Source:
The Sun 
January 1
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
Turkmenistan legalizes the mining and exchange of cryptocurrency as digital assets, but maintains that digital currency cannot be used as legal tender.
Source:
AP
Disasters and accidents
At least 46 people are killed and around 100 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 eleven 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 church in Amsterdam, Netherlands, catches fire, collapsing the tower and leaving only the exterior walls standing.
Source:
in Dutch
Armed conflicts and attacks
One person is killed and another is injured in Russian drone strikes on Dniprovskyi District, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Source:
RBC-Ukraine
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
Law and crime
Two civilians are killed in clashes with security forces in Lordegan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Iran, during demonstrations over rising living costs.
Source:
The Times of Israel
Politics and elections
Source:
Swiss Info
December 31
Law and crime
A Basij officer is killed and 13 others are injured 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
At least three informal miners are killed in a shooting in Pataz District, Department of La Libertad, Peru. Two people are arrested.
Source:
Reuters
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
The United States imposes sanctions on four Venezuelan companies in the oil industry and four oil tankers.
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
Armed conflicts and attacks
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
Russian authorities report 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
29 al-Shabaab militants are killed by the Somali Armed Forces in Jabad Godane, Middle Shabelle, Somalia.
Source:
Reuters
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