-throwers near Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, Nablus, West Bank. (Reuters)
• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • One person is killed and another is injured in Russian drone strikes on Dniprovskyi District, Kherson, Ukraine. (RBC-Ukraine)

Business and economy

• Enlargement of the eurozone
  • Bulgaria and the euro
    • Bulgaria adopts the euro, replacing the lev, becoming the 21st member of the eurozone. (AFP via The Sun)
• AI boom, Economy of South Korea
  • South Korea records its highest annual export value of more than US$700 billion in 2025 after semiconductor shipments reach a record $173.4 billion driven by demand for artificial intelligence. (AFP via France 24)
• Legality of cryptocurrency by country or territory
  • Turkmenistan legalizes the mining and exchange of cryptocurrency as digital assets, but maintains that digital currency cannot be used as legal tender. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Crans-Montana bar fire
  • Forty people are killed and 116 others are injured in an explosion and fire suspected to be caused by pyrotechnics at a bar in Crans-Montana, Valais, Switzerland. (BBC News) (The Guardian)
• At least 17 people are killed and 11 others are injured in flash floods caused by heavy rains and snowfall across Afghanistan. (AP)
• Seven people are killed, 96 others are rescued and at least 97 are reported missing when a boat carrying hundreds of migrants capsizes in The Gambia. (Reuters)
• The Vondelkerk in Amsterdam, Netherlands, catches fire, collapsing the tower and leaving only the exterior walls standing. (NOS in Dutch)

Law and crime

• 2025–2026 Iranian protests
  • Five civilians are killed in clashes with security forces across Azna, Lorestan, and Lordegan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran, during demonstrations over rising living costs. (AFP via The Express Tribune) (AFP via The Times of Israel)
• The Venezuelan government releases 88 political prisoners who were detained and jailed during protests against the results of the presidential election last year. (DW)

Politics and elections

• Demographics of China, Family planning policies of China
  • China ends the value-added tax (VAT) exemption on birth control drugs and devices, which will now be taxed at 13%, as part of efforts to address a continuing decline in national birth rates. (Reuters)
• Guy Parmelin is sworn in as President of Switzerland, succeeding Karin Keller-Sutter. (Swiss Info)