Guy Parmelin is sworn in as President of Switzerland.
Source:
Swiss Info 
January 1
Politics and elections
Business and economy
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.
Source:
AFP via France 24
Source:
The Sun
Disasters and accidents
At least 40 people are killed and around 100 others are injured in an explosion and fire caused by a suspected pyrotechnic incident at a bar in Crans-Montana, Valais, Switzerland.
Source:
The Guardian
The Vondelkerk church in Amsterdam, Netherlands, burns down, leaving only the exterior walls standing.
Source:
in Dutch
December 31
International relations
The United States issues a temporary license allowing Serbia's majority-Russian-owned Naftna Industrija Srbije to resume refinery operations until January 23 despite sanctions linked to the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Source:
Barron's
Armed conflicts and attacks
At least 24 people are killed, including a child, and dozens of others are injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on a hotel and a restaurant in Khorly in Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast, Ukraine.
Source:
The Moscow Times
Five people are killed while others escape after the United States conducts airstrikes on three alleged drug boats at an undisclosed location.
Source:
BBC News
Source:
AP
An Islamic State suicide bomber blows himself up near a checkpoint in Aleppo, Syria, after attempting to reach an Orthodox church, killing one security force member and wounding two more.
Source:
Al Jazeera
Business and economy
Iran appoints Abdolnaser Hemmati as the new leader of the Central Bank following protests over the Iranian rial's value depreciating and the previous governor's resignation.
Source:
AP
Arts and culture
The Six Flags Qiddiya City amusement park officially opens to the public in Saudi Arabia, with the Falcons Flight attraction breaking records as the world's tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster.
Source:
Arab News
Law and crime
Two civilians and a Basij officer are killed in clashes in Lordegan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Iran, during demonstrations over rising living costs.
Source:
AP
U.S. president Donald Trump announces the withdrawal of National Guard troops from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland after federal courts blocked or restricted the deployments.
Source:
AFP via France 24
U.S. federal judge Trina Thompson of California blocks the Trump administration from ending temporary protected status for about 89,000 migrants from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, ruling that the terminations may be motivated by racial hostility.
Source:
Reuters
December 30
Health and environment
The South African Police Service confirms at least 41 young men were killed from circumcision procedures during traditional initiation activities over the past two months in South Africa.
Source:
MSN
Business and economy
Moody's downgrades the credit rating of the city of Budapest, Hungary, to Ba1 and places it on review for a further cut, citing weak liquidity, uncertainty over state transfers, rising solidarity tax obligations, and the partial suspension of European Union funds to Hungary.
Source:
Reuters
Politics and elections
Source:
Reuters
Congolese president Denis Sassou Nguesso announces his candidacy for re-election in the upcoming election.
Source:
AFP via France 24
Armed conflicts and attacks
Israel announces the suspension of many international humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, the International Rescue Committee, and divisions of Oxfam and Caritas, from operating in Gaza starting January 1 for allegedly failing to pass new rules to vet the organizations and cooperating with Hamas and other militant groups.
Source:
AP
The Royal Saudi Air Force strikes the port of Mukalla, Yemen, targeting a ship with weapons delivered from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the Southern Transitional Council.
Yemeni civil war (2014–present)2025 Southern Yemen offensiveSaudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil warSaudi Arabia–United Arab Emirates relations
Source:
AP
Yemen ends its defense pact with the UAE, with its leader Rashad al-Alimi ordering all Emirati forces to depart within 24 hours. He also declares a 90-day national state of emergency and a three-day blockade of the country's southern and eastern regions. The UAE later announces that its remaining forces in Yemen will leave the country.
Source:
Morocco World News
Law and crime
U.S. federal judge Angel Kelley of Massachusetts blocks the Trump administration's plan to end temporary protected status for South Sudanese nationals, issuing an administrative stay that prevents the expiration of deportation protections while a legal challenge proceeds.
Source:
Reuters
Turkish police detain 357 people nationwide suspected of being Islamic State members following clashes between the two sides yesterday.
Source:
DW
Syrian authorities arrest 21 people in the Latakia Governorate and impose a curfew in the provincial capital following sectarian violence linked to unrest after a mosque bombing and protests in Alawite-majority areas.
Source:
AFP via Al Arabiya
Disasters and accidents
Two trains on a rail line between Cusco to Machu Picchu in Urubamba province, Peru, collide, killing a train driver and injuring 40 passengers.
Source:
CBS News
The search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 resumes in the southern Indian Ocean under a contingent fee agreement between Ocean Infinity, which has deployed autonomous underwater vehicles, and the Malaysian government.
Source:
AFP via France 24
International relations
Burkina Faso and Mali impose reciprocal travel bans on Americans after the United States added them to a list of countries subject to a full U.S. entry ban.
Source:
Reuters
December 29
Armed conflicts and attacks
Three police officers and six Islamic State gunmen are killed in a shootout during a raid at a house in Elmalık, Yalova Province, Turkey. Eight other officers and a civilian are also wounded.
Source:
Al Jazeera
Politics and elections
Protests erupt in Tehran, Iran, for a second day after the Iranian rial drops in value and inflation rates increase by 42.2%. The leader of the Central Bank of Iran Mohammad Reza Farzi resigns in response.
Source:
AP
Haibat al-Halbousi of the Iraqi Progress Party is elected Speaker of the Council of Representatives following the recent parliamentary election.
Source:
Reuters
Law and crime
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission raids multiple companies and freezes six bank accounts while investigating alleged bribery linked to army procurement contracts, as army chief Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan is placed on leave pending the inquiry.
Source:
Reuters
The Syrian transitional government orders the military to secure a mass grave at a former military base near Al-Dumayr, Rif Dimashq Governorate, and opens a criminal investigation into a covert operation that transferred thousands of bodies there from another site during the previous administration.
Source:
Reuters
Three people are killed and four others are injured, including one critically, in a livestreamed mass shooting when suspected Jalisco New Generation Cartel gunmen open fire on a Lamborghini in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico.
Source:
BNO News
Russian president Vladimir Putin signs a law allowing the government to disregard criminal judgments issued by foreign or international courts that lack a treaty basis or a United Nations Security Council mandate.
Source:
Reuters
International relations
China conducts the largest live fire exercises to date around Taiwan, designating multiple sea and air zones for drills by naval and air units to rehearse a blockade and to signal opposition to recent United States arms sales to Taiwan.
Source:
Reuters
India and New Zealand reach a free trade agreement where India grants zero-duty access for its exports to New Zealand, and New Zealand receives phased concessions on most Indian tariff lines, while excluding dairy and selected agricultural products.
Source:
AP
Disasters and accidents
Three people are killed and another is injured when an avalanche hits a ski resort on the Pyrenees in Panticosa, Aragon, Spain.
Source:
Daily Express
Two people are killed and British boxer Anthony Joshua is injured when a car crashes into a stationary truck on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State, Nigeria.
Source:
TVC News