Thursday 15 January 2026

Disasters

At least 19 people are killed and hundreds are evacuated across South Africa in flooding caused by torrential rains in several provinces, including Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

2026 Ugandan general election

Ugandans vote to elect their president and 529 members of parliament.

Greenland crisis

French president Emmanuel Macron announces the deployment of additional military forces to Greenland after a Defense Council meeting.

United States oil blockade during Operation Southern Spear

The United States Coast Guard boards and seizes a Guyanese-flagged tanker in the Caribbean Sea that had been sanctioned by the U.S. government.

Disasters

Two people are killed when a construction crane collapses onto the Rama II Road in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, while the Thai government moves to cancel contracts, blacklist the same contractor, and suspend about a dozen of its state projects following a separate crane accident the previous day.

Japan–Philippines relations

Japan and the Philippines sign a defense pact to mutually allow tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food, and other forms of aid.

Politics

Singaporean prime minister Lawrence Wong rescinds Workers' Party MP Pritam Singh's position as the de jure Leader of the Opposition.

2026 Utrecht explosions

At least four people are injured and several buildings collapse following an explosion in the Utrecht city centre in the Netherlands. Authorities suspect it to be a gas explosion.

United Arab Emirates–Yemen relations

Faraj Al-Bahsani is dismissed from Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, becoming the last United Arab Emirates-backed member to leave the body.

Politics

Yemeni prime minister Salem Saleh bin Braik resigns, and president Rashad al-Alimi appoints Shaea Muhssin to be the new prime minister.

Science & Tech

The members of NASA commercial Crew-11, who had been docked at the International Space Station (ISS) since August 2025, land on Earth one month early following the first-ever medical evacuation from the ISS.

Business

Frigidaire issues a recall for 330,000 mini-fridges for fire risks, after previously recalling 634,000 last year.