Portal:Current events
Topics in the news
Iliana Iotova
- Iliana Iotova (pictured) becomes the first female president of Bulgaria following the resignation of Rumen Radev.
- Vietnam's Communist Party Congress re-elects Tô Lâm as General Secretary, the most powerful position in the one-party state.
- Italian fashion designer Valentino, founder of his eponymous fashion house, dies at the age of 93.
- Wildfires in Chile leave more than 20 people dead.
January 26, 2026 (Monday)
Disasters and accidents
- Sinking of MV Trisha Kerstin 3
- At least 18 people are killed, 316 others are rescued and 24 are reported missing when a ROPAX ferry sinks near Basilan, Philippines. (Al Jazeera)
January 25, 2026 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Gaza war
- Three Palestinians are killed by Israeli forces in two separate incidents in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters)
- Mexican drug war
- Eleven people are killed and 12 more injured in a mass shooting during a football match in Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico. (Proceso)
Disasters and accidents
- January 2026 North American winter storm
- In the United States over a million are left without power across the south with 10,000 flights cancelled due to the winter storm. (AP) (Al Jazeera)
- A Bombardier Challenger 650 carrying eight people crashes at Bangor International Airport in Maine, United States, during winter weather conditions. (CNN)
- 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)
- At least 72 people are injured when a lightning strike hits Jair Bolsonaro supporters during a march in Brasília, Brazil. (Times Now)
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
- 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 open fire and throw grenades in an ambush against a convoy carrying the mayor of Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur, Philippines, injuring two security forces. The 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 Alex Honnold free-solo climbs the Taipei 101 in Taiwan, becoming the first person to ascend the skyscraper in that manner, after completing the 508-meter (1,667-feet) climb in about 90 minutes during a livestreamed event. (AFP via The Sun) (Reuters)
January 24, 2026 (Saturday)
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)
- 2026 northeastern Syria offensive
- SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes
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 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Four others have been injured in a series of attacks linked to unusually high rainfall. (The Guardian)
- 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, 2026 Crans-Montana bar fire
- Italy recalls its ambassador to Switzerland after Swiss courts released on bail the owner of a Crans-Montana bar 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)
- Killing of Alex Pretti
- 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)
January 23, 2026 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Operation Southern Spear
- United States strikes on alleged drug traffickers during Operation Southern Spear
- Two people are killed and another is captured in an American airstrike on a boat in the Pacific Ocean, according to the U.S. Southern Command. (CNN)
- United States strikes on alleged drug traffickers during Operation Southern Spear
- 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)
- A Singapore-flagged cargo ship 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 formally 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)
- 2026 Ugandan protests
- 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)
- Protests against mass deportation during the second Trump administration, 2026 Minnesota general strike
- 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 after the resignation of Rumen Radev. (Reuters)
January 22, 2026 (Thursday)
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)
January 21, 2026 (Wednesday)
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)
- Killing of journalists in the Gaza war
- 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)
January 20, 2026 (Tuesday)
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)
- Suspension and ban of humanitarian aid organizations during the Gaza war
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)
- 2026 Australia gun buyback program
- 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)
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
2026 events and developments by topic
Establishments and disestablishments categories
Works and introductions categories
2026 at Wikipedia's sister projects
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Taxa from Wikispecies
Discussions from Meta-Wiki
Discover Wikipedia using portals
