Portal:Current events/2026 January 18
January 18, 2026 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian conflict
- SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes
- 2026 northeastern Syria offensive
- Tribal forces allied with the Syrian Army take control of the Mashlab neighbourhood in Raqqa from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (Al Jazeera)
- Syrian government forces seize control of the Al-Omar field in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, the largest oil field in Syria, following the withdrawal of SDF forces. (BBC News)
- 2026 northeastern Syria offensive
- The Syrian government announces a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces. (AP) (BBC News)
- SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes
- Communal conflicts in Nigeria
- Boko Haram insurgency
- The Nigerian Air Force launches airstrikes against Boko Haram in Borno State, Nigeria, reportedly killing at least 40 militants. (Reuters)
- Kidnapping in Nigeria
- Gunmen abduct about 163 Christians after storming two churches in Kaduna State, Nigeria. (AFP via Insider Paper)
- Boko Haram insurgency
- Russo-Ukrainian war
- Dnipro strikes, Kharkiv strikes, Khmelnytskyi strikes, Odesa strikes, Zaporizhzhia strikes
- At least two people are killed and dozens are injured in Russian drone strikes across Ukraine, including in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Odesa, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia. (DW)
- Dnipro strikes, Kharkiv strikes, Khmelnytskyi strikes, Odesa strikes, Zaporizhzhia strikes
- Colombian conflict
- Clashes between two factions of the FARC dissidents in El Retorno, Guaviare Department, Colombia, leave at least 27 insurgents dead. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- 2026 Adamuz train derailments
- At least 39 people are killed and 245 more are injured after two high speed trains derailed in Adamuz, province of Córdoba, Spain. (The Telegraph)
- 2026 Binaliw landslide
- Search and rescue operations in the collapsed landfill in Cebu City, Philippines, conclude after retrieving the last victim, bringing the total number of deaths to 36. (GMA News)
- 2026 Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42 crash
- Search and rescue finds the wreckage of an Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42-512 aircraft that crashed in Maros Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The crew recovers one body of the eleven passengers from a ravine. (AP)
- Five people are killed and over 80 others are injured after a bus overturned due to brake failure in Latehar district, India. (Devdiscourse)
- Four people are killed, 84 others are injured, and six are reported missing in an explosion at a steel factory in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China. Chinese police detain those in charge of the factory the following day. (AP) (CTV News)
Law and crime
- Crime in Guatemala
- Guatemalan president Bernardo Arévalo declares a 30-day nationwide state of emergency after gangs killed eight police officers and took dozens of prison staff hostage, while security forces have retaken three prisons and freed the captives. (AFP via The Korea Herald)
- Libyan authorities say they have freed more than 200 migrants from an underground prison in Kufra held by a human trafficker in inhumane conditions. The freed migrants were mostly Sub-Saharan Africans, mainly from Somalia and Eritrea. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- 2026 Portuguese presidential election
- Portuguese citizens vote in the first round of the presidential election between 11 candidates to succeed incumbent Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who has reached his term limit. Socialist Party candidate António José Seguro and CHEGA leader André Ventura advance to the second round. (AP)
Sports
- 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
- In association football, Senegal wins its second Africa Cup of Nations title after defeating hosts Morocco 1–0 after extra time in the 2025 final in Rabat. Sadio Mané is named the tournament's best player. (Reuters)
- 2026 Australian Open
- In tennis, Venus Williams becomes the oldest player to participate in the women's singles draw of an Australian Open at the age of 45 years and 7 months, surpassing Kimiko Date's record from 2015. (The Independent)