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 US. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

• 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)
• At least four people are injured and several buildings collapse following an explosion in the Utrecht city centre in the Netherlands. (NOS in Dutch) (Al Arabiya)

International relations

• Denmark–France relations
  • French president Emmanuel Macron announces the deployment of additional military forces to Greenland after a Defense Council meeting. (France 24)
• 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)

Law and crime

• Sexual deepfake and illegal content generation on X
  • The "Get Grok Gone" campaign delivers letters to Apple and Google demanding they remove Grok from their app stores because of non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material being generated by Grok. (The Register)

Politics and elections

• 2026 Ugandan general election
  • Ugandans vote to elect the President of Uganda 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)
• Salem Saleh bin Braik, prime minister of Yemen, resigns. President Rashad al-Alimi appoints Shaea Muhssin as the next prime minister. (Jerusalem Post)

Science and technology

• The members of NASA commercial Crew-11, who were docked at the International Space Station since August 2025, land on Earth one month early following the first ever medical evacuation from the ISS. (Space) (NPR)
• Frigidaire issues a recall for 330,000 mini-fridges for fire risks, after previously recalling 634,000 last year. (AP)

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
  • Armed bands 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 between the two states. (Reuters)
• 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. (AFP via Le Monde)
• Travel bans under the Trump administrations
  • The Trump administration of the United States 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

• 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)