Hong Kong Hong Kong opposition figure Jimmy Lai is sentenced to 20 years in prison for violating a national security law following a two-year trial. Eight others, including six former "Apple Daily" executives and two pro-democracy activists, are also sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.
2026 political prisoner release in Venezuela Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa is kidnapped by heavily armed men in civilian clothing just hours after being released from prison in Caracas.
Capsizes At least 53 people are killed or missing, including two babies, and two others are rescued when a rubber boat capsizes north of Zuwarah, Tripolitania, Libya.
Israeli–Palestinian conflict An Israeli airstrike destroys a residential building in Gaza City, Palestine. One Palestinian has been killed with five others reported wounded.
Russo-Ukrainian war Russian forces launch a large-scale attack on Ukraine using drones and ballistic missiles, killing at least six people, including a 10-year-old boy and his mother in Kharkiv, while dozens of others are wounded.
Articles The post-truth and the contextMost of the daily information we see on the mainstream media today is the news equivalent of fast-food.
Super Bowl LX In American football, the Seattle Seahawks defeat the New England Patriots, 29–13, to win their second Super Bowl, and their first in 12 years. Seahawks running back (RB) Kenneth Walker III is awarded MVP, the first RB to receive the award in 28 years.
Politics of Australia The Liberal–National Coalition of Australia reforms in Opposition following its second split in the span of a year.
2026 Thai general election Thai citizens vote to elect all 500 seats in the House of Representatives, with the conservative Bhumjaithai Party winning the most seats. Voters also approved the beginning of a multi-stage drafting process to replace the current constitution.
2026 Portuguese presidential election The postponement of elections in some municipalities are expected due to recent windstorms, including impacts from Storm Kristin.
Socialist Party candidate António José Seguro is elected President of Portugal, defeating CHEGA leader André Ventura in the second round.
2026 Japanese general election Japanese citizens vote to elect all 465 seats in the House of Representatives, with the conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party winning an overwhelming majority.
2025–26 Republika Srpska presidential election Independent Social Democrat candidate Siniša Karan wins a partial rerun of the Republika Srpska presidential election held after irregularities in the November vote, defeating Serb Democratic Party candidate Branko Blanuša in balloting limited to 136 polling stations.
2026 Spanish regional elections In Aragon, Spain, the ruling People's Party wins the election, albeit without a majority and losing two seats, while the Socialists' Party comes second matching its worst result ever and the far-right Vox party doubles its votes and seats.
Epstein files Mona Juul, Norway's ambassador to Iraq and Jordan, resigns after the foreign ministry opened an inquiry into her past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein, amid media reports that Epstein left money to her children.
Morgan McSweeney, the chief of staff to British prime minister Keir Starmer, resigns over his role in Peter Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to the U.S.
Iran An Iranian court sentences 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to seven years and six months in prison and two years of internal exile in South Khorasan for alleged collusion and propaganda-related charges, with the penalties running concurrently.
Human trafficking in Senegal Senegalese police arrest 14 people in Dakar and Kaolack who are allegedly involved in a human trafficking network run by a French national.
2026 political prisoner release in Venezuela Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa is released from prison after more than eight months of incarceration in Caracas.
Cuba–Nicaragua relations Nicaragua terminates visa-free entry for Cubans, revoking a policy that previously allowed thousands to transit through the country on their way to the United States.
Valencia Five people are killed and three others are injured when their truck crashes into a fence in Valencia, Bukidnon, Northern Mindanao, Philippines.
Tripoli Fifteen people are killed and eight others are injured when two adjoining five-story residential buildings collapse in Tripoli, Lebanon.
Gezawa More than 30 people are killed and many others are seriously injured in a traffic accident in Gezawa, Kano State, Nigeria.
United States embargo against Cuba Cuba suspends refueling for airliners at its airports, including José Martí International Airport, saying it has exhausted the country's fuel supply due to the U.S. blockade of the island and the end of fuel supplies from Venezuela.
Nigerian bandit conflict One person is killed in a shooting attack by heavily armed bandits in a community in Kwara State, Nigeria.
Russo-Ukrainian war A 65-year-old man accused of shooting and critically injuring lieutenant general Vladimir Alekseyev on February 6 is detained in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is transported to Moscow, Russia.
Haitian crisis The mandate for the Transitional Presidential Council in Haiti expires, with the powers of the presidency transferred to Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who survived a removal attempt by the council two weeks ago.
Police Police detain 313 people involved in a raid on the Aristotle University campus in Thessaloniki, Greece, after they attacked a group of riot police.
Police arrest a woman and seize over 10,500 blasting gelatin sticks, wires, and detonators from a lorry carrying onions parked at a bricks manufacturing unit in Chemmad, Kerala, India.
Bashkir State Medical University attack Seven people are injured, including the perpetrator and four Indian nationals, in a mass stabbing at the Bashkir State Medical University in Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia.
2026 Winter Olympics Anti-Olympics protestors and police clash in Milan, Italy, with officers and their vans being targeted with fireworks and firecrackers.
Suspected saboteurs damage rail infrastructure in different locations near Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, disrupting journeys on the first full day of the Winter Olympics.
Algeria–United Arab Emirates relations Algeria begins formal procedures to terminate its 2013 air transport agreement with the United Arab Emirates.
Restaurant Two people killed, nine others are injured, and several are trapped, including students, when a three-story restaurant collapses in Kota, Rajasthan, India.
Yamuna Expressway Six people are killed and three are injured after a truck rams into a bus on the Yamuna Expressway, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Biotechnology Eight people are killed in an explosion at a biotechnology factory in Shanyin County, Shanxi, China.
Minibus Fifteen people are killed after a minibus veers off a road and crashes into a valley near Badakhshan province, Afghanistan.
Saudi Arabia–Syria relations Saudi Arabia and Syria sign agreements covering a joint low-cost carrier, a new international airport in Aleppo, and a US$1 billion telecommunications project as part of broader investment efforts following the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Syria.
Nigerian bandit conflict Armed men kill three people and kidnap eleven others, including a Catholic priest, in Kaduna State, Nigeria.
2026 Islamabad mosque bombing Pakistani security forces arrest four people allegedly associated with the Khorasan Islamic State, accusing them of bombing the Shia mosque in Islamabad yesterday.
Sudanese civil war At least 24 people are killed, including eight children, in a drone strike by the Rapid Support Forces on a vehicle carrying displaced families near Er Rahad, North Kordofan, Sudan.
Russo-Ukrainian war Ukraine schedules emergency power outages across the country citing Russian attacks on thermal power stations.
Israeli–Palestinian conflict Three Palestinians are injured when Israeli settlers attack residents in the northern Jordan Valley.
An Israeli airstrike destroys a residential building outside the areas controlled by Israel in Zaytun Quarter, Gaza Strip, Palestine.