AI boom Japan approves election rules requiring AI-generated images and videos on social media to be labeled and prohibiting false or distorted information about candidates, with the measures taking effect in March.
Shootings by U.S. immigration agents in the second Trump administration The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement suspends vehicle stops related to immigration enforcement following the recent shootings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas, and Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, U.S.
2026 United States cyclosporiasis outbreak The U.S. CDC reports 7,000 cases nationwide of cyclosporiasis, which is caused by cyclospora cayetanensis.
2024–2026 Cuba blackouts Cuba suffers its third nationwide blackout in less than 10 days and fifth of 2026, as the state utility reports a complete grid failure amid fuel shortages that complicate power restoration.
Sudanese civil war The Sudanese Armed Forces say that the 4th Infantry Division's 13th Brigade have taken control of the Blue Nile town of Fashfoun following days of clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North.
Middle Eastern crisis The first day of direct negotiations and the sixth round of peace talks between Israel and Lebanon begins at the U.S. embassy in Rome, Italy.
United States president Donald Trump cancels a proposal to implement a 20% fee on cargo ships transiting through the strait.
Iran fires projectiles at two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz associated with the United Arab Emirates, killing one mariner and injuring eight others.