Latest news for 2 January 2026

BULGARIA

New year, new notes.

Bulgaria has become the 21st country to adopt the euro, nearly 20 years after the Black Sea nation first joined the EU. (Euronews)

Comment: While ECB chief Christine Lagarde has hailed the move as a demonstration of the bloc’s “shared values and collective strength”, folks inside Bulgaria are divided: backers hope it’ll help boost the EU’s poorest economy and push back against Russian influence; critics worry about inflation, and argue Bulgarians should’ve been consulted via a referendum first.

FINLAND

Ship seized.

Finnish authorities have seized a Russian cargo ship over the latest “aggravated sabotage” of an undersea cable connecting Estonia and Finland. (Politico)

Comment: We wrote about these suspiciously frequent Baltic incidents here.

BOLIVIA

Dynamite.

A week on, miners (backed by teacher unions) continue to protest against new business-friendly president Rodrigo Paz and his plan to end costly fuel subsidies. (AP)

Comment: Paz is also relatively US-friendly, welcoming the first American ambassador to Bolivia in 17 years.

THAILAND

Freed soldiers.

Thailand has released 18 Cambodian soldiers held since last July as part of a new ceasefire deal. In this latest iteration of their border spat, 20 days of clashes left at least 101 people dead and more than half a million displaced. (Reuters)

YEMEN

Cancelled, delayed, late.

UAE-backed separatists have shut Aden airport in defiance of Yemen’s Saudi-backed internationally-recognised government. (Haaretz)

Comment: It’s all part of the UAE-Saudi rivalry now playing out in Yemen — we recently explored the background here.

VENEZUELA

Drones on the doorstep?

The US has sanctioned a Venezuelan state aerospace company accused of assembling Iranian combat drones, citing "reckless proliferation of deadly weapons." A photo has since emerged appearing to show a Mohajer-6 drone operational at a Venezuelan air base. The drones can surveil and strike, and Venezuela is also reportedly developing a Shahed-136 clone with enough range to reach Puerto Rico. (Reuters / The War Zone)

Comment: The Iran-Venezuela defence relationship dates back nearly two decades, but the real US interest here is to prevent the risk to US military assets as the Trump administration continues to try and force Maduro out.

IRAN

To the streets, again.

We flagged the developing Iranian protests on Tuesday—they've now spread to smaller cities in Iran's west, with at least six killed after security forces opened fire on crowds. The regime has appointed a new central bank governor and declared a mid-week "cold weather" holiday to try and slow the protest momentum. (NYT $)

Comment: Iranian state media is spinning like crazy: Tehran Times blames "Western and Israeli actors" for hijacking "peaceful protests", while IRGC-affiliated Fars News warns of "infiltrators" turning economic grievances political. These are the largest protests since the 2022 Mahsa Amini unrest—worth watching carefully, with President Trump now warning the US will act if the regime (again) kills protestors.

SWITZERLAND

Death roll rises.

Neighbouring Italy says the death toll from the devastating New Years Eve bar fire in the Swiss Alps has now reached 47. Authorities are still investigating the cause, with sparklers and soundproofing foam seen as possible factors. (Al Jazeera)