Portal:Current events

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Insurgency in Balochistan
  • 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 an international incident between the two countries. (CNN-News18) (DW)

Law and crime

• 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)

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, which Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla describes as amounting to "a total [fuel] blockade". (UPI)

Sports

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

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Islamist insurgency in Niger
  • Diori Hamani International Airport attack
    • The Islamic State attacks the military part of Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger, killing 20 gunmen and injuring four soldiers. (Al Jazeera)
• 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)
• 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 a Burmese crime family are executed in China after being convicted of various crimes related to operating scam centers in Myanmar. (BBC News) (DW)

Politics and elections

• Burkina Faso's ruling military junta dissolves all political parties, finding that the parties have deviated from their establishing guidelines. (AP)

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

• 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

• 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)
• Lugojel car crash [ro]
  • 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

• 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)
• Israeli invasion of Gaza
  • Destruction of cultural heritage during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Gaza peace plan, Gaza war hostage crisis
    • Israel desecrates hundreds of Palestinian graves to find the corpse of Israeli policeman Ran Gvili, who is the last Israeli prisoner to have been detained in the Gaza Strip. (Al Jareeza)
• 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)
• 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

• 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)