Portal:Current events/January 2026

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)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Yemeni civil war
  • 2025 Southern Yemen offensive, Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war
    • The Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen launches airstrikes in Hadhramaut Governorate, killing 20 Southern Transitional Council (STC) fighters and leaving more than 20 others injured. (AFP via Le Monde)
  • The STC announces a plan to hold an independence referendum for the State of South Arabia within two years. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• BYD Auto, based in China, surpasses the United States-based Tesla, Inc., as the world's best-selling electric vehicle automaker after selling 2.26 million vehicles in 2025, overtaking Tesla's 1.64 million. (AP) (DW)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Guerrero earthquake
  • A M_w 6.5 earthquake strikes 14 km (8.7 mi) off the coast of San Marcos, Guerrero, Mexico, killing two people and injuring 12 others. (AFP via The New Zealand Herald) (Infobae in Spanish)
• Buddha Air Flight 901
  • An ATR 72-500, overran the runway upon landing at Bhadrapur Airport in Nepal and crashed into a creek. All 55 people on board survived, though 7 people received minor injuries and the aircraft was written off. (MyRepublica)
• At least fourteen people die and several people are hospitalised after drinking contaminated water in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. (The Hindu)
• Eleven people are killed and eleven others are injured after a bus and a truck collide head-on on a federal highway in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. (Reuters) (G1)
• At least four people are trapped when a multi-story building collapses in Nairobi, Kenya. (AP)
• Dozens of people are missing and at least 102 others are rescued after a boat carrying over 200 migrants capsizes off the coast of the North Bank Division of the Gambia. (AP)

Health and environment

• Climate change in the United Kingdom
  • The United Kingdom records its hottest and sunniest year in 2025 with an average temperature of 10.09 °C (50.16 °F), surpassing the 2022 record of 10.03 °C (50.05 °F). (Business Day)

International relations

• Burkina Faso–United States relations, Mali–United States relations, Niger–United States relations
  • The Alliance of Sahel States, consisting of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, bans American citizens from entering the countries, to reciprocate the U.S. banning their citizens. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

• 2022–2025 Pakistan political unrest, Terrorism in Pakistan
  • The Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentences eight journalists and online commentators, including Wajahat Saeed Khan, Adil Raja, and Shaheen Sehbai, to life imprisonment in absentia for terrorism-related offences tied to digital content supporting former prime minister Imran Khan during the unrest. (Reuters)
• 2025–2026 Iranian protests
  • A protester is shot dead by security forces in Harsin, Kermanshah province, Iran. (Hengaw)
• Arrest of Yoon Suk Yeol
  • A South Korean court issues a new six-month detention warrant for former president Yoon Suk Yeol after indicting him on additional charges linked to his declaration of martial law in 2024, citing the risk of evidence tampering. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Education in Greece
  • Greece removes more than 308,000 inactive students from public university records under new education rules that end long-term dormant enrollment, reducing the official student population by almost half. (AP)
• Ciudad de la Paz, a planned city in the mainland, officially becomes the new capital of Equatorial Guinea, replacing Malabo, with a decree by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Government services are to relocate within one year. (Africanews) (Arch Daily)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Operation Southern Spear, War on drugs
  • 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela
    • The United States carries out airstrikes around Caracas, Venezuela, killing at least 40 people, including civilians and military personnel. A national state of emergency is declared following the strikes. (The Times) (CNN)
    • Footage shows United States Marine Corps Bell AH-1Z Vipers striking Fort Tiuna and Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base with Hellfire air-to-surface missiles during the operation. Fort Tiuna is later evacuated. (El Tiempo in Spanish) (The Aviationist)
    • Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, first lady Cilia Flores, are captured by U.S. forces and flown out of the country. Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodríguez becomes acting president. (CBS News) (BBC News)
    • After being held aboard the USS Iwo Jima, Maduro is taken to New York, where U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi says he has been indicted on drug and weapons charges. (BBC News) (AP)
• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • 2025 Sumy offensive, Kharkiv strikes, Kherson strikes, Mykolaiv strikes
    • At least eight people are killed and 42 others are injured in overnight Russian attacks on the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Sumy Oblasts of Ukraine. (RBC-Ukraine) (The Kyiv Independent)
• Nigerian bandit conflict
  • At least 30 people are killed and others kidnapped by armed bandits in a raid on a village market in Borgu, Niger State, Nigeria. The market was also looted of food before being set on fire. (AP) (The Punch)
• War against the Islamic State
  • British and French aircraft carry out a joint strike on an underground facility alleged to be occupied by the Islamic State near Palmyra in central Syria. (The Guardian)
• 2026 arson attack on the Berlin power grid
  • An arson attack on the Teltow Canal targeting the Lichterfelde gas-fired power plant causes a power outage in south Berlin, with tens of thousands affected. (Politico.eu) (Deutsche Welle)

Business and economy

• Economy of Syria
  • The Central Bank of Syria begins exchanging old banknotes for a new currency that removes two zeros from the previous denominations, with 100 old pounds converted to one new pound, as part of economic stabilization measures following the change in government. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• 26 people are killed and 14 others are missing after a boat carrying 52 passengers capsizes in Nguru, Yobe State, Nigeria. (Reuters) (Africanews)
• Six people are killed after a car collides with a minibus taxi near Fouriesburg, South Africa. (IOL)

Law and crime

• 2025–2026 Iranian protests
  • Four more protesters are shot dead by security forces in Malekshahi County, Ilam province, Iran. (Hengaw) (Iran International) (AP)

Sports

• 2026 PDC World Darts Championship
  • In professional darts, English player Luke Littler wins a second PDC World Darts Championship back-to-back after defeating Dutch player Gian van Veen 7–1 in the final. (BBC Sports)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Yemeni civil war
  • 2025 Southern Yemen offensive, Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war
    • Yemeni forces and the Saudi Arabia-led coalition capture the al-Mahrah and Hadhramaut governorates from the Southern Transitional Council. (Al Jazeera)
• 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela
  • The death toll from the strikes rises to at least 80, including members of security forces and civilians. (The New York Times)
  • Cuba confirms that 32 of its citizens were killed during the attacks while carrying out missions. Two days of national mourning are declared. (Al Jazeera)
  • The United States Federal Aviation Administration lifts the ban on US flights through the Caribbean imposed following military strikes in Venezuela. Hundreds of flights were canceled or are rescheduled from yesterday. (Reuters) (The New York Times)
• Israel–Hezbollah conflict
  • Two Hezbollah militants are killed in a strike by the Israel Defense Forces in Al-Jumayjimah, Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon. (The Jerusalem Post)

Disasters and accidents

• Six people are killed and five injured after a roof collapses in Charsadda district, Pakistan. (Dawn)
• A collision caused by tea leaves spilled from a moving truck involving 12 vehicles in Sano, Tochigi, Japan, leaves one person dead and three others injured. (Kyodo News)

Law and crime

• Myanmar's government releases 6,186 prisoners, including 52 foreign nationals, and reduces prison sentences to mark Independence Day, while excluding inmates convicted of serious crimes. (Reuters)

Science and technology

• A technical failure in Greece's air traffic control communication systems forces authorities to impose a seven-hour nationwide ground stop and airspace closure, diverting aircraft to nearby countries and causing widespread delays and cancellations. (VINnews) (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Gaza Conflict
  • Four Palestinians are killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced refugees in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in Gaza. Israel claims it was targeting a Hamas target. (The National)
• Terrorism in Pakistan
  • Pakistani counter-terrorism police seize two tons of explosives and arrest three people suspected of being members of the Baloch Liberation Army and planning attacks with them. (AP)

Business and economy

• A 243 kg (536 lb) bluefin tuna is sold for a record ¥510 million (US$3.2 million) at the Toyosu fish market in Tokyo, Japan. (BBC News) (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 14 people are killed in flash floods in Siau Tagulandang Biaro Islands Regency, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• Nestlé recalls selected batches of infant formula in several European countries after identifying a quality issue in a supplier ingredient that may involve the presence of the toxin cereulide. (AFP via The Manila Times)

International relations

• Israel–Syria relations
  • Israeli invasion of Syria
    • United States-mediated talks between Israel and Syria focused on reviving the 1974 disengagement framework resume after a several-month hiatus, with Syria pressing for an Israeli withdrawal from territory entered after the fall of the Assad regime. (Reuters)
• International reactions to the 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela, Swiss neutrality
  • Switzerland freezes all assets held in the country by de jure Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his associates for four years, following Maduro's abduction and transfer to the United States, and is intending to secure the assets while their legal status is under investigation. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela
  • A Venezuelan decree authorizes a national manhunt for those involved in the American attack. (Reuters)
• United States v. Maduro et al.
  • De jure Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores plead not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and narcoterrorism in the United States. They will remain in prison until their next court appearance in March. (NBC News) (Fox News)
• Three Arab Israelis are killed in two separate shootings in Nazareth and Kafr Qara, Israel. (The Jerusalem Post)

Politics and elections

• 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela
  • Delcy Rodríguez is formally sworn in as acting and first female president of Venezuela following Nicolás Maduro's abduction and transfer out of the country. (Reuters)
• Censorship in Uganda
  • Uganda bans the live broadcasting and streaming of protests and violent incidents and restricts content deemed inciting or hateful ahead of the general election. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Communal conflicts in Nigeria
  • Herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria
    • Five farmers are killed in a shooting attack by herders in Kwande, Benue State, Nigeria. (Daily Post)
  • Nigerian bandit conflict
    • At least five Old Oyo National Park security personnel are killed and others injured in a bandit attack in Orire, Oyo State, Nigeria. (The Guardian)
• Syrian conflict
  • SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes
    • Seven people are killed and several others are wounded in Aleppo, Syria after clashes between the Syrian Armed Forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
• 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela
  • Venezuela confirms that 23 members of its military were among the 80 people killed during the American airstrikes on the country, including its capital Caracas, three days ago. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 22 people are killed and 65 others are injured after a truck (lorry) carrying migrant workers overturns in Semera, Afar Region, Ethiopia. (BBC News)
• Six people are killed and 46 others are injured after a bus and a trailer collide head-on in Kericho County, Kenya. (Capital News)
• One person is killed and three others are injured after a bus collides with protesters in Jerusalem, Israel. (The Times of Israel)

Health and environment

• The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raises the alert level of the Mayon volcano in Luzon to three, citing signs of magma intrusion and possible explosive activity, and orders evacuations within a six-kilometer danger zone. (Reuters)

International relations

• China–Japan relations
  • 2025–2026 China–Japan diplomatic crisis
    • China tightens export controls on dual-use technology to Japan, banning shipments that could support the Japanese military, following diplomatic tensions over remarks related to Taiwan. (AFP via The Sun)

Law and crime

• Afghanistan–China relations
  • Three locals and a company employee are killed and five others are wounded in clashes between residents and employees of a Chinese company contracted for ore washing by the Afghan Ministry of Mining at a gold extraction site in Chah Ab District, Takhar Province, Afghanistan. The company's operations are later suspended pending a probe into the incident. (AP) (Tolo)
• Freedom of religion in China
  • Chinese police detain six members of the unregistered Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, Sichuan, including its current leader, as part of ongoing actions against house churches. (Reuters)

Science and technology

• Communications in Palestine
  • Israel authorizes Palestinian mobile operators Jawwal and Ooredoo to begin upgrading to 4G services in the West Bank after they sign management contracts with the Swedish telecommunications firm Ericsson. (Reuters)
• Sexual deepfake generation on X
  • Coimisiún na Meán says it is engaging with the European Commission on the generation of sexualised images of women and minors as the sharing of non-consensual intimate imagery and generation of child sexual abuse imagery is illegal and platforms are illegal and platforms are legally obliged to act on reports of illegal media content. (RTÉ)
  • Ofcom announced that it had contacted X over complaints that the sites' AI took Grok was generating fake images of children being sexually abused. (RTÉ)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Operation Southern Spear
  • United States oil blockade during Operation Southern Spear, Russia–United States relations
    • The United States boards and seizes the sanctioned Russian-flagged tanker Marinera (Bella 1) in the North Atlantic Ocean after it breached the U.S. naval blockade around Venezuela. (Reuters) (Sky News)
    • The United States Coast Guard also seizes the Panamanian-flagged tanker M Sophia for its alleged "illegal activities" in international waters of the Caribbean Sea. (BBC News)
• Yemeni civil war
  • 2025 Southern Yemen offensive, Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war
    • The Saudi Arabia-led coalition launches airstrikes on Southern Transitional Council (STC) positions in the Dhale Governorate in southern Yemen. (Al Jazeera)
    • Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, head of the STC, is dismissed from the Presidential Leadership Council after failing to attend peace negotiations. (Al Arabiya)

Disasters and accidents

• Five people are killed and 27 others injured after a bus plunged into a 100-foot-deep ravine in Chakwal, Pakistan. (The Express Tribune)

International relations

• Climate change policy of the United States, Proposals for the United States to withdraw from the United Nations
  • The United States announces its withdrawal from dozens of United Nations bodies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN Population Fund, UN Trade and Development and four of the Economic and Social Council's regional commissions. (AFP via France 24)
• Cross-strait relations
  • China bans Taiwanese interior minister Liu Shyh-fang and education minister Cheng Ying-yao, along with their relatives, from entering the country, alleging their involvement in the Taiwan independence movement. (Reuters)
• Political status of the Cook Islands and Niue, Foreign relations of Niue
  • Germany formally recognizes and establishes diplomatic relations with the Pacific island of Niue, with the German mission in Wellington, New Zealand, coordinating ties. Niue remains in free association with New Zealand. (DPA via Yahoo News)
• Somalia–United States relations
  • The U.S. State Department suspends all ongoing assistance programs to Somalia, alleging that the Somali government destroyed an American-funded World Food Programme warehouse and stole 76 tonnes of food aid. (AP)

Law and crime

• Corruption in Malaysia
  • The Malaysian anti-corruption commission detains a former army chief and four other suspects and seizes RM2.4 million (US$591,000) in cash while seeking court approval to extend custody in a bribery investigation linked to military procurement contracts. (Reuters)
• Corruption in Nigeria
  • A Nigerian federal court grants bail to former justice minister Abubakar Malami and two co-accused in a money laundering and abuse of office case involving 16 charges, setting the bail at ₦500 million (US$350,000). (Reuters)
• Killing of Renée Good
  • A United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shoots a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, prompting protests. (CNN)
  • Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz issues a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard in the event of civil unrest. (CBS News)
• Scam centers in Cambodia, Cambodia–China relations
  • Cambodia extradites three Chinese nationals, including Prince Group founder Chen Zhi, to China following a joint investigation into transnational fraud networks linked to large online scam operations in Southeast Asia. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Operation Southern Spear
  • 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela
    • The death toll from the U.S. airstrikes on Caracas, Venezuela, five days ago increases to 100 people, including 23 Venezuelan military personnel and 32 Cuban personnel. (BNO News)
• SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes
  • January 2026 Aleppo clashes
    • As fighting between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian Army continues in Aleppo, Syrian authorities open an evacuation corridor for tens of thousands of civilians to evacuate the city. (Euronews)
    • The Syrian Army captures the Ashrafieh neighbourhood of Aleppo after three days of fighting with the Syrian Democratic Forces. (Al Jazeera)
• Yemeni civil war
  • 2025 Southern Yemen offensive, Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war
    • The Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen claims that Southern Transitional Council (STC) president Aidarus al-Zoubaidi has fled to the United Arab Emirates through Somaliland. (Al Jazeera)
    • Government forces enter Aden and capture Aden International Airport as STC forces collapse in Aden Governorate. (AA via TRT World) (Al Jazeera)
• 2025–2026 Iranian protests
  • A police officer is reportedly killed during clashes with anti-government protesters in Malard, Iran, as the number of injured police officers rises to 568. (AA) (Africa News)
  • The Iranian opposition in exile calls for a general strike in the Kurdish areas in western Iran, which is widely observed. (Die Zeit in German)
  • NetBlocks reports a total internet outage in Tehran and other Iranian cities, continuing the following day. (Reuters) (RFERL)
• Gaza war
  • The Israeli military launches multiple attacks in Gaza, killing thirteen Palestinians, including five children. (The New Arab)

Business and economy

• Cambodia–China relations, Scam centers in Cambodia
  • The Cambodian central bank orders the liquidation of Prince Bank and suspends its operations after founder Chen Zhi was indicted by the United States for large-scale fraud and extradited to China. (AFP via France 24)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Binaliw landslide
  • At least one sanitation worker is killed when a landfill collapses in Cebu City, Philippines. Search and rescue operations are ongoing for the 34 others reported missing, while 12 people are hospitalized. (AFP via The Straits Times)
• A woman is killed in a shark attack off the coast of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. The species of the shark involved is currently unknown. (AP)

Law and crime

• Shootings by U.S. immigration agents in the second Trump administration
  • 2026 Portland shooting
    • Two people are hospitalized after being shot by Border Patrol officers in Portland, Oregon, United States. (KPTV-TV)
  • Killing of Renee Good
    • Protesters and police clash in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., after an ICE agent fatally shot a civilian woman yesterday. Pepper balls and a gas-like substance are fired toward the protesters outside a federal building. (CNN)
• Honduran congresswoman Gladys Aurora López is injured after being struck in the head by an explosive when entering the National Congress building in Tegucigalpa. (Times Now)

Politics and elections

• 12th Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party
  • Laos' top leader, Thongloun Sisoulith, is re-elected as the General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, the most powerful position in the one-party state. (The Diplomat)
• Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Europe
  • The Spanish Episcopal Conference and the national government agree to let the ombudsman determine compensation for victims of clergy sexual abuse whose cases are time-barred or whose alleged abusers are deceased, opening a one-year claims process funded by the Catholic Church. (AP)
• Detention of Rocío San Miguel
  • Acting Venezuelan president Delcy Rodríguez's administration releases several political prisoners, including human rights activist Rocío San Miguel. (AFP via Barron's)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian conflict
  • SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes
    • January 2026 Aleppo clashes
      • The Syrian defense ministry declares a ceasefire in the Ashrafiyah, Bani Zeid, and Sheikh Maqsood districts of Aleppo after several days of armed conflict between government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that killed at least 21 people. (AFP via Arab News)
• Operation Southern Spear
  • United States oil blockade during Operation Southern Spear
    • The United States military seizes a Timor-Leste-flagged oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea, marking the fifth tanker seized as part of the blockade. (The Guardian) (The Patriot-News)
• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Kyiv strikes, Russian attacks on civilians in the Russo-Ukrainian war
    • Russian drone and missile strikes on Kyiv, Ukraine kill four people and wound 28 others after several high-rise apartment buildings are targeted. The Qatari embassy is also damaged in the strikes. (Euronews)
    • Russia strikes Lviv in western Ukraine with its Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile, reportedly targeting a critical infrastructure site. (BBC News)
• Yemeni civil war
  • 2025 Southern Yemen offensive, Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war
    • A Southern Transitional Council (STC) delegation in Riyadh announces the group's dissolution following widespread territorial losses to the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. The STC rejects the announcement, saying the announcement was made under duress. (The New Arab)

Business and economy

• EU–Mercosur Association Agreement
  • Twenty-one of the 27 countries of the European Union approve a trade deal with Mercosur, which will create "the world's largest free trade area" after 25 years of talks. The deal is expected to be formally signed in Paraguay in the near future. (Politico)

Disasters and accidents

• Fourteen people are killed and over 30 others are injured after a bus plunges into a gorge near Nahan, Himachal Pradesh, India. (Hindustan Times)
• Nine people are killed and 10 are injured after a bus crashes between Kano and Maiduguri in Borno State, Nigeria. (Daily Post)

Law and crime

• 2026 Cedarbluff shootings
  • At least six people are killed in spree shootings at three locations across Cedarbluff, Mississippi, United States. A 24-year-old man is taken into custody and charged with murder. (AP via CTV News)

Politics and elections

• 2025 Honduran general election
  • The National Congress of Honduras approves a recount of the votes cast in the November 2025 election, which is subsequently approved by President Xiomara Castro's decree. (CNN in Spanish) (Bloomberg)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian conflict
  • SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes
    • January 2026 Aleppo clashes
      • A kamikaze drone of unknown origin strikes a governate building in Aleppo, Syria, while government officials were holding a conference inside, a day after the government declared a ceasefire in the city. (Al Jazeera)
  • Operation Hawkeye Strike
    • The United States military launches airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria. (Sky News) (Fox News)
• Crisis in Venezuela, War on drugs, United States–Venezuela relations
  • 2026 United States intervention in Venezuela
    • The U.S. State Department urges Americans to leave Venezuela immediately, following reports that Colectivos were targeting them. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Binaliw landslide
  • The death toll from a garbage landslide in Cebu City, Philippines, rises to at least four, while 12 of about 50 buried sanitation workers are rescued. (AFP via Arab News)
• 2026 Paipa Piper PA-31 crash
  • Six people are killed, including musician Yeison Jiménez, when a Piper PA-31 Navajo crashes in Paipa, Boyacá Department, Colombia. (BNO News)

International relations

• Argentina–Brazil relations, Argentina–Venezuela relations, International reactions to the 2026 United States intervention in Venezuela
  • Brazil returns responsibility to Argentina for its diplomatic representation and custody of the Argentine embassy in Venezuela after overseeing the mission in Caracas since 2024 following the expulsion of Argentine diplomats under the Nicolás Maduro administration. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2025 Egyptian parliamentary election
  • Egypt's National Elections Authority finalizes the remaining 49 parliamentary seats, confirming that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's allies retain the two-thirds supermajority needed to amend the constitution, while opposition parties and independents hold about 158 of 568 elected seats. (Reuters)
• Nicaragua–United States relations
  • Nicaragua releases dozens of prisoners after the United States publicly demanded the release of more than 60 political prisoners. (Al Jazeera)
• 2025 Honduran general election
  • The Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Honduran Armed Forces Héctor Valerio informs that the already confirmed election results and the transfer of power would be guaranteed despite President Xiomara Castro's decree demanding a recount of the results. (Tiempo)

Science and technology

• Pornography Act
  • Indonesia suspends access to the Grok chatbot over concerns about the generation of pornographic content and summons representatives of its developer, xAI, for investigation. (Reuters)

Sports

• 2025–26 FA Cup
  • Macclesfield 2–1 Crystal Palace
    • In association football, National League North team Macclesfield beat the FA Cup defending champions Crystal Palace 2–1, in statistically the biggest upset in the competition's 155-year history. (BBC Sport)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian conflict
  • SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes
    • January 2026 Aleppo clashes
      • The Syrian Democratic Forces withdraw from Aleppo following negotiations with the Syrian transitional government. (Al Jazeera)
• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Attacks in Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war
    • A woman is killed and around a dozen residential buildings are damaged in an overnight Ukrainian drone attack on Voronezh, Russia. (Reuters)
  • Russian attacks on civilians in the Russo-Ukrainian war
    • At least four people are killed and 20 others are injured in overnight Russian drone attacks across Ukraine. (Euronews)
• 2025–2026 Iranian protests
  • 2026 Los Angeles ramming attack
    • Two people are injured in a suspected vehicle-ramming attack when a U-Haul truck strikes multiple people during an anti-Iranian government protest in Los Angeles, California, United States, after protesters strike the vehicle with hands and flags. No one is hospitalized after the incident. (BNO News)
  • Non-governmental organization HRAI verifies the deaths of 483 protesters and 47 security personnel in Iran since the start of the protests. (Sky News) (Reuters)
  • Amidst the ongoing internet blackout, the Iranian government successfully shuts down the Starlink internet for the first time. (The Times of Israel)
• Sudanese civil war
  • Sudanese prime minister Kamil Idris announces that the government will return to the capital of Khartoum after previously operating out of Port Sudan for much of the conflict. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

• 83rd Golden Globe Awards
  • At this year's Golden Globe Awards, Hamnet and One Battle After Another win Best Dramatic and Best Comedic or Musical Film, respectively, while The Pitt and The Studio win Best Drama and Best Comedy or Musical in television, respectively. (Los Angeles Times)

Business and economy

• China–Egypt relations, Foreign relations of Norway
  • Egypt signs renewable energy agreements worth US$1.8 billion with China and Norway. (Al Arabiya)

Disasters and accidents

• 2025–26 Australian bushfire season
  • One person is killed and at least 300 properties are destroyed by wildfires across Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. A state of emergency is declared in Victoria with thousands of firefighters and more than 70 aircraft deployed to combat the fires. (BBC News)
• Eight people are killed and 12 others are injured in an explosion during wedding festivities at a house in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Dawn)
• The death toll from avalanches in the French Alps over the weekend rises to six as three more skiers are killed. (AFP via South China Morning Post)
• Four people are killed and five others are injured after two cars collide head-on in Bolton, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom. (BBC News)

Law and crime

• Three inmates are killed and 14 others are injured, including a corrections officer, in a prison fight at the Washington State Prison in Davisboro, Georgia, United States. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2025–26 Myanmar general election
  • Citizens of Myanmar vote in the second phase to elect the nation's bicameral legislature. One more phase of voting is expected in late January. (AP)
• 2026 Beninese parliamentary election
  • Citizens in Benin vote to elect the 109 members of the National Assembly more than one month after a thwarted coup attempt. (RFI)

Sports

• 2026 United Cup
  • In tennis, Poland win their first United Cup title after defeating Switzerland 2–1 in the final at the Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney, Australia. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Gaza war
  • Palestinian internal political violence
    • The Israeli-backed militant organization Counter-Terrorism Strike Force says it has assassinated Mahmoud Al-Astal, head of a Hamas-run police unit in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip. (Reuters)
• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • A roadside bomb targeting a police vehicle kills six officers near the Afghan border in northwestern Pakistan. (AP)
• Myanmar civil war, Bangladesh–Myanmar relations
  • Bangladesh detains 53 Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army members that crossed into Bangladesh amid fighting with the Arakan Army in Rakhine State, Myanmar. (AFP via The Straits Times)
• Sudanese civil war
  • A Rapid Support Forces missile strike kills ten civilians and wounds nine others in Singa, Sennar State, Sudan. (AA)

Business and economy

• Spanish property bubble
  • Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez issues a decree that tightens rent regulations by limiting short-term rentals and offering full tax refunds to landlords who renew contracts without rent increases, as the country faces a housing shortfall of about 500,000 homes and average rents that have doubled over the past decade. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• One person is killed and 35 others are injured in a meteotsunami at several beaches in Argentina. (People)
• Authorities say a wild Asian elephant has killed 20 people since the start of the year in the Indian state of Jharkhand and remains on the loose. A search operation involving more than 100 park rangers is underway to locate the elephant. (BBC News)

Health and environment

• Climate change in Morocco
  • A seven-year drought ends in Morocco after a 95 percent increase in winter rainfall compared with 2025 was recorded. (Reuters)

International relations

• Somalia–United Arab Emirates relations
  • Constitutional crisis in Somalia
    • Somalia's Council of Ministers terminates all agreements between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), disallowing the UAE from operating in the ports of Berbera, Bosaso, and Kismayo for their support of Somaliland. The Somaliland, Puntland, and Jubaland governments subsequently dismiss the decision. (Middle East Eye) (Dawan Africa) (The New Arab)

Law and crime

• War on drugs
  • Swedish police seize three tonnes of cocaine found in a shipping container from South America at the Port of Helsingborg, making it the country's single-largest seizure of the illegal drug. (Reuters)
  • Spanish police, in coordination with the UK National Crime Agency and the US DEA, seize 10 tonnes of cocaine hidden among a cargo of salt on a cargo ship off the Canary Islands. It is the country's largest ever seizure of drugs at sea. Thirteen people on board the vessel are arrested. (The Guardian)
• Cambodia–South Korea relations, Scam centers in Cambodia
  • Cambodian and South Korean police arrest 26 suspects accused of impersonation scams and sexual exploitation that allegedly defrauded 165 South Korean victims of about ₩26.7 billion (US$18.25 million), with authorities set to extradite the suspects to South Korea. (Reuters)
• Corruption in Georgia
  • Former Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili pleads guilty to large-scale money-laundering charges and receives a five-year prison sentence and a ₾1-million (US$371,829) fine after investigators seize about $6.5 million in cash during raids on his residence. (Reuters)
• Corruption in Poland, Hungary–Poland relations
  • Former Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro receives political asylum in Hungary while Polish prosecutors investigate him on 26 counts related to alleged misuse of a crime victims fund and other abuses of office under the first Morawiecki cabinet. (The Guardian)
• Corsican conflict
  • Former National Liberation Front of Corsica leader Alain Orsoni is assassinated by a gunman at his mother's funeral in Vero, Corse-du-Sud, Corsica, France. (Reuters)
• Venezuela releases more than 100 political prisoners who were detained due to acts associated with civil disobedience the constitutional order. (Al Jazeera)

Science and technology

• Criticism of Twitter
  • The United Kingdom's Ofcom opens an investigation into X over complaints about the creation of deepfake sexualised images by its chatbot Grok. (RTÉ)
• Meta reports that it has shut down over 544,000 accounts of users under the age of 16 on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads in response to Australian social media age restrictions. (DW)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2025–2026 Iranian protests
  • 2026 Iran massacres
    • The U.S.-based non-governmental organization HRAI reports that at least 2,000 people have been killed during nationwide protests in Iran. Meanwhile, independent activist sources contend that the nationwide crackdown has resulted in at least 12,000 to 20,000 people killed. (CBS News) (AP)
• Insurgency in Chad
  • At least six people are killed, including three soldiers and three attackers, and 12 others are injured, including two other attackers, in clashes between a rebel group and the Chadian National Army in Korbol, Moyen-Chari, Chad. (Africanews)

Arts and culture

• Adelaide Writers' Week boycott
  • Adelaide Writers' Week in Adelaide, Australia, cancels its 2026 festival after director Louise Adler resigned and more than 180 writers withdrew in protest over the board's decision to disinvite Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• 2018–present Argentine monetary crisis
  • Argentina records a 31.5% annual inflation rate in December, the lowest end-year level since 2017, while monthly prices rise 2.8%, driven mainly by transport, housing, and fuel. (AFP via Barron's)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 38 people are killed when a ferry strikes rocks and sinks on the Niger River in Diré, Tombouctou Region, Mali. (AP)
• At least 19 people are killed, four are seriously injured and over 30 others are missing following a landslide triggered by hours of heavy rain in Walikale Territory, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (AP) (Prensa Latina)

International relations

• Philippines–United Arab Emirates relations
  • The Philippines and the United Arab Emirates sign a free trade agreement. (The Star)

Law and crime

• Mexican drug war, Mexico–Venezuela relations
  • Mexican police arrest six alleged Tren de Aragua members operating in Mexico City on charges of drug trafficking, extortion, and human trafficking. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2026 Ugandan general election, Human rights in Uganda
  • Uganda orders a nationwide internet shutdown two days before its general election, with the communications regulator directing service providers to suspend access to curb alleged misinformation and incitement. (AFP via Le Monde) (Al Jazeera)

Science and technology

• Censorship in Venezuela
  • Venezuelans regain access to the social network X after more than a year of blockage under de jure president Nicolás Maduro. (AFP via CP24)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Anglophone Crisis
  • Fifteen people, including eight children, are killed by gunmen in a mass shooting in Ndu, Northwest Region, Cameroon. (AP)
• Armed conflict for control of the favelas
  • Brazilian police kill four Comando Vermelho gang members in a raid in Rio de Janeiro, and seize weapons, ammunition, drugs, camouflage clothing, and radios. A police helicopter is shot at and damaged, injuring one crew member. (AP)
• 2025–2026 Iranian protests, Kurdish separatism in Iran
  • Armed groups of Iraqi Kurdish fighters, possibly affiliated with the PKK, have allegedly infiltrated the Iranian border. According to reports, they engaged in clashes with IRGC led security forces. (Reuters) (Fox News)

Business and economy

• The price of gold reaches an all-time high of US$4,644.56 per ounce, surpassing December's previous peak of $4,383.76. (Royal Mint)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Crans-Montana bar fire
  • The Swiss cantons of Valais and Geneva ban fireworks in indoor venues in the aftermath of the fire at a Crans-Montana nightclub, which killed 40 people. (BBC)
• 2026 Sikhio train disaster
  • At least 32 people are killed and 66 others are injured when a construction crane falls onto a passing train in Sikhio district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand. (Sky News) (Reuters) (AP)

Health and environment

• The Copernicus Climate Change Service reports that 2025 ranks as the third-warmest year on record and completes the first three-year period with average global temperatures at least 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)

International relations

• Armenia–Azerbaijan relations
  • Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
    • Azerbaijan releases four Armenian prisoners convicted of offenses linked to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as part of ongoing post-war normalization efforts. (Reuters)
• Greenland crisis
  • Denmark–France relations
    • French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot announces that France will open a consulate in Greenland in February, signaling its rejection of attempts by the United States to acquire the territory through coercion. (AFP via Le Monde)
• Travel bans under the Trump administrations
  • The U.S. Trump administration announces that it will suspend the processing of immigrant visas for 75 countries. Tourist and business visas will not be affected. (AFP via Le Monde)

Law and crime

• Sexual deepfake and illegal content generation on X
  • The Garda Síochána of Ireland confirms that there are 200 active investigations into child sexual abuse material being generated by Grok. (RTÉ)
• Shootings by U.S. immigration agents in the second Trump administration, Operation Metro Surge
  • A person is shot and injured by a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. (ABC News)

Politics and elections

• Singapore's parliament votes to remove Workers' Party leader Pritam Singh as Leader of the Opposition following his conviction for providing false testimony to a parliamentary committee in 2021. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Operation Southern Spear
  • United States oil blockade during Operation Southern Spear
    • The United States Coast Guard boards and seizes a Guyanese-flagged tanker in the Caribbean Sea that had been sanctioned by the U.S. government. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

• Frigidaire issues a recall for 330,000 mini-fridges for fire risks, after previously recalling 634,000 last year. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Utrecht explosions
  • At least four people are injured and several buildings collapse following an explosion in the Utrecht city centre in the Netherlands. Authorities suspect it to be a gas explosion. (NOS in Dutch) (AFP via Al Arabiya) (BBC News)
• At least 19 people are killed and hundreds are evacuated across South Africa in flooding caused by torrential rains in several provinces, including Limpopo and Mpumalanga. (AP)
• Two people are killed when a construction crane collapses onto the Rama II Road in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, while the Thai government moves to cancel contracts, blacklist the same contractor, and suspend about a dozen of its state projects following a separate crane accident the previous day. (BBC News) (Reuters)

International relations

• Greenland crisis, Denmark–France relations
  • French president Emmanuel Macron announces the deployment of additional military forces to Greenland after a Defense Council meeting. (France 24 in French)
• Japan–Philippines relations, Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
  • Japan and the Philippines sign a defense pact to mutually allow tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food, and other forms of aid. (AP)
• United Arab Emirates–Yemen relations
  • Faraj Al-Bahsani is dismissed from Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, becoming the last United Arab Emirates-backed member to leave the body. (The New Arab)

Politics and elections

• 2026 Ugandan general election
  • Ugandans vote to elect their president and 529 members of parliament. (AP)
• Singaporean prime minister Lawrence Wong rescinds Workers' Party MP Pritam Singh's position as the de jure Leader of the Opposition. (CNA)
• Yemeni prime minister Salem Saleh bin Braik resigns, and president Rashad al-Alimi appoints Shaea Muhssin to be the new prime minister. (Jerusalem Post)

Science and technology

• The members of NASA commercial Crew-11, who had been docked at the International Space Station (ISS) since August 2025, land on Earth one month early following the first-ever medical evacuation from the ISS. (Space) (NPR)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Insurgency in Balochistan
  • Twelve Balochistan Liberation Army gunmen are killed by the Pakistani army in an attempted hostage-taking at a police station in Kharan District, Balochistan Province, Pakistan. (AP)

Business and economy

• Canada–China relations
  • Canada and China reach a trade agreement that reduces Canadian tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and Chinese tariffs on Canadian canola seeds, following a high-level summit in Beijing. (CNN)
• Taiwan–United States relations, Tariffs in the second Trump administration
  • Taiwan and the United States reach a trade agreement that would reduce U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese goods from 20% to 15% in return for promised Taiwanese investment in U.S. businesses. (AFP via France 24)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 100 people are killed and thousands of homes are destroyed across Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, amidst severe torrential rain and flooding. (AP)

International relations

• Iran–New Zealand relations
  • New Zealand temporarily closes its embassy in Tehran, evacuates its diplomats to Ankara, Turkey, and warns its citizens to leave Iran, citing the deteriorating security situation and internet blackout. (AFP via Al Arabiya)

Law and crime

• 2026 Ugandan general election
  • 2026 Ugandan protests
    • Clashes between protesters opposed to president Yoweri Museveni and police leave at least seven people dead in Butambala, Uganda. (BBC News) (Reuters)
    • The opposition National Unity Platform says its leader and presidential candidate Bobi Wine has been placed under house arrest. A Ugandan military helicopter takes Wine to an unknown location after his house was stormed by security forces. (BBC News) (Sky News)
• Arrest of Yoon Suk Yeol
  • A high court in Seoul, South Korea, sentences former president Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison for obstructing justice and excluding cabinet members during his 2024 martial law declaration, while acquitting him of document forgery. (AFP via TRT World) (AP)
• Corruption in Malaysia
  • Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim temporarily freezes all military and police procurement until compliance rules are met following an anti-corruption probe, while ordering a review and restructuring of the procurement system. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian conflict
  • SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes
    • 2026 northeastern Syria offensive
      • Syrian government forces capture many towns in Aleppo Governorate, including Dayr Hafir and Maskanah, after Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) units withdraw from their positions. The Syrian Army also reportedly expelled the SDF from Al-Tabqah. (Al Jazeera)
• Iraqi conflict, Iraq–United States relations
  • The United States Armed Forces formally withdraws from Iraq's Al-Asad Airbase, handing over full operational control of the airbase to the Iraqi Armed Forces for the first time since 2014. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• EU–Mercosur Association Agreement
  • The European Union and Mercosur formally sign the free trade agreement between the two blocs after 25 years of negotiations. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Binaliw landslide
  • The death toll from the landslide in the Binaliw landfill in Cebu City, Philippines, rises to 35. Search operations are ongoing for the last victim. (ABS-CBN News)
• 2026 Biobío wildfires
  • At least 16 people are killed, more than 50,000 are evacuated and a state of emergency is declared due to wildfires in Ñuble Region and Biobío Region, Chile. (France 24) (BBC News)
• 2026 Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42 crash
  • An Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42-512 aircraft operated by the marine affairs ministry carrying eleven people loses contact in Maros Regency, South Sulawesi, while flying to Makassar and crashes. A search and rescue effort is underway. (Detikcom in Indonesian) (ANTARA)
• 2026 Gul Plaza Shopping Mall fire
  • At least six people are killed, 22 others are injured and 50 are reported missing in a massive fire at a multi-story shopping mall in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. (Dawn) (AP)
• At least 24 people are killed and 45 others are injured in two separate road crashes in Pakistan when a truck plunges into a canal in Sargodha, Punjab, and a passenger bus overturns on a highway in Balochistan. (AP)
• Eight skiers are killed and another is seriously injured in separate avalanches on the Alps in Austria. (AFP via The Straits Times)

Health and environment

• The High Seas Treaty enters into force in 60 United Nations member states. (Reuters)

International relations

• Greenland crisis
  • Hands off Greenland protests
    • Thousands of demonstrators attend rallies in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Nuuk, Greenland, to protest the proposed takeover by U.S. president Donald Trump. (BBC News)

Law and crime

• FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
  • American fugitive Alejandro Castillo is arrested in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico. (WCNC)
• Coordinated riots erupt in three prisons in Guatemala, where inmates hold at least 46 officers and staff hostage as security forces secure the perimeters and the interior minister refuses to negotiate. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2026 Beninese parliamentary election
  • Provisional results in Benin reveal that the Progressive Union Renewal won 60 out of 109 seats in the National Assembly, followed by the Republican Bloc with 49 seats. Both parties in the National Assembly are part of a coalition supportive of President Patrice Talon. (Benin Web TV)
• 2026 Ugandan general election
  • Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni is re-elected to a seventh term with 71.65% of the vote, while opposition leader Bobi Wine comes second with 24.72% of the vote. (France 24)

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)
  • The Syrian government announces a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces. (AP) (BBC News)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian conflict
  • SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes
    • 2026 northeastern Syria offensive
      • Heavy fighting occurs around Kobani between the Syrian Army and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) despite a ceasefire announced by both sides the previous day. Government forces capture the towns of Ayn Issa and Sarrin. (Al Jazeera)
      • The SDF says it has lost control of a prison holding thousands of Islamic State (IS) fighters in the town of Al-Shaddadah after the prison came under attack from armed groups. A video released by the SDF appears to show dozens of IS militants escaping the prison. (The Guardian) (ANHA) (Reuters)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda conflict, Kivu conflict
  • M23 campaign
    • Congolese troops and allied Wazalendo militia fighters re-enter Uvira, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, after it had been held for about a month by the Rwanda-backed March 23 Movement. (Reuters)
• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Kharkiv strikes
    • A woman is killed and 11 others are injured in a glide bomb attack in Kharkiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. (DPA International)
• Islamic State–Taliban conflict
  • Seven people are killed and twenty others are injured in a bombing at a Chinese restaurant in Shahr-e Naw, Kabul, Afghanistan. The Islamic State – Khorasan Province claims responsibility. (Headline Daily) (Reuters)

Arts and culture

• Italian fashion designer Valentino, founder of his eponymous fashion house, dies at the age of 93. (CBS News)

Business and economy

• Hungary–Russia relations, Hungary–Serbia relations
  • Serbia announces that the Russian majority owners of its state oil company Naftna Industrija Srbije have agreed to sell their stake to Hungary's MOL as Serbia seeks to increase its own shareholding to about 35%. (AFP via France 24)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Chilean wildfires
  • Much of the city of Penco is destroyed as wildfires continue to spread across Chile with the death toll rising to nineteen. (AFP via Barron's) (BBC News)
• Vanderbijlpark scholar transport crash
  • Thirteen children are killed and several others are injured in a collision between a truck and a school bus in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng province, South Africa. (Legit) (BBC News)
• 2026 Gilgit-Baltistan earthquake
  • Two people are killed, four others are injured and several houses collapse in a M_w 5.6 earthquake in Barishal, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. (Dawn) (ReliefWeb)

Health and environment

• Aging of China, Aging of South Korea
  • Reflecting a broader demographic decline across East Asia, the birth rate in China fell to 5.6 per 1,000 people last year, the lowest since records began in 1949, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, as similar downward trends persist in Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. (CNBC) (BBC News)

International relations

• Greenland crisis
  • Operation Arctic Endurance
    • Denmark announces that it will send "a substantial number" of troops to Greenland in response to threats from United States president Donald Trump. (AA)
  • NORAD announces that it will deploy American and Canadian aircraft to Pituffik Space Base in Greenland for long-planned activities, describing the deployment as routine and coordinated with the Denmark with diplomatic clearances and with the Government of Greenland informed of the planned operations. (AA) (Task & Purpose)
• Kiribati–New Zealand relations
  • Kiribati and New Zealand sign a partnership agreement on economic opportunity, foreign policy, health, and security, marking their first bilateral agreement since a diplomatic crisis began in 2025. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Crime in Guatemala
  • A ninth policeman succumbs to his injuries from prison riots and attacks on police officers in Guatemala. A dozen officers were also injured in the attacks, and a state of emergency has been declared. (AFP via France 24)
• Flood control projects scandal in the Philippines
  • Former Philippine senator Bong Revilla surrenders to police after the Sandiganbayan ordered his arrest over the alleged misuse of ₱92.8 million (US$1.6 million) in a flood-control project, while the Ombudsman pursues graft and malversation charges against Revilla and several former public works officials. (Gulf News)
• September 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état
  • Togo announces the arrest of Burkina Faso's former transitional president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba in Lomé last week and expels him after Burkinabè officials accuse him of plotting attempted coups and targeted assassinations against the ruling junta. (AFP via The Peninsula)
• Four alleged drug traffickers are fatally shot in an overnight shootout with border guards while crossing the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border into Tajikistan. (The Independent)
• A gunman shoots and kills one person and injures six others, before killing himself, in a mass shooting at the town hall of Chřibská, Czech Republic. (Reuters)

Science and technology

• The Sun releases the largest solar particle event towards Earth since the 2003 Halloween solar storms. (CNN)

Sports

• 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship
  • In American football, the Indiana Hoosiers defeat the Miami Hurricanes, 27–21, to win the College Football Playoff National Championship. (ESPN)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Suspension and ban of humanitarian aid organizations during the Gaza war
    • The Israeli military demolishes the main UNRWA building in East Jerusalem, forcing staff out and confiscating their devices, following the Israeli ban on the organization operating in the region. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Gelida train derailment
  • The driver is killed and 37 other people are injured when a commuter train collides with a wall and derails in Gelida, Catalonia, Spain. (RTVE)
• At least four people are killed in flooding in Monastir Governorate, Tunisia, the worst floods in the country since 1950. (Al Jazeera)
• At least two people are killed in flooding in Algeria. (APA News)
• Search and rescue crews rescue a motor banca crewman off a capsized boat in Sarangani, Davao Occidental, Philippines, while continuing to search for the other three missing crew members and 11 passengers. (AP via ABC News) (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

International relations

• China–United Kingdom relations
  • The British government approves China's new embassy at London's Royal Mint Court, despite security concerns. The planning decision affirmed development compliance, while MI5 raised no objections. The embassy will be the largest Chinese embassy in Europe upon completion. (CNN)

Law and crime

• Gun laws of Australia
  • 2026 Australia gun buyback program
    • The Australian parliament passes laws introducing a nationwide gun buyback program, stricter background checks, and tougher penalties for hate crimes, following the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting that killed 15 people. (Reuters)
• War on drugs
  • Thai authorities announces the end of a 4-month operation to combat drug trafficking in the country, resulting in the seizure of 330 million methamphetamine tablets, the arrests of over 88,000 suspects, and frozen assets worth ฿3.39B (US$140M). (The Straits Times)
• Portuguese police arrest 37 suspects linked to an ultra-right network accused of racially motivated hate crimes, seizing weapons and neo-Nazi materials during a nationwide operation targeting Grupo 1143, whose leader is already imprisoned. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2021–present Bulgarian political crisis
  • Bulgarian president Rumen Radev resigns, marking the first voluntary resignation of the country's president in its post-communist history. Vice president Iliyana Yotova is sworn in as acting president, becoming the country's first female president. (AP)
• Thousands of people protest across Germany, particularly in Bremen, Dortmund, Frankfurt, in support of Kurdish forces against the Syrian Armed Forces in clashes in northeastern Syria. (DW)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Gaza war
  • Killing of journalists in the Gaza war
    • At least eleven Palestinians, including two children and three journalists documenting Egyptian state aid distribution, are killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
• Israel–Hezbollah conflict
  • Israel launches a series of airstrikes in Lebanon, killing one person each in Tyre and Sidon and wounding 19 others in Qanarit. (Al Jazeera)
• Yemeni civil war
  • A car bombing near Aden, Yemen, targeting the motorcade of Southern Giants Brigades commander Hamdy Shoukry, kills three people and injures four others. (AP via ABC News)

Business and economy

• Orbanomics, Economy of Hungary
  • Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán announces a 100-billion-forint (US$300-million) support package for the restaurant sector and commits to covering additional household heating costs for January, as part of broader measures to ease cost-of-living pressures and revive the economy ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• January 2026 New Zealand storms
  • New Zealand territorial authorities order evacuations in low-lying areas of the North Island after heavy rain and strong winds cause flooding and landslides, while police search for a man missing after being swept away while fording. (Reuters)
• Severe storms in Greece kill two people as strong winds and heavy rainfall cause flooding, prompting authorities to suspend maritime traffic and close schools in several regions. (AFP via BSS)

International relations

• EU–Mercosur Partnership Agreement
  • The European Parliament approves a measure by a vote of 334–324 to ask the European Court of Justice to rule on whether the free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur can be applied before full ratification by all member states and whether its provisions restrict the EU's ability to set environmental and consumer health policies. (Reuters)
• Greenland crisis, Tariffs in the second Trump administration
  • United States president Donald Trump announces he will cancel the planned tariffs on Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom after reaching an agreement with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for a Greenland framework. He also stated at the World Economic Forum that he has ruled out sending forces amidst invasion fears. (BBC News) (Fortune)

Law and crime

• 2024 South Korean martial law crisis
  • A high court in Seoul, South Korea, sentences former prime minister Han Duck-soo to 23 years in prison for being an accomplice in giving procedural legitimacy to the martial law decree during a cabinet meeting. (Reuters) (The Guardian)
• Corruption in Malaysia
  • The Malaysian anti-corruption commission charges two former military chiefs and one of their wives with money laundering, abuse of power, and criminal breach of trust. (AP)
• Trial of Tetsuya Yamagami
  • A district court in Nara, Japan, sentences Tetsuya Yamagami to life in prison for assassinating former prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022. (Reuters)
• War on drugs
  • Europol announces an end to an operation against synthetic drug production and trafficking in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, and Spain, resulting in the arrests of 85 people and the seizure of 1,000 metric tons of chemicals in 24 labs. (DW)

Politics and elections

• Politics in Australia
  • The Opposition Liberal–National Coalition splits less than a year after reforming as the Liberal and National parties take opposing stances on the Albanese government's proposed tightening of hate speech laws in the wake of the Bondi Beach shooting. (ABC News Australia)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Myanmar civil war
  • A Myanmar Air Force fighter jet strikes a village near Bhamo in Kachin State, Myanmar, killing 21 people and wounding 28 others. (AP)

Arts and culture

• 98th Academy Awards
  • Nominations for the 2025 Academy Awards are released, with Sinners receiving 16 overall nominations, surpassing the record for most nominations for a film that was previously held by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016). (DW) (Los Angeles Times)

Business and economy

• South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index surpasses 5,000 points for the first time, rising by more than two percent in early trading. (AFP via Gulf News)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Gul Plaza Shopping Mall fire
  • The death toll from a massive fire five days ago at a multi-story shopping mall in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, increases to 67 people. (AP via CTV News)
• January 2026 New Zealand storms
  • Two people are killed and several others are reported missing with no sign of life detected, including children, in landslides in Mount Maunganui and Welcome Bay, Tauranga, New Zealand. Further north, a man is swept away by a flood in Warkworth. (BBC News) (Sky News) (The Independent)
• January 2026 North American winter storm
  • A state of emergency is declared in several U.S. states in anticipation for a potentially severe winter storm affecting the South and Eastern United States, Atlantic Canada, and Northern Mexico. (CBC)
• Vanderbijlpark scholar transport crash
  • The death toll from the school bus collision with a truck near Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, South Africa, increases to 14 children killed, while the bus driver is charged with murder. (AP)
• Mozambique authorities report at least 13 deaths from flooding caused by heavy rains, which has affected more than 500,000 people. (Reuters)
• Ten people are killed and ten injured after a vehicle carrying army soldiers skids off a road and falls into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir, India. (NDTV)
• At least seven people are killed and more than eight others are injured in a suspected gas explosion near Tumaco in Nariño Department, Colombia. (News.Az)
• Six people are lightly injured when a passenger train collides with a crane arm in Cartagena, Murcia, Spain, in the fourth railway incident in the country within a week. (Reuters)
• One person is killed and 109 schoolchildren are injured in a head-on collision between a pick-up truck and a school bus on R510 in Thabazimbi, Limpopo, South Africa. (IOL)

Health and environment

• Guinea-Bissau suspends a U.S.-backed study of a hepatitis B vaccine on newborns pending an ethics review. (AP)

International relations

• 2021 Guinean coup d'état
  • The African Union lifts sanctions on Guinea and restores its membership, citing progress in the country's political transition which culminated in Mamady Doumbouya's election as president. (AFP via Vanguard)
• Colombia–Ecuador relations
  • Colombia suspends electricity exports to Ecuador and announces a 30% tariff on selected Ecuadorian goods to reciprocate Ecuador's imposition of the same surcharge on Colombian imports effective February 1, which Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa attributed to a trade deficit and a lack of cooperation ‌on combating drug trafficking. (Reuters)
• France–Russia relations
  • The French Navy boards and seizes a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker subject to international sanctions in the Mediterranean Sea. (Al Jazeera)
• Proposals for the United States to withdraw from the United Nations
  • The United States's withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) takes effect, becoming the first member state to leave the WHO. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• 2026 Lake Cargelligo shootings
  • Three people are killed and another is critically injured in shooting spree against two vehicles in Lake Cargelligo, New South Wales, Australia. The shooter is at large. (The Guardian) (BBC News)
• Ntabankulu Primary School shooting
  • Three people are killed, including the perpetrator, and another is critically injured in a school shooting at a primary school in Ntabankulu, Eastern Cape, South Africa. (Independent Online)
• Terrorism in the Philippines
  • A regional court in Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines, sentences journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and her accomplice to up to 18 years in prison for financing terrorism following their arrest in 2020, but acquits them on a weapons possession charge. Press freedom and rights groups condemn the verdict. (AFP via The Guardian) (BBC News)
• Six people are injured, including two critically, in a mass stabbing during a Kurdish demonstration in Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium. Two suspects are arrested. (The Guardian)
• Canadian drug trafficker and fugitive Ryan Wedding, who is on the FBI Most Wanted List, is arrested in Mexico. (PBS)

Science and technology

• AI boom, Regulation of artificial intelligence, Science and technology in South Korea
  • South Korea enacts a law that requires human oversight of high-impact artificial intelligence (AI) systems, mandates disclosure and labeling of certain AI uses, and institutes fines of up to ₩30 million (around US$20,400) for violations. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Operation Southern Spear
  • United States strikes on alleged drug traffickers during Operation Southern Spear
    • Two people are killed and a survivor is later captured following an American airstrike on a boat in the Pacific Ocean, according to the U.S. Southern Command. (CNN)
• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Seven people are killed and 25 more injured in a suicide bombing at a wedding in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42 crash
  • Indonesian search and rescue teams discover the remaining bodies from the January 17 crash of a Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries ATR 42-500 aircraft on a mountain near Maros Regency, South Sulawesi. (ABC News Australia)
• Nine people are killed in an avalanche in Chitral District, Pakistan, while eleven people are killed in a snowstorm in six provinces of Afghanistan. (AP)
• Six people are killed, 12 others are injured and dozens are reported missing when a gold mine collapses in Abu Jubaiha, South Kordofan, Sudan. (News.Az)
• The Singapore-flagged cargo ship MV Devon Bay crewed by 21 Filipinos capsizes in the South China Sea, leaving two dead and two others missing. The China Coast Guard rescues 17 crew members, while search and rescue operations for the remaining crew are ongoing. (AP via ABC News) (RTHK)

International relations

• Scam centers in Cambodia, Cambodia–South Korea relations
  • South Korea repatriates 73 nationals suspected of participating in fraud operations in scam centers in Cambodia. (DW)
• California Governor Gavin Newsom announces that California will join the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, becoming the first U.S. state to do so. The move comes after the United States' formal withdrawal from the World Health Organization took effect. (Politico)

Politics and elections

• 2026 Ugandan general election
  • 2026 Ugandan protests
    • At least 30 people from the opposition National Unity Platform are killed and 2,000 other people are arrested in protests disputing the results of the general election in Uganda last week. (Hallmark News)
• Protests against Donald Trump
  • Protests against mass deportation during the second Trump administration, 2026 Minnesota general strike
    • Thousands of workers and hundreds of businesses go on general strike in Minnesota, United States, to protest the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's deployment in the state. (The Guardian)
• 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam
  • Vietnam's top leader, Tô Lâm, is re-elected as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the most powerful position in the one-party state. (AP)
• 2026 Japanese general election
  • The Japanese House of Representatives is dissolved on the first day of the plenary session ahead of the general election. (Yomiuri Shimbun)
• December 2025 Kosovan parliamentary election
  • Kosovan prosecutors detain 109 election commissioners over alleged vote manipulation in the recent parliamentary election, prompting a nationwide recount that could delay government formation. (Reuters)
• Haitian conflict
  • A majority of Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council votes to remove acting prime minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, two weeks before the council is set to dissolve. Council members Edgard Leblanc Fils and Leslie Voltaire announce that a replacement will be found within 30 days. (AP) (Miami Herald)
• Iliana Iotova becomes the first female president of Bulgaria following the resignation of Rumen Radev. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian conflict
  • SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes
    • 2026 northeastern Syria offensive
      • The Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian government extend their ceasefire by 15 days to facilitate the United States-backed transfer of Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
• War in the Sahel
  • Mali War
    • The Malian government imposes a gasoline rationing policy in the country due to a fuel blockade imposed by JNIM insurgents. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• January 2026 North American winter storm
  • Four people are killed from a winter storm in New York and Tennessee, United States. (WMC-TV) (The Guardian)
• Shark attacks in Australia
  • A 12-year-old boy dies from wounds caused by a bull shark attack off the coast of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Four others have been injured in a series of attacks linked to unusually high rainfall. (The Guardian)
• 2026 West Bandung landslide
  • Eight people are killed and 82 others are missing after a landslide at West Bandung Regency, West Java, Indonesia. (CBC News) (ABC News Australia)
• Six people are killed in a fire at a four-story furniture building in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. (The Economic Times) (The Times of India)
• Five dead bodies, believed to be among those aboard a motor banca that was capsized on January 18, are found off Sarangani, Davao Occidental, Philippines. Search and rescue operations continue for at least ten others missing. (ABS-CBN News)
• At least one person is killed and 14 others are injured in a gas explosion and multiple-alarm fire at a 17-story apartment building in the Bronx, New York City, United States. (WCBS-TV)
• Commuter trains in Catalonia, Spain, are suspended for the second time this week. The Catalan government cites a lack of guaranteed safety on the railway network for the suspension. Rain and winds have caused landslides. (El Mundo in Spanish)

International relations

• Italy–Switzerland relations
  • Italy recalls its ambassador to Switzerland after Swiss courts released the owner of a Crans-Montana bar on bail, while he is under investigation for a New Year's Day fire that killed 40 people, including six Italians. (Firstpost)

Law and crime

• Operation Metro Surge, Shootings by U.S. immigration agents in the second Trump administration
  • Killing of Alex Pretti
    • Protests occur in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was fatally shot by ICE agents in the city. The Department of Homeland Security states he attacked ICE while allegedly carrying a concealed handgun. Protesters are reportedly hit with tear gas and at least one stun grenade. (WCCO-TV) (Minnesota Star Tribune)

• Anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping
  • The Chinese defense ministry announces that Central Military Commission vice chairman Zhang Youxia and the commission's chief of staff Liu Zhenli have been placed under investigation over suspected violations of discipline. (CNA)
• Internet censorship in Pakistan
  • A Pakistani court sentences human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband to a combined 17 years in prison under cybercrime laws for social media posts that prosecutors say promote anti-state activity and accuse the military of terrorism. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2026 Ugandan protests
  • Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine says soldiers have raided his Kampala residence, hospitalized his wife after assaulting her, and seized their property following Wine's rejection of election results that gave President Yoweri Museveni a new term. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Ethnic violence in South Sudan
  • The South Sudanese army orders all civilians, United Nations personnel, and aid workers in the Akobo, Nyirol, and Uror counties of the Jonglei State to evacuate ahead of an imminent operation against opposition forces. (Reuters)
• Gaza war
  • Three Palestinians are killed by Israeli forces in two separate incidents in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters)
• Ituri conflict
  • The Allied Democratic Forces kill at least 25 people in several communities in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (AFP via New Vision)
• 2026 Salamanca shooting
  • Eleven people are killed and 12 others are injured in a mass shooting at a football match in Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

• January 2026 North American winter storm
  • Over a million people are left without power across the southern United States and at least 10,000 flights cancelled due to the winter storm. (AP) (Al Jazeera)
  • Seven occupants are killed and another is injured when a Bombardier Challenger 650 jet crashes at Bangor International Airport in Maine, United States, during severe weather conditions. (Reuters)
• The death toll from the recent landslide in West Java, Indonesia, increases to 25 with 72 people still missing and believed to be buried under tonnes of mud, rocks and uprooted trees. (Sky News) (AP)
• A merchant ship rescues one migrant in the Mediterranean Sea after a boat departing from Tunisia sinks, while authorities report that about 50 others are missing and presumed dead and transfer the survivor to Malta for medical treatment. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• Thailand launches its first effort to reintroduce endangered Indo-Pacific leopard sharks into the wild by releasing captive-bred juveniles near the Phuket province. (Reuters)

International relations

• Brazil–Mexico relations, Mexico–Peru relations
  • Brazil assumes responsibility for representing Mexico's diplomatic interests in Peru, including safeguarding the Mexican embassy in Lima, after Peru severed relations with Mexico following the granting of asylum to former prime minister Betssy Chávez. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Embargo of Russian oil during the Russo-Ukrainian war, France–Russia relations
  • French authorities place the Indian captain of an oil tanker intercepted by the French Navy in the Mediterranean Sea under questioning on suspicion of breaching sanctions on Russian oil shipments, while prosecutors open a preliminary inquiry after the vessel arrives at anchorage near Marseille and its crew remains aboard. (AP)
• Three gunmen fire a rocket-propelled grenade at an armored SUV and open fire in an ambush against a convoy carrying the mayor of Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur, Philippines, injuring two security forces. The three perpetrators are later killed in a shootout with security forces. (Sunstar)

Politics and elections

• 2025–26 Myanmar general election
  • Citizens of Myanmar vote in the third and final phase to elect the nation's bicameral legislature. (AP) (Al Jazeera)

Sports

• Skyscraper Live (2026)
  • American climber Alex Honnold free-solo climbs the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taiwan, setting the record for the highest free solo climb of an urban structure, after completing the 508 m (1,667 ft) climb during a livestreamed event. (AFP via The Sun) (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian conflict
  • SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes
    • 2026 northeastern Syria offensive
      • The People's Defense Units and the Syrian transitional government accuse each other of ceasefire violations as reports of resuming clashes near Kobani and Qamishli emerge. (Al Jazeera)
• Gaza war
  • Gaza peace plan, Gaza war hostage crisis
    • Israeli forces locate and repatriate the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Gaza Strip. (CNN)
• Nigerian bandit conflict
  • At least 23 people, including 16 children, are kidnapped and another injured in a bandit attack in Talata Mafara, Zamfara State, Nigeria. (The Guardian)
• Somali Civil War
  • Al-Shabaab militants kill a village chief and a teacher in Garissa County, Kenya, near the border with Somalia, prompting police to deploy additional security forces and launch a multi-agency manhunt for the attackers. (Reuters)
• Terrorism in Australia
  • A man is arrested in Perth, Western Australia, after throwing a bomb which did not detonate into a crowd of Indigenous sovereignty activists protesting Invasion Day. (The Guardian Australia)

Disasters and accidents

• 2025–26 European windstorm season
  • Italy declares a state of emergency in Calabria, Sardinia, and Sicily after a severe storm causes more than €1 billion in damage and floods coastal towns, prompting the government to allocate an initial €100 million for relief and reconstruction. (Reuters)
  • A major landslide in Niscemi, Italy, damages buildings and infrastructure, causing the evacuation of over 1000 residents. (Reuters)
• January 2026 North American winter storm
  • The death toll of the winter storm in the United States rises to 34. (USA Today)
• Sinking of MV Trisha Kerstin 3
  • At least 18 people are killed, 316 others are rescued, and ten are reported missing when a ROPAX ferry sinks near Basilan, Philippines. (Reuters)
• Five people are killed in a fire at a food factory near Trikala, Greece. (BBC News) (AP via Toronto Star)
• Three people are killed and several are missing after a fire at a warehouse in Anandapur, India. (The Indian Express)
• A massive fire destroys dozens of buildings, including schools and houses, in Katingan Regency, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. (AA) (Antara)

Health and environment

• 2025–26 Ethiopian Marburg virus disease outbreak
  • Ethiopia declares an end to its two-month Marburg virus outbreak which killed nine people. (Reuters)

International relations

• Nicaragua–Spain relations
  • Spain expels Nicaragua's ambassador and another diplomat to reciprocate Nicaragua's removal of Spain's ambassador and deputy amid longstanding bilateral tensions linked to Spain's criticism of its human rights situation and support for sanctions on the European Union. (Reuters)
• Oman becomes the 61st country to sign the Artemis Accords, which constitutes space law and cooperation in space exploration. (NASA)

Law and crime

• War on drugs
  • Spanish police dismantle an international maritime cocaine smuggling ring that uses offshore vessels and high-speed crafts to deliver drugs to Europe, seizing 10 tonnes of cocaine, confiscating dozens of vessels and vehicles, and arresting 105 suspects after a year-long multinational investigation. (Reuters)
• Interpol reports that an operation in November 2025 to crack down on human traffickers resulted in 3,744 arrests in 119 countries. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2025 Guyanese general election
  • Opposition members of Guyana's National Assembly elect businessman and We Invest in Nationhood leader Azruddin Mohamed as their leader. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Kharkiv strikes
    • At least five people are killed and two others are injured in a Russian drone strike on a passenger train in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. (The Guardian) (Reuters)
• Gaza war
  • Israeli forces kill six Palestinians by shelling and gunfire in al-Tuffah, Gaza City, Gaza. (The New Arab)
• Suspected armed gang members ambush a police patrol on the Guga–Bakori road in Katsina State, Nigeria, killing three officers and injuring two. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• Sinking of MV Trisha Kerstin 3
  • Philippine officials ground the fleet of passenger ships belonging to Aleson Shipping Lines, owner of the sunken ferry Trisha Kerstin 3. (AP via CTV News) (GMA News)
• 2026 Lugojel road accident
  • Seven people are killed and three injured after a minibus carrying Greek PAOK FC fans crashes on E70 in Timiș County, Romania. (AP) (Caliber)
• Four Cuban nationals are killed and another is injured in a fire at an unlicensed migrant hostel in Balashikha, Moscow Oblast, Russia. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
• Three people are killed and two others injured after a boat carrying 25 tourists from France capsizes off the coast of Muscat, Oman. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

• United States–Venezuela relations
  • United States sanctions during the Venezuelan crisis
    • The United States begins releasing frozen Venezuelan assets under sanctions, as acting Venezuelan president Delcy Rodríguez confirms renewed diplomatic contacts between the two countries. (AFP via France 24)
• India–European Union relations
  • The European Union and India sign a free trade agreement, eliminating tariffs on metals, plastics, chemicals, and pharmaceutical products. (The Guardian)
• Iran–Saudi Arabia relations
  • Saudi Arabia bans the use of its territory or airspace for any military action against Iran. (AFP via The Times of Israel)

Law and crime

• The Azerbaijani State Security Service announces that it has foiled an attempt by the Islamic State's Khorasan Province to bomb an embassy in Baku. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

• 2025 Honduran general election
  • Nasry Asfura is sworn in as President of Honduras, succeeding Xiomara Castro. (AFP via France 24)
• In an overnight session, the National Assembly of France approves a bill banning social media for children under the age of 15. The bill will now go to the Senate for approval. (AFP via The Guardian)

Science and technology

• The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announces that the Doomsday Clock has been set to 85 seconds before midnight, the closest it has been to midnight, citing rising global tensions. (CNN) (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Dnipro strikes, Kyiv strikes, Odesa strikes
    • Three people are killed and three others are injured in overnight Russian strikes on the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa oblasts of Ukraine. (Al Jazeera)
• Russo-Caucasian conflict
  • Two militants are killed in a shootout with police in Karabudakhkentsky District, Dagestan, Russia. (News.Az)

Arts and culture

• Sarah Mullally is confirmed as the first female archbishop of Canterbury and primate of the Church of England. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Rubaya mine collapse
  • At least 200 people are killed and several others are injured when a landslide collapses several of the Rubaya mines in Masisi Territory, North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (The Canadian Press)
• SATENA Flight 8895
  • A SATENA Beechcraft 1900 crashes near Cúcuta in North Santander, Colombia, killing all 15 people on board. (BNO News) (El Heraldo)
• 2025–26 European windstorm season
  • Five people are killed and severe damage is caused by Storm Kristin in Portugal. (AA)
• 2026 Baramati Learjet 45 crash
  • Five people, including Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, are killed after a Learjet 45 aircraft crashes and explodes at Baramati Airport in Pune district, Maharashtra, India. (CNN-News18 via YouTube) (Hindustan Times)
• Five people are killed, including three children, in a house fire in Sakha Republic, Russia. (Xinhua)

Health and environment

• Climate change in the Caribbean, Climate change in the Netherlands
  • The Hague district court orders the Dutch government to create a legally binding plan to protect Bonaire from climate change, including setting enforceable emissions-reduction targets aligned with the Paris Agreement, after ruling that existing measures fail to safeguard residents from rising seas and extreme weather. (AP)

International relations

• Guinea is unsuspended from ECOWAS following the 2025 Guinean presidential election. (ECOWAS)

Law and crime

• Corruption in South Korea
  • A court in Seoul, South Korea, sentences former first lady Kim Keon Hee to 20 months in prison for corruption. (AP)
• Iran–Turkey relations
  • The Turkish National Intelligence Organization arrest six people, including an Iranian national, who are suspected of spying for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, including at the NATO Incirlik Air Base in Adana. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2023 Ecuadorian general election, Corruption in Ecuador
  • Ecuador's prosecutor's office raids the homes of politicians from the Citizen Revolution party, including presidential candidate Luisa González, as part of an investigation into alleged illicit Venezuelan money used to finance their 2023 campaign. (Reuters)

Sports

• 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final
  • In association football, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fines the Senegal Football Federation US$615,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct during the final match against Morocco, fines Senegalese coach Pape Thiaw $100,000, and bans him for five 2027 AFCON qualifying matches. Senegalese players Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr are also banned from the first two qualifier matches. (DW)
  • The CAF also fines the Royal Moroccan Football Federation $315,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and interfering with referees. Moroccan captain Achraf Hakimi is banned for two games and player Ismael Saibari is banned for three. (DW)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in the Sahel
  • Islamist insurgency in Niger
    • Diori Hamani International Airport attack
      • The Islamic State attacks the military part of Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger, injuring four soldiers but resulting in the deaths of 20 militants. (Al Jazeera)
  • Boko Haram insurgency
    • Boko Haram militants kill 25 construction workers in an attack on a Nigerian military base under construction in Sabon Gari, Borno State. (ABC News)
  • Mali War
    • Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin insurgents ambush a fuel tanker convoy in western Mali near the Senegalese border, killing at least 15 people, and destroying the tankers amid an ongoing fuel blockade by the jihadist group aimed at crippling the economy. (Africa News)
• Ethiopia–TPLF clashes
  • Clashes between the Ethiopian military and the Tigray People's Liberation Front break out in the Tigray Region. (Al Jazeera)
• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Pakistani forces kill three militants during an operation in Bannu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (The Peninsula)
• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Russia and Ukraine conduct a swap of bodies, with Russia receiving the remains of 38 soldiers and Ukraine receiving the remains of 1,000 soldiers, the first such swap since November 2025. (BBC News)
• Yemeni civil war
  • The World Food Programme ends its operations in northern Yemen following restrictions from the Houthis amid an ongoing famine. (DW)

Business and economy

• Russo-Ukrainian war, International sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia–European Union relations
  • The European Union blacklists Russia due to a risk of money laundering. (Reuters)
• Panama's supreme court nullifies the concession held by CK Hutchison to operate the Balboa and Cristóbal ports at the Panama Canal as unconstitutional and orders the facilities to be retendered, following a lawsuit by the comptroller after an audit alleged irregularities. (Financial Times)

Disasters and accidents

• 2025–26 European windstorm season
  • Storm Kristin strikes Portugal, killing six people and causing severe damage in Figueira da Foz. (Yahoo News)
• Eleven people are killed and several others are critically injured when a truck collides with a minibus taxi near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. (AP)
• Seven people are killed in a house collapse in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. (AP News)
• Two people are killed when a military Beechcraft AT-6TH aircraft crashes in Chiang Mai province, Thailand. (Bangkok Post)

Health and environment

• 2025–2026 hunger crisis in Afghanistan
  • The Asian Development Bank and the United Nations launch a two-year, US$100 million programme in Afghanistan to support more than 151,000 families amid rising hunger linked to deportations, economic strain, and reduced foreign aid. (Reuters)

International relations

• Human rights in Georgia
  • The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe launches an expert mission to investigate Georgia's human rights situation after 38 members invoked the Vienna Mechanism in 2024 and raised concerns over the government's compliance with international obligations. (Reuters)
• Iran–European Union relations
  • The European Union designates the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization in response to the crackdown on the recent protests. (BBC News)

Law and crime

• Crime in Canada
  • The Cree Nation of Mistissini, Quebec, Canada, enters lockdown after a shooting yesterday killed two men, prompting the closure of schools and public buildings while provincial police investigate a case linked to organized crime and drug activity. (Reuters)
• Scam centers in Myanmar, Capital punishment in China
  • Eleven members of the "Ming crime family" are executed in China after being convicted of various crimes related to operating scam centers in Laukkaing, Kokang, Myanmar. (BBC News) (DW)

Politics and elections

• Burkina Faso's ruling military junta dissolves all political parties, accusing them of "causing divisions" in the country. (AP)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2026 Balochistan attacks
  • Pakistani security forces raid two militant hideouts and kill 41 insurgents in separate shootouts in the Harnai and Panjgur districts. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• At least one person is killed and six others are reported missing when a 72 ft (22 m) fishing vessel sinks off Gloucester, Massachusetts, United States. (WCVB-TV)

International relations

• Israel–South Africa relations
  • Israel expels South Africa's chargé d'affaires Shaun Byneveldt to reciprocate South Africa's persona non grata declaration on the Israeli ambassador following international incidents between the two countries in the wake of South Africa's genocide case against Israel. (CNN-News18) (DW)

Law and crime

• Epstein files
  • The United States Department of Justice releases more files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein following the passing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the largest single-day release of said files, including over 3 million previously undisclosed documents. (AP) (Reuters)
• Killing of Brian Thompson
  • United States federal judge Margaret Garnett dismisses the federal murder and weapon charges against Luigi Mangione in the killing of former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, ruling out the death penalty against Mangione. The judge maintains the stalking charges, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. (DW)
• Tunisian president Kais Saied extends a decade-long national state of emergency for 11 months. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Cuba–United States relations, Tariffs in the second Trump administration
  • United States president Donald Trump declares a national emergency regarding Cuba in order to impose tariffs on countries that provide oil to it. (UPI)
• Acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez announces a proposal for mass amnesty and plans to close the polemic El Helicoide prison. (The Guardian)

Sports

• 2026 Australian Open
  • In tennis, Carlos Alcaraz defeats Alexander Zverev in the men's singles semifinal of the Australian Open in a 5-hour and 27-minute match, the longest semifinal match in tournament history. (Al Jazeera)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Gaza war
  • Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip
    • At least 31 Palestinians, including at least six children, are killed from Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. (Al Jazeera)
• 2026 Balochistan attacks
  • Coordinated attacks by the Balochistan Liberation Army militants across Balochistan, Pakistan, kill 33 people, including 18 civilians. At least 92 insurgents are killed by security forces. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Iran explosions
  • Multiple explosions, attributed to gas leaks, are reported across the Iranian cities of Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas, Karaj, and Parand, leaving at least six people dead and several injured. (Reuters) (Euronews)
• Five people are killed and eight injured after a truck rams motorcycles in Ganjam district, India. (Hindustan Times)
• A historic Dutch fort building in Siak Regency, Indonesia, collapses, injuring 16 people, including visiting schoolchildren. (Tempo English)

Law and crime

• 2025–2026 Iranian protests
  • Death sentence of Erfan Soltani
    • Protester Erfan Soltani is released on bail in Iran after his arrest on charges of propaganda and national security offenses. (AFP via NDTV)

Politics and elections

• Epstein files
  • In Slovakia, Miroslav Lajčák resigns as a European Union Special Representative following the United States Department of Justice release of extensive correspondence between Lajčák and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from 2017 to 2019, during which Lajčák served as the President of the United Nations General Assembly. (Reuters)

Sports

• 2026 Australian Open
  • In tennis, Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan wins her first Australian Open title and second major title after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the women's singles final in three sets, 6–4, 4–6, 6–4. (USA Today)