A Democrat, Taylor Rehmet, overturned decades of Republican control in Texas’ 9th State Senate District in a special runoff held at the end of January, beating GOP candidate Leigh Wambsganss by roughly 14 points after securing about 57% of the vote. The district voted for Donald Trump by about 17 points in the 2024 presidential election, producing a net swing of roughly 30 points toward Democrats. Turnout was low: local reports put ballots cast well below general-election levels (under 100,000 and roughly 15% of registered voters). Rehmet, an Air Force veteran and union leader, will be the first Democrat to represent the seat in about four decades. Republican figures — including Sen. Ted Cruz, Rep. Tony Gonzales and other state and national conservatives — described the result as a “wake-up call,” flagging poor GOP turnout and erosion among Hispanic voters. Democrats cast the win as part of a broader pattern of off-year overperformance that they say bodes well for the 2026 midterms.

An attack on Diori Hamani International Airport in Niger’s capital Niamey on the night of Jan. 29-30, 2026 wounded several soldiers, damaged aircraft and caused fires at an air base, Niger’s authorities said. State television reported four security personnel injured; the defence ministry said security forces killed 20 attackers and detained 11. The Islamic State group’s Amaq news agency claimed responsibility in a statement published on Jan. 30, according to monitoring group SITE. Niger’s junta accused the presidents of France, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire of sponsoring the assailants, allegations denied by those states. Authorities said attackers arrived on motorcycles and may have targeted military drones and a shipment of uranium oxide concentrate stored at the airport; officials said the uranium was not affected. Niger praised Russian help in repelling the assault and has been deepening security ties with Moscow since its 2023 coup, while expelling many Western forces. The assault underlines persistent jihadist capability in the Sahel and comes amid heightened tensions between Niger’s junta and former partners.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby met in Paris at the end of January 2026 and agreed to open a new chapter in bilateral ties after more than a year of tension following N'Djamena's abrupt termination of a long‑standing defence agreement in November 2024. The talks, preceded by a verbal invitation delivered in N'Djamena by France's ambassador, produced a joint commitment to a “revitalised partnership” focused on economic cooperation — notably in energy, digital technology and agriculture — and framed by “mutual respect” rather than a security‑first agenda. No new security pact was announced; France completed the withdrawal of its last troops from Chad on 31 January 2025. The rapprochement comes amid Chad's moves to diversify partners, including a recent memorandum with Belarus, and as Paris seeks to recalibrate its Sahel policy after force reductions across the region. Both leaders signalled continued dialogue to implement agreed orientations, while also addressing regional crises such as the conflict in Sudan.

U.S. television anchor Savannah Guthrie and her siblings have publicly appealed for the safe return of their 84‑year‑old mother, Nancy Guthrie, who is believed to have been abducted from her home near Tucson, Arizona. Authorities say Nancy Guthrie was last seen late on Jan. 31 after being dropped at her Catalina Foothills house and was reported missing on Feb. 1. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has described the residence as a crime scene, citing signs of forced entry, a small amount of blood and other evidence now under forensic and DNA examination. Investigators — including the Pima County homicide team and federal partners — say there are no suspects or confirmed leads and have urged the public to come forward. Multiple media outlets reported receiving purported ransom notes, including an alleged bitcoin demand, but the sheriff has said a ransom motive is not established. Savannah Guthrie posted a video asking kidnappers to prove her mother is alive and said the family is ready to talk; the anchor has stepped back from scheduled work, including planned Olympic coverage. Law enforcement continues to canvass the area and process tips.

A Malaysian High Court in Alor Setar on Feb. 3 acquitted 34-year-old French national Tom Félix of eight drug-related charges, ending nearly two and a half years of detention. Judge Evawani Farisyta Mohammad found prosecutors had not proven Félix had control, custody or possession of cannabis seized from a shared area of a home where he lived with a Malaysian business partner. Authorities had alleged 1.86 kilograms of cannabis were found in the property and 11.7 grams on Félix. If convicted, he faced the death penalty or a cumulative sentence of up to 104 years, 54 strokes of the cane and a €27,000 fine. Félix, a former Veolia executive, appeared thin in court; his parents embraced after the verdict. French officials, including Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, welcomed the decision and Félix was at the local immigration office expected to be handed his passport for return to France. The ruling highlights the heavy penalties in Malaysia’s drug laws, though death sentences are no longer mandatory and no executions have been carried out since 2018.

NATO has begun military planning for a new Arctic operation named “Arctic Sentry” while Canada and France moved to open full diplomatic missions in Nuuk, Greenland, in response to recent U.S. pressure over the island. On Feb. 3, a spokesman for NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe said planning was under way for an enhanced vigilance activity after U.S. President Donald Trump’s public remarks about acquiring or increasing U.S. control of Greenland raised alarm among European allies and Greenlandic leaders. The move follows Denmark-led exercises in the region and reports that U.S. General Alexus G. Grynkewich ordered concrete plans. On Feb. 4 Canada’s Governor-General Mary Simon attended the opening of a Canadian consulate in Nuuk and French officials signalled a consulate opening, signalling political support for Greenland and Denmark’s sovereignty. Greenland and Danish officials have insisted sovereignty is not for negotiation even as diplomatic talks with Washington continue and NATO considers how to bolster Arctic security.

Former CNN anchor and independent journalist Don Lemon says federal agents arrested him in Los Angeles after he offered to turn himself in on federal civil‑rights charges tied to his coverage of a Jan. 18 anti‑ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lemon told Jimmy Kimmel and other interviewers that roughly a dozen agents “jostled” and handcuffed him in a hotel, produced a warrant later on a phone and held him overnight; he was released on his own recognizance after a Los Angeles hearing and has pleaded not guilty. A grand jury in Minnesota indicted Lemon and several others, including independent reporter Georgia Fort, on counts that include conspiracy to deprive religious worshippers of their rights and violations of the FACE Act. The case has drawn broad media attention and political reaction: supporters and press‑freedom groups warned of a chilling effect on journalism, while Trump administration allies defended the prosecutions and commentators such as Senator JD Vance called the DOJ’s case “rock solid.” Lemon has continued public appearances, saying he was acting as a journalist and warning the arrests threaten the First Amendment; his next court date is set for Feb. 9 in Minnesota.

The US Central Intelligence Agency announced on Feb. 4–5, 2026 that it will cease publishing the CIA World Factbook, the agency said in a brief website statement that gave no reason for the decision. The Factbook, first issued in the 1960s as a classified reference and made publicly available in unclassified form from the 1970s and online in the 1990s, compiled basic statistics on countries’ populations, economies, militaries, resources and societies. Widely used by journalists, academics, students and other federal agencies, the resource drew millions of annual visits and included thousands of public-domain photographs. The move follows Director John Ratcliffe’s pledge to end programs that do not advance the agency’s core missions and comes amid broader US intelligence staffing reductions and buyout offers tied to the current administration’s priorities. The CIA’s statement said the Factbook had “sunset” and encouraged readers to remain curious about the world, but did not indicate whether the data will be archived, transferred to other agencies, or maintained elsewhere.

Cyprus authorities and the British Sovereign Base Areas police confirmed that a body discovered on Avdimou beach in southern Cyprus in mid‑January has been identified as Vladislav Baumgertner, the 53‑year‑old former chief executive of Russian potash producer Uralkali. Baumgertner was reported missing from his Limassol home on Jan. 7; his remains were recovered on Jan. 15 and DNA testing confirmed his identity this week. The location where the body was found lies within one of the two British military base areas on the island, which have their own police and courts. The Criminal Investigation Department of the bases is leading an inquiry into the circumstances and cause of death and has notified the family. Baumgertner had lived in Cyprus for several years; he was briefly detained in Belarus in 2013 after a dispute between Uralkali and Belarusian Potash Co. that followed Uralkali’s withdrawal from a major export joint venture and led to a probe in Russia at the time.

France this week moved to phase out US videoconferencing services in its public administration, ordering 2.5 million civil servants to replace Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex and GoTo Meeting with a homegrown platform called Visio by 2027. The decision is the most concrete instance of a broader European push — prompted in part by increasingly confrontational rhetoric from US President Donald Trump and earlier US sanctions affecting international bodies — to reduce dependence on non‑European cloud, software and platform providers. EU officials say the bloc relies on foreign suppliers for more than 80% of digital products and services and plan a package on “tech sovereignty” covering cloud, AI and semiconductors in March. Other signposts include Germany’s Schleswig‑Holstein migrating away from Microsoft to open‑source tools, Austrian military moves to free software, and Franco‑German initiatives on sovereign cloud and AI. Policymakers and industry warn that replacing entrenched US services will be costly and technically challenging, and that Europe currently lacks cloud and chip capacity at the scale of US providers, even as sovereign cloud offerings and European vendors seek to expand.

Early on Feb. 4, 2026 a train derailed inside Selhurst depot in south‑east London and a separate signalling fault between Norwood Junction and London Blackfriars/London Bridge triggered widespread disruption across Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) services. Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express services were hit hardest: several routes were suspended (including Brighton–Cambridge, London Bridge–East Grinstead and Bedford–Three Bridges), trains were cancelled or revised and passengers faced delays of up to an hour. The derailed empty unit was re‑railed and Network Rail said there were no confirmed injuries, but the obstruction prevented other trains leaving the depot. Thameslink warned around 134 trains and crew were out of position overnight, raising the risk of knock‑on effects into the following morning. Operators issued, then lifted, a “do not travel” alert; alternative ticketing arrangements were put in place and passengers were advised to check before travelling. Disruption persisted into Feb. 5 with reduced services and some localised suspensions expected to continue through the day.

Amnesty International says new testimonies from North Korean escapees detail public executions, long forced-labour sentences and brutal punishment for consuming South Korean TV dramas and K-pop. The rights group conducted 25 in-depth interviews in 2025 with people who fled between 2012 and mid-2020. Interviewees named recent hits including Squid Game, Crash Landing on You and Descendants of the Sun, and K-pop acts such as BTS, as reasons for arrest or harsher penalties. Witnesses described children being forced to attend executions, a system of bribery that spares wealthier families, and specialised enforcement units carrying out searches. Amnesty cited North Korea’s 2020 Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act, which criminalises South Korean content and prescribes five to 15 years’ forced labour for possession or viewing, with death or heavier penalties for distributing “large amounts” or organising group viewings. Separate reporting by Radio Free Asia noted at least one execution in 2021 linked to distribution of Squid Game. Despite risks, escapees said USB drives and smuggled devices keep South Korean media circulating inside the country.

King Charles III has appointed Monday 15 June 2026 as a bank holiday in Scotland to mark the nation’s return to the men’s FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1998. The announcement by Buckingham Palace follows a request from Scottish First Minister John Swinney that the day after Scotland’s opening fixture — a 2am UK kick‑off against Haiti on Sunday 14 June — be designated as an annual holiday. The palace cited its powers under section 1(3) of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in appointing the holiday, saying it was desirable to mark Scotland’s achievement. Mr Swinney welcomed the decision on social media, framing the day as an opportunity for nationwide celebration and to boost tourism and business interest. The appointment applies only to Scotland and does not extend to other parts of the United Kingdom, including England, prompting discussion about regional differences in public holiday arrangements around major sporting events.

Federal immigration authorities have quietly purchased and scouted large industrial warehouses across the United States to convert into detention and processing centres, according to public deeds and reporting from Feb. 2026. Documents show Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) paid $87.4 million for a 520,000‑square‑foot facility in Upper Bern Township (Hamburg Logistics Centre), Berks County, Pennsylvania, that officials say could be refitted for about 1,500 beds. Other recent acquisitions and bids include sites in Arizona (about $70 million), Maryland (a $102.4 million deed), Texas (San Antonio) and multiple Pennsylvania locations; reporting suggests the agency is considering at least 23 industrial sites nationwide and planning support for larger “mega” centres in places such as El Paso and Hutchins with capacities reported into the thousands. The purchases are being advanced under expanded detention funding in the administration’s legislative package called the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Local officials and residents in several states have pushed back—Kansas City passed a moratorium on non‑city detention sites, some owners have withdrawn from sales, and communities cite loss of local property tax revenue, proximity to schools and daycare centres, and public‑health and humanitarian concerns. Independent data (TRAC) cited in reporting shows a large share of people in ICE custody have no criminal record, complicating the agency’s stated rationale.

A series of media reports and TV commentary this week highlighted growing public scepticism about President Donald Trump’s commitment to free and fair elections after he urged the federal government to take over voting operations in several states. CNN data chief Harry Enten cited an ABC News/Washington Post poll showing 56% of U.S. adults say Trump is not committed to free and fair elections, with distrust stronger among independents (around 65%). Enten also noted just 22% of respondents have a favourable view of the federal government. Separate Pew data cited on-air found 69% of Americans felt their local 2024 elections were run “very well,” compared with 43% who said the same of national elections. Trump made the nationalisation remarks from the Oval Office, arguing federal intervention is needed in some states and cities — a proposal critics say would raise constitutional and federalism questions and intensify partisan tensions.

Delhi police data show 807 people were reported missing in the national capital between January 1 and 15, 2026 — an average of about 54 cases per day. Of the total, 509 were women and girls and 298 were men. Minors accounted for 191 cases (146 girls), with 169 teenagers among them; 616 were adults. Authorities have traced 235 people so far, leaving 572 untraced. The short-term spike echoes a wider trend: 24,508 people were reported missing in Delhi in 2025, about 60% of them women, and decade-long records (2016–2026) show roughly 232,737 missing-person reports with about 52,000 cases unresolved. Delhi Police have sought to downplay a sudden surge, noting monthly averages of around 2,000 missing-person reports and saying numbers have been broadly stable over the past decade. Opposition figures, including former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, have publicly raised safety concerns following the January figures.

A bundle of gas-filled party balloons burst into flames inside a residential elevator at Anmol Tower in Goregaon West, Mumbai, on the night of Feb. 2, 2026, sending a ball of fire through the cabin and injuring two people. CCTV footage shows three occupants — a woman with a trolley, a delivery worker carrying a large bunch of balloons and a third man — entering the lift moments before the balloons ignited. Both the woman, identified as 21-year-old Himani Tapriya, and the delivery worker, 32-year-old Raju Kumar Mahato, suffered burn injuries and were hospitalised in stable condition. Officials said the lift doors had not fully closed when the blast occurred. Police have registered a case under Section 125B of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the balloon shop owner for allegedly failing to follow safety precautions. Investigators say the balloons may have been filled with a highly flammable gas such as hydrogen and warned residents and delivery personnel against carrying flammable gas balloons in enclosed spaces.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration announced on Feb. 5, 2026 that it seized more than 200 website domains tied to an India-based transnational criminal organisation running illegal online pharmacies that sold controlled substances into the United States. The network, investigated by the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Field Division since 2022 with support from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, is accused of shipping diverted or counterfeit medicines — including pills laced with fentanyl or methamphetamine — without valid prescriptions and of causing at least six fatal and four non-fatal overdoses. Operations beginning Jan. 27, 2026 led to the arrest of four individuals and administrative actions including five Immediate Suspension Orders and one Order to Show Cause against registrants. The DEA said many sites falsely claimed US locations and FDA approval. Authorities have sent more than 20,000 letters to customers as part of the probe and said the action involved cooperation with Indian law enforcement. The move follows prior US sanctions in 2025 targeting India-linked online pharmacies and highlights ongoing efforts to disrupt cross-border digital drug distribution.

A teenage girl is in a critical condition after she and a teenage boy were struck by a car on Tullamore Road in Clara, Co Offaly, shortly after 6.15pm on Wednesday, 5 February 2026. The girl, in her mid-teens, was treated at the scene before being transferred to Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) Crumlin in Dublin. A boy of similar age was taken to Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore with injuries described as non-life-threatening. A man in his 40s was arrested at the scene and is being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a garda station in Co Offaly. Gardaí have preserved the scene for examination by Forensic Collision Investigators and imposed local traffic diversions. Authorities have appealed for witnesses and asked anyone with dash-cam or other footage from the Tullamore Road, Frederick Street and Bridge Street areas of Clara at the time of the collision to come forward. Members of the public with information are asked to contact Tullamore Garda Station on (057) 9327600, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.

President Catherine Connolly began a three-day official visit to Northern Ireland on Feb. 4, 2026, the first of her presidency, meeting First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little‑Pengelly at Stormont Castle. She delivered an address at Ulster University in north Belfast, describing Northern Ireland as a “beacon of light” that shows “peace is possible,” and invoked Article Three of the Irish constitution while stressing shared cultural heritage. Connolly visited community initiatives in Belfast, including the cross‑community basketball group PeacePlayers — drawing attention when she sank a backwards shot — and will continue engagements in County Derry. On Thursday she is due to visit the Museum of Free Derry, view an exhibition on Bloody Sunday and meet about 50 family members of those killed or injured in 1972; last Friday marked the 54th anniversary. The tour fulfils an inauguration pledge to make her first official trip to the North and emphasises reconciliation, truth and accountability for victims of the Troubles.

The Louvre said on Feb. 4-5, 2026 that the diamond- and emerald‑studded crown of Empress Eugénie, damaged and dropped by thieves during the daylight robbery of the Galerie d'Apollon on Oct. 19, 2025, is almost intact and will be fully restored. The museum reported the crown's framework was deformed but most component parts remain present; only one decorative element is missing and only a small number of diamonds were lost. Restoration will be carried out by an accredited restorer chosen via a public tender and overseen by an expert advisory board chaired by Louvre director Laurence des Cars. Five French jewellery houses have offered technical support. The wider heist, estimated at about €88 million, remains under investigation: several suspects have been arrested but key items are still unlocated. The theft prompted scrutiny of museum security, staff strikes over working conditions and a recent rise in non‑European visitor fees that the Louvre says will help fund renovations and improve security.