The edition of
Thursday 1 January 2026
14 stories, section by section, the most important first.
International
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.
A Palestinian is killed and another is injured when Israeli forces open fire on stone-throwers near Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, Nablus, West Bank.
One person is killed and another is injured in Russian drone strikes on Dniprovskyi District, Kherson, Ukraine.
Politics
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.
Guy Parmelin is sworn in as President of Switzerland, succeeding Karin Keller-Sutter.
Business
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.
Turkmenistan legalizes the mining and exchange of cryptocurrency as digital assets, but maintains that digital currency cannot be used as legal tender.
The Law
Five civilians are killed in clashes with security forces across Azna, Lorestan, and Lordegan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran, during demonstrations over rising living costs.
The Venezuelan government releases 88 political prisoners who were detained and jailed during protests against the results of the presidential election last year.
Environment
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.
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.
At least 17 people are killed and 11 others are injured in flash floods caused by heavy rains and snowfall across Afghanistan.
The Vondelkerk in Amsterdam, Netherlands, catches fire, collapsing the tower and leaving only the exterior walls standing.
Stories adapted from Wikipedia’s Current events portal for 1 January 2026, by Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.