Overview
- Swiss Valais authorities say an explosion followed by a rapid fire devastated a crowded basement bar around 1:30 a.m. on January 1, leaving about 40 dead and more than 100 injured, with victim identification and cause analysis ongoing.
- Images and survivor accounts under review point to lit sparklers igniting a wooden ceiling, a line of inquiry prosecutors and police are testing alongside broader safety and capacity questions at the venue.
- Madrid’s courts advance high‑profile cases to oral trial in 2026, including the tax‑fraud case against Alberto González Amador, for whom prosecutors and the state attorney seek up to three years and nine months in prison on fiscal charges.
- Actor Luis Lorenzo faces oral trial over alleged offenses against moral integrity and related counts tied to the treatment of a relative, while the ‘caso ITV’ in Móstoles is expected to reach trial with prosecutors requesting 12 years of disqualification for former mayor Noelia Posse.
- New Year policing tallies include Madrid’s first 2026 homicide in a San Cristóbal stabbing, two grave stabbings in Parla, a double execution discovered on a drifting boat in Santa Fe, Argentina, and an Andalgalá distributor robbery probe widening to possible accomplices after two suspects were found dead.