The day
Friday 2 January 2026
16 stories, biggest first.
- 1
News
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.
- 2
News2026 Guerrero earthquake
A Mw 6.5 earthquake strikes 14 km (8.7 mi) off the coast of San Marcos, Guerrero, Mexico, killing two people and injuring 12 others.
- 3
Politics
Ciudad de la Paz, a planned city in the mainland, officially becomes the new capital of Equatorial Guinea, replacing Malabo, with a decree by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Government services are to relocate within one year.
- 4
Money
BYD Auto, 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.
- 5
News2025 Southern Yemen offensive
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.
- 6
NewsBuddha Air Flight 901
An ATR 72-500, overran the runway upon landing at Bhadrapur Airport in Nepal and crashed into a creek. All 55 people on board survived, though 7 people received minor injuries and the aircraft was written off.
- 7
NewsYemeni civil war
The STC announces a plan to hold an independence referendum for the State of South Arabia within two years.
- 8
PoliticsEducation in Greece
Greece removes more than 308,000 inactive students from public university records under new education rules that end long-term dormant enrollment, reducing the official student population by almost half.
- 9
News
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.
- 10
NewsBurkina Faso–United States relations
The Alliance of Sahel States, consisting of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, bans American citizens from entering the countries, to reciprocate the U.S. banning their citizens.
- 11
Crime2022–2025 Pakistan political unrest
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.
- 12
CrimeArrest of Yoon Suk Yeol
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.
- 13
News
At least fourteen people die and several people are hospitalised after drinking contaminated water in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India.
- 14
- 15
ScienceClimate change in the United Kingdom
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).
- 16
Crime2025–2026 Iranian protests
A protester is shot dead by security forces in Harsin, Kermanshah province, Iran.
Stories adapted from Wikipedia’s Current events portal for 2 January 2026, by Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.