All news: Thursday 12 February 2026

2025–26 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season

At least 31 people are killed, 36 others are injured, and several are missing as Cyclone Gezani makes landfall in Madagascar.

2026 Sarajevo tram derailment

A tram derails in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, killing one person and injuring four.

2025–2026 China–Japan diplomatic crisis

The Japanese fisheries agency seize a Chinese fishing vessel and arrest its captain who failed to stop for inspection within Japan's exclusive economic zone off Nagasaki Prefecture, marking the first such seizure since 2022.

Dominican Republic–United States relations

The United States announces the closure of its Drug Enforcement Administration office in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, citing unspecified corruption concerns within the mission.

Kenya–Somalia relations

Kenyan president William Ruto announces the reopening of the country's Mandera border post with Somalia in April, ending a 15-year closure imposed in 2011 following attacks attributed to al-Shabaab, after earlier reopening plans were delayed due to renewed violence near the border.

2026 Bangladeshi general election

Bangladeshis vote to elect members of the Jatiya Sangsad.

2026 Barbadian general election

Projections of early morning results indicate that incumbent Barbadian prime minister Mia Mottley will win a third term in office, with the Barbados Labour Party securing all 30 seats in the House of Assembly for the third election in a row.

Internet in Portugal

Portugal's parliament approves, on first reading, a bill requiring explicit parental consent for children aged 13 to 16 to access social media, mandating age verification through the state's electronic identification system and imposing fines of up to 2 percent of global revenue on companies that fail to comply.

German economic crisis

Lufthansa staff conduct a one-day strike to protest the airline's cost-cutting measures, grounding at least 460 flights and affecting nearly 70,000 passengers.

Connections of Jeffrey Epstein

Former Norwegian prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland is charged with gross corruption over connections with American sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Two people are killed and another is injured in a shooting at a South Carolina State University dormitory building in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States.

Environmental policy of the second Trump administration

United States president Donald Trump revokes the Environmental Protection Agency's 2009 endangerment finding, which classified greenhouse gases as a threat to public health and formed the legal basis for federal climate regulations, and concurrently rescinds vehicle emission standards.

Greenhouse gas emissions by China

The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air reports that China's carbon dioxide emissions remained flat or declined slightly in 2025 by about 0.3%, marking the first full calendar year in which emissions in China did not rise despite increasing energy demand, largely due to expanded renewable energy capacity.

2026 Winter Olympics

The International Olympic Committee disqualifies Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from competing due to his helmet, which has images of Ukrainian athletes killed by Russian Armed Forces.