A boat capsize off in the waters of Yobe State, Nigeria, killing 25 people and leaving 14 more missing.
Source:
Reuters 
January 4
Disasters and accidents
Armed conflicts and attacks
The United States Federal Aviation Administration lifts the ban on US flights through the Caribbean imposed following military strikes in Venezuela. Hundreds of flights were canceled or are rescheduled from yesterday.
Source:
Reuters
At least 30 people are killed and others kidnapped by armed bandits in a raid in Niger State, Nigeria.
Source:
AP
January 3
Armed conflicts and attacks
United States president Donald Trump orders airstrikes on Venezuela, Caracas, killing at least 40 people, including civilians and military personnel. A national state of emergency is declared following the strikes.
Source:
CNN
Footage shows United States Marine Corps Bell AH-1Z Vipers striking Fort Tiuna and Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base with Hellfire air-to-surface missiles during the operation. Fort Tiuna is later evacuated.
Source:
The Aviationist
Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, first lady Cilia Flores, are captured by U.S. forces and flown out of the country. Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodríguez becomes acting president.
Source:
BBC News
After being held aboard the USS , Maduro is taken to New York, where U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi says he has been indicted on drug and weapons charges.
Source:
AP
At least eight people are killed and 42 others are injured in overnight Russian attacks on the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Sumy Oblasts of Ukraine.
Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)2025 Sumy offensiveKharkiv strikes (2022–present)Kherson strikes (2022–present)Mykolaiv strikes (2022–present)
Source:
The Kyiv Independent
British and French aircraft carry out a joint strike on an underground facility alleged to be occupied by the Islamic State near Palmyra in central Syria.
Source:
The Guardian
Law and crime
Source:
AP
January 2
Law and crime
The Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentences eight journalists and online commentators, including Wajahat Saeed Khan, Adil Raja, and Shaheen Sehbai, to life imprisonment in absentia for terrorism-related offences tied to digital content supporting former prime minister Imran Khan during the unrest.
Source:
Reuters
Source:
Hengaw
A South Korean court issues a new six-month detention warrant for former president Yoon Suk Yeol after indicting him on additional charges linked to his declaration of martial law in 2024, citing the risk of evidence tampering.
Source:
Reuters
Business and economy
BYD Company, based in China, surpasses the United States-based Tesla, Inc., as the world's best-selling electric vehicle automaker after selling 2.26 million vehicles in 2025, overtaking Tesla's 1.64 million.
Source:
DW
Armed conflicts and attacks
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen launches airstrikes in Hadhramaut Governorate, killing 20 Southern Transitional Council (STC) fighters and leaving more than 20 others injured.
Yemeni civil war (2014–present)2025 Southern Yemen offensiveSaudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war
Source:
Le Monde
The STC announces a plan to hold an independence referendum for the State of South Arabia within two years.
Source:
Reuters
Health and environment
The United Kingdom records its hottest and sunniest year in 2025 with an average temperature of 10.09 °C (50.16 °F), surpassing the 2022 record of 10.03 °C (50.05 °F).
Source:
Business Day
Disasters and accidents
A M 6.5 earthquake strikes 14 km (8.7 mi) off the coast of San Marcos, Guerrero, Mexico, killing two people and injuring 12 others.
Source:
in Spanish
Eleven people are killed and eleven others are injured after a bus and a truck collide head-on on a federal highway in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Source:
G1
Dozens of people are missing and at least 102 others are rescued after a boat carrying over 200 migrants capsizes off the coast of the North Bank Division of the Gambia.
Source:
AP
January 1
Disasters and accidents
Forty people are killed and 119 others are injured in an explosion and fire suspected to be caused by pyrotechnics at a bar in Crans-Montana, Valais, Switzerland.
Source:
The Guardian
At least 17 people are killed and 11 others are injured in flash floods caused by heavy rains and snowfall across Afghanistan.
Source:
AP
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.
Source:
Reuters
The Vondelkerk in Amsterdam, Netherlands, catches fire, collapsing the tower and leaving only the exterior walls standing.
Source:
in Dutch
Armed conflicts and attacks
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.
Source:
Reuters
A Palestinian is killed and another is injured when Israeli forces open fire on stone-throwers near Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, Nablus, West Bank.
Source:
Reuters
One person is killed and another is injured in Russian drone strikes on Dniprovskyi District, Kherson, Ukraine.
Source:
RBC-Ukraine
Business and economy
Source:
The Sun
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
Turkmenistan legalizes the mining and exchange of cryptocurrency as digital assets, but maintains that digital currency cannot be used as legal tender.
Source:
AP
Politics and elections
China imposes a 13 percent value-added tax on birth control drugs and devices as part of efforts to address a continuing decline in national birth rates.
Source:
Reuters
Source:
Swiss Info
Law and crime
Five civilians are killed in clashes with security forces across Azna, Lorestan, and Lordegan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran, during demonstrations over rising living costs.
Source:
The Times of Israel
The Venezuelan government releases 88 political prisoners who were detained and jailed during protests against the results of the presidential election last year.
Source:
DW