2026
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2026 (MMXXVI) is the current year, and is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2026th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 26th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 7th year of the 2020s decade.
The early part of the year saw escalating armed conflicts in the Americas and Middle East. In January, the United States launched a military operation in Venezuela that captured sitting President Nicolás Maduro, leading to a blockade of Venezuelan oil exports that contributed to a crisis in Cuba. In Syria, an offensive by the Syrian government led to the Syrian Democratic Forces eventually being integrated into the Syrian Army, while in Yemen, a counteroffensive by the Yemeni government led to the collapse of the Southern Transitional Council. In February, Pakistan launched airstrikes against Afghanistan, leading to an open war between both nations. In Iran, in response to authorities cracking down on protests, the United States and Israel began a war in late February with the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which resulted in widespread economic grief, fuel shortages and retaliatory strikes on Gulf nations, as well as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and a naval blockade.
The continued release of the Epstein files that began the previous year has influenced scrutiny, media coverage, and in some cases arrests of high profile individuals in politics, business, and academia in the western world. American businessman Elon Musk became the first person to have a verified net worth exceeding $1 trillion upon the initial public offering of his company SpaceX in June.
In politics, a conservative wave spread through Latin America, with right-wing victories in Colombia, Costa Rica and Peru while far right parties in Europe continued to gain ground in the United Kingdom and across the European Union, though the long ruling right wing government in Hungary lost power after ruling since 2010, and Portugal elected a centre-left social democrat over a right-wing populist in their presidential election.
In science and technology, the dominant headline has been NASA's Artemis II flyby of the Moon, the first crewed flight beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972, sending the first woman, Black man, and non-American beyond low Earth orbit. Artificial intelligence has continued to advance, with increasing focus on scaling models, infrastructure, and commercial applications. These developments have also brought growing scrutiny of the potential risks posed by increasingly capable AI systems, including concerns over alignment, misuse, loss of human control, and their wider societal and economic effects.
In sports, the 2026 Winter Olympics were the first Olympic Games to be officially co-hosted by two cities (Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy). The 2026 FIFA World Cup became the first edition to be hosted by three nations (United States, Mexico and Canada) and the first to include 48 teams, in addition to setting the record for the highest attendance in World Cup history; a short time later, a crisis in FIFA erupted following a proposal of creation of a commercial subsidiary, largely rejected by confederations.
In health, an epidemic of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization.
In nautics, several incidents, such as the hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius, the capsizing of the ferry Mbuya Nehanda on Lake Kariba and the fire on the vessel MV June Aster, resulted in large numbers of casualties.
In seismology, earthquakes in the Philippines, Venezuela, Colombia and Indonesia caused widespread destruction.