Current events: 2026-01-18

[Wikipedia Current Events]

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian conflict
  • SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes
    • 2026 northeastern Syria offensive
      • Tribal forces allied with the Syrian Army take control of the Mashlab neighbourhood in Raqqa from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (Al Jazeera)
      • Syrian government forces seize control of the Al-Omar field in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, the largest oil field in Syria, following the withdrawal of SDF forces. (BBC News)
  • The Syrian government announces a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces. (AP News) (BBC News)
• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Dnipro strikes, Kharkiv strikes, Khmelnytskyi strikes, Odesa strikes, Zaporizhzhia strikes
    • At least two people are killed in Russian drone strikes across Ukraine, including in Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, and Odesa. (DW)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Binaliw landslide
  • Search operations in the collapsed waste management facility in Cebu City, Philippines, conclude after retrieving the last victim, bringing the total number of deaths to 36. (GMA News)
• 2026 Indonesia Air ATR 42 crash
  • Search and rescue finds the wreckage of an Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42-512 aircraft that crashed in Maros Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The crew recovers one body of the eleven passengers from a ravine. (AP)
• 2026 Adamuz train derailments
  • Twenty-one people are killed and 25 more are injured after two high speed trains derailed in Adamuz, province of Córdoba, Spain. (The Independent) (El País)
• Five people are killed and over 80 others are injured after a bus overturned due to brake failure in Latehar district, India. (Devdiscourse)
• Two people are killed, 66 others are injured, and five are reported missing in an explosion at a manufacturing plant in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China. (CTV News)

Politics and elections

• 2026 Portuguese presidential election
  • Portuguese citizens vote in the first round of the presidential election between 11 candidates to succeed incumbent Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who has reached his term limit. Socialist Party candidate António José Seguro and CHEGA leader André Ventura advance to the second round. (AP)

Sports

• 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final
  • Senegal wins the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Rabat, after defeating hosts Morocco 1–0 in extra time. (Reuters)
• 2026 Australian Open
  • At the 2026 Australian Open, Venus Williams becomes the oldest player to participate in the women's singles draw at the age of 45 years and 7 months, surpassing Kimiko Date's record from 2015. (The Independent)

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