Nine crew members were kidnapped off the Chinese fishing vessel LIANPENGYU 828 after the vessel was boarded by a group of armed pirates approximately 7 NM/ 13Km south-southwest of Ekwata in the Gulf of Guinea. The nine abductees, comprising of five Chinese nationals and four Indonesian nationals. Following the incident the vessel and its three remaining crew were escorted into Libreville by the Gabonese navy vessel. (cwdynamics.com, 12 January 2026)

Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) militants carried out coordinated attacks on three industrial factories in the western Kayes region, causing enormous damage and kidnapping civilians as part of a campaign to cripple the country’s economy. The kidnappings occurred at industrial sites near the town of Bafoulabe, where nearly 160 militants on motorcycles stormed facilities including a calcium carbonate, lime and plaster factory and two other factories in the same area were burned. Between three and four civilians were kidnapped during the assault, but the identities of the  victims were not disclosed. A local official from Kayes confirmed the kidnappings and said the same sites had been attacked a few months earlier, while Malian security sources said the government sent reinforcements to the area after the attacks. No group had formally claimed responsibility, although JNIM had in June 2025 threatened to target foreign industries operating in Mali. After failing to sustain a fuel blockade of the capital, JNIM has shifted toward hitting mining sites, foreign owned factories and other critical production hubs in a bid to disrupt government revenues and deter investment in an already fragile business climate. (barrons.com, 12 January 2026)

Iran was plunged into near isolation after authorities imposed a nationwide internet and phone blackout that has lasted more than 12 hours, cancelled flights, and disrupted media access in an effort to suppress the largest anti-government protests in years. The shutdown followed announcements by senior judicial and security officials vowing tough action but failed to deter crowds from gathering in cities across all 31 provinces, including Tehran, Mashhad, Bushehr, Shiraz and Isfahan, with large numbers of men and women of various ages reported on the streets. According to tech monitoring group NetBlocks, the internet outage remains nearly total, with phone lines also cut in many areas. Protesters have set fire to government buildings and symbols of state power, with videos showing burning vehicles, buses, banks, metro stations, structures and street objects; Tehran saw thousands marching amid fires, while footage from Karaj showed people fleeing after shots were heard. The unrest began in late December over economic hardship, soaring inflation and the sharp decline of the rial, and has since evolved into broader anti-government demonstrations driven largely by young people angered by economic conditions, enforced social norms and state priorities abroad. The protests intensified after Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince and son of the shah deposed in the 1979 revolution, called on the public to take to the streets, with some demonstrators chanting “Long live the shah,” including in Khomeini’s birthplace. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused protesters of serving foreign interests and vowed not to yield, while state television blamed “terror agents linked to the United States and Israel” for the unrest, claiming without detail that there were casualties and widespread damage. United States President Donald Trump said Washington had warned Tehran it would respond strongly if the regime harmed protesters. Rights monitors report dozens killed, hundreds wounded and more than 2,000 arrests during nearly two weeks of demonstrations, while Iranian authorities have acknowledged a lower death toll including members of the security forces, and President Masoud Pezhakian said the government intends to exercise restraint even as the scale of the blackout and security response underscored a deepening legitimacy crisis amid renewed sanctions and a deteriorating economy.

Rights groups reported that at least 35 people have been killed in Iran during 10 days of protests that began in Tehran’s bazaar over the plunging value of the rial and soaring inflation, with some activists saying the fatalities include four children and two Basij members, a paramilitary force under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and that more than 1,200 arrests had been made as of 5 January. The demonstrations, while smaller in scale than the 2022–23 unrest following Mahsa Amini’s death, have spread beyond economic grievances to broader dissatisfaction with the clerical leadership, with chants critical of the country’s rulers heard in multiple cities. Iranian authorities have acknowledged economic hardships and promised reforms to stabilize the currency and protect purchasing power, including changes to subsidies and central bank leadership. Despite these promises, the protests continue, and security forces are increasingly becoming more violent in their crackdowns in some locations. The government accuses foreign actors of exploiting dissent and has vowed to crack down on what it calls “rioters,” while Iran faces international pressure, including U.S. President Donald Trump’s support for protesters and threats of action if security forces harm demonstrators.

At around 4 pm local time, a military convoy traveling from Maiduguri to Damasak in Mobbar Local Government Area was ambushed by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants near Bindundul village, located about 20 km 12.5 miles from the town of Kareto in northeastern Borno State. After a landmine detonated, destroying an armored vehicle, the militants opened heavy fire on the remaining vehicles. At least nine soldiers were killed, and five others were seriously injured in the attack. The attack highlights growing insecurity in northeast Nigeria, where ISWAP and Boko Haram have intensified operations against both military and civilian targets in recent months.