Current events: 2026-04-26

[Wikipedia Current Events]

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Mali War
  • 2026 Mali attacks
    • Tuareg rebels reach an agreement that allows the Russian African Corps to withdraw from Kidal, Mali. (France 24)
    • Malian troops and Russian mercenaries withdraw from Kidal after yesterday’s attacks. (AP)
    • Flights resume at the Modibo Keita International Airport in Bamako, Mali following yesterday's attacks. (Seneweb)

Disasters and accidents

• Wildfires in 2026
  • Japan deploys 1,400 firefighters to fight wildfires in Ōtsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Tōhoku region. Another three wildfires have been spotted in Nagaoka and Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, and Kitakata, Fukushima Prefecture. (Reuters) (NHK) (NHK) (NHK)
• Fourteen people are killed in lightning strikes amid heavy rain across Bangladesh. (The Business Standard)

Health and environment

• Shark attacks in Australia
  • The National Parks and Wildlife Service and Surf Life Saving close several beaches in the Royal National Park, New South Wales, Australia, after sharks gather around a washed-up whale carcass, increasing shark activity. (AFP via The Manila Times) (Daily Mail)

Law and crime

• Human rights in Ba'athist Syria, War crimes in the Syrian civil war,National Commission for Transitional Justice (Syria)
  • The first public trial of officials linked to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad opens in Damascus with Atef Najib, former head of security in Daraa Governorate, the only one present to stand trial. Bashar and his brother Maher al-Assad are to be tried in absentia. (AP)

Politics and elections

• Exiled Tibetans vote in a global election organized by the Central Tibetan Administration to choose representatives to its parliament, with polling held in multiple countries outside China. (AFP via France 24)

Sports

• 2026 London Marathon
  • Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha become the first people to run a marathon in under two hours, with Sawe setting a new world record of 1:59:30. Tigst Assefa also sets a new world record for a women-only marathon at 2:15:41. (AP)

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