January

• January 1
  • Bulgaria adopted the Euro, becoming the 21st member of the Eurozone. ^[1]
  • Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor of New York City, becoming the first Muslim and first Asian American to hold the office. ^[2]
• January 3 – US forces arrested president of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores following American airstrikes on military sites in northern Venezuela. ^[3]
• January 7 – Protests spread across the United States following the killing of Renée Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. ^[4]
• January 8 – Thongloun Sisoulith was re-elected as General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, the most powerful position in the one-party state. ^[5]
• January 9 – A majority of EU member states voted in favour of a free trade agreement with Mercosur. ^[6]
• January 15 – The 2026 Ugandan general election was held, with incumbent Yoweri Museveni winning a seventh consecutive term and deadly protests breaking out over the result. ^[7]
• January 17 – Protests occur throughout Greenland and Denmark over US president Donald Trump's threats to annex the territory. ^[8]
• January 18 – The first round of the 2026 Portuguese presidential election was held. ^[9]
• January 22 – The United States formally withdrew from the World Health Organization. ^[10]
• January 23
  • Tô Lâm was re-elected as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the most powerful position in the one-party state. ^[11]
  • Iliana Iotova was sworn is as president of Bulgaria following the resignation of Rumen Radev, becoming the first woman to hold the post. ^{[12] [13]}
• January 24 – The killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis fuels further protests across the United States. ^[14]
• January 27 – India and the European Union announced a trade deal after nearly 20 years of talks. ^[15]
• January 29 – The European Union designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation. ^[16]

February

• February 1
  • Former British Ambassador to the United States and cabinet member Peter Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party over links to Jeffrey Epstein. ^[17] Mandelson was later reported to the Metropolitan Police and resigned from the House of Lords over accusations he forwarded internal government emails to Epstein. ^[18]
  • Laura Fernández Delgado was elected president in the first round of the 2026 Costa Rican general election. ^[19]
• February 5 – The New START Treaty between the United States and Russia expired.
• February 8
  • The Liberal Democratic Party won a supermajority in the 2026 Japanese general election. ^[20]
  • A general election and a constitutional referendum were held in Thailand, with conservative populist party Bhumjaithai winning the largest number of seats and the adoption of a new constitution being approved. ^[21]
  • The second round of the 2026 Portuguese presidential election was held, resulting in a victory for António José Seguro. ^[22]
• February 11 – The Barbados Labour Party won every seat in the 2026 Barbadian general election. ^[23]
• February 12 – The 2026 Bangladeshi general election was held, with the Bangladesh National Party winning a landslide victory. ^[24]
• February 13 – Sussan Ley, the first female leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, was ousted by Angus Taylor. ^[25]
• February 17 – Peruvian president José Jerí was censured by Congress and replaced by José María Balcázar. ^[26]
• February 22
  • Kim Jong Un was re-elected as General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, the most powerful position in the one-party state. ^[27]
  • The 2026 Laotian parliamentary election was held.
• February 23 – Rob Jetten was sworn in as prime minister of the Netherlands, becoming both the youngest and first openly gay prime minister in Dutch history. ^[28]
• February 26 – Jersey approved the legalisation of assisted dying in a landslide vote. ^[29]
• February 26 – Green Party MP Hannah Spencer wins the 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election, in a shock result for the previously incumbent Labour Party. ^[30]

Date unknown

• April
  • If not triggered earlier, the 2026 Djiboutian presidential election will be held no later than this date.
• June – If not triggered earlier, the 2026 Algerian parliamentary election will be held no later than this date.
• July – If not triggered earlier, the 2026 São Toméan presidential election will be held no later than this date.
• September
  • The 2026 Moroccan general election is scheduled to be held.
  • The 2026 São Toméan parliamentary election is scheduled to be held.

• The 2026 Bulgarian parliamentary election is scheduled to be held.
• The 2026 Bulgarian presidential election is scheduled to be held.