North Korean leaderKim Jong-un says his nation will be "developing a new strategic weapon" in the near future, after the
United States misses a year-end deadline for a restart of denuclearization talks.
(Reuters)
Austria's left-wing
Green Party agrees to form a coalition with the ruling right-wing
People's Party. This will be the first time the Green Party is part of a ruling government in the country.
(BBC News)
United States officials say "strikes have been carried out against two targets linked to Iran in
Baghdad".
(Reuters)
In response to the death of Qasem Soleimani,
U.S. PresidentDonald Trumptweets an image of an
American flag. He later defends the airstrike, claiming Soleimani "was both hated and feared" in Iran and "should have been taken out many years ago."
(The Hill)(NBC News)
The
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says Soleimani and Muhandis were "
martyred" in an attack by U.S.
helicopters. Anonymous security sources cited by
AFP say the attack killed at least eight people. The Iraqi military says three rockets hit the airport and two cars exploded.
(New Straits Times)
Homeland security warns of potential attacks from Iranian backed militias or any other potential threat. Police been put on high alert due to such threats.
(CNN)
This decision prompts protests in
Barcelona. Torra, in a special press conference after the meeting of Catalan cabinet, calls the decision "a
coup d'état against Catalan institutions" while an extraordinary session of the
Catalan Parliament is summoned for 4 January.
(Yahoo! News)
U.S. president
Donald Trump vows to target 52 sites significant to Iranians and Iranian culture if Iran "strikes any Americans or American assets."
(Politico)(Al Jazeera)
New records for the highest recorded temperature are set in Greater
Sydney (48.9 °C (120.0 °F) at
Penrith) and
Canberra (44 °C (111 °F)).
(The Guardian)
In the early hours of the morning, a car crashes into a group of
German tourists in
Luttach,
Italy, killing six people and injuring 11 others. The driver was reportedly drunk and is charged with murder.
(Bangkok Post)
Thirty-six people are killed and others injured after a building under construction
collapses in
Kep,
Cambodia.
(Reuters)
Despite trying to enter and vote, self-declared interim
presidentJuan Guaidó is denied entry to the Assembly. Dissident opposition politician
Luis Parra is sworn in as National Assembly president after an impromptu vote. Opposition supporters call it a "parliamentary coup"; the United States denounce a "farce". State broadcasters label Parra as the new speaker of parliament.
(BBC News)(Reuters)
U.S. PresidentDonald Trump threatens Iraq—if the U.S. would be required to leave the country—with a bill for a "very extraordinarily expensive" air base and also with sanctions that would "make
Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame".
(Reuters)
A
stampede occurs during the funeral of
Qasem Soleimani in his hometown of
Kerman.
Iranian state-affiliated media say at least 56 people are killed and 213 more are injured.
(CBC News)
An avalanche at a ski resort in
Kellogg, Idaho, United States, kills two people and injures five others.
(NPR)
Arts and culture
Neil Peart dies from
glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, in his home in Santa Monica, California. He had been diagnosed three years earlier but had kept details secret until his family officially announced his death on January 10, 2020.
(Rolling Stone)
Canada's Chief of the Defence Staff General
Jonathan Vance announces that some of its military personnel in Iraq will be moved to neighboring
Kuwait over safety reasons.
(Reuters)
Kosovo Police arrest Ikballe Berisha Huduti, the founder of a now defunct Islamic organization called Kur'ani, in
Pristina following an order from the prosecution after she was accused of inciting
terrorist acts for social media comments against the United States over the death of Qasem Soleimani.
(Reuters)(The New York Times)
The government of Argentina says it will not recognize
Juan Guaidó as
President of Venezuela, and instead as the leader of the opposition in the country, and revokes the credentials of Guaidó's representative in Argentina.
(Reuters)
Law and crime
Japan issues an arrest warrant for former
Nissan Chairman
Carlos Ghosn's wife Carole for allegedly lying during testimony.
(Reuters)
The trial of Satoshi Uematsu, a young Japanese man who admitted to stabbing 19
disabled people to death at a care center in 2016, begins. The rampage ranks among the country's worst mass killings. His lawyer is expected to enter a plea of not guilty on grounds of diminished capacity. Uematsu will be handed a sentence on March 16 and could receive the
death penalty.
(CNA)
One person is shot dead and three seriously wounded in a shooting near
Parliament Hill in
Ottawa.
Police believe the shooting was targeted.
(Reuters)
After
Canadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau suggests the plane was downed by an Iranian missile, Iranian authorities reject this theory. Iranian civil aviation chief says he is "certain" the plane was not hit by a missile, still asserting the cause was "mechanical failure".
(BBC News)
Iraqi cleric and Grand Ayatollah
Ali al-Sistani condemns both the United States and Iran over the escalation of conflict in
Iraq, saying it shows blatant disregard for Iraqi
sovereignty and the suffering of the
Iraqi people.
(Reuters)
Vigils in Iran that were held for the victims subsequently turn into protests. According to
Twitter videos, hundreds of protesters in Tehran call for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei.
(Reuters)(Al Jazeera)
Hundreds walk the street in mourning after popular journalist Ahmad Abdessamad and his cameraman were killed by unidentified gunmen the night before.
(France 24)
After
U.S. PresidentDonald Trump sends birthday wishes to
North Korean leaderKim Jong-un, North Korea state media says that "although Chairman Kim Jong-un has good personal feelings about President Trump, they are, in the true sense of the word, 'personal'", and that it is not enough to resume denuclearization talks. It further stated that the country would not be led on the basis of Kim's feelings.
(Reuters)(BBC News)
The governing
Democratic Progressive Party retains its majority in the Yuan, albeit with fewer seats. Most of the seats lost are taken by third parties instead of the KMT.
(Taiwan News)
Thousands of protestors march in
Warsaw against
a controversial law proposed by the
Sejm that would allow the
Polish government to discipline judges that question their reform policies. Critics say the law would undermine the independence of
the judiciary, and risks Poland's membership in the
European Union.
(Reuters)
Four
Iraqi soldiers are wounded when mortar shells strike
Balad Air Base, 40 miles (64 km) north of
Baghdad, which houses
U.S. military personnel. The mortars struck the runway inside the base.
(Reuters)
The government of the Canadian province of
Ontario apologizes for issuing a false alert about an incident at a
nuclear plant near
Toronto and blames a training exercise mistake. Angry local mayors demand an inquiry, saying the emergency message about the ageing
Pickering Nuclear Generating Station has caused unnecessary distress.
(Reuters)
Japanese PM
Shinzō Abe arrives in Saudi Arabia in his first visit to the Middle East, where he expects to mediate between the United States and Iran amid heightening tensions.
(The Japan Times)
Protests continue for a second day despite a large deployment of security forces.
(BBC News)
The Gambia warns ousted leader
Yahya Jammeh not to return to the country, saying his safety cannot be guaranteed if he returns without permission, a government spokesman says. A spokesman for Jammeh's party says he could arrive back at any time from exile in
Equatorial Guinea.
(BBC News)
Raphael Bostic, President of the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta, says in a speech that he, as a member of the
Federal Reserve Board is inclined to keep interest rates at their present, very low, levels. Any evidence of overborrowing or volatility will have to be "systemic" for him to change his mind.
(Reuters)
A
sinkhole swallows a bus and several pedestrians on a busy street in
Xining,
China, killing six people and leaving 16 others injured. According to
state media, the sinkhole stretches nearly 10m (32 feet) in diameter.
(BBC News)
Representatives of Libya's
Government of National Accord (GNA) and General
Khalifa Haftar's rival
Libyan National Army (LNA) reach a ceasefire agreement after talks in
Moscow between warring factions in Libya, also attended by Russian and Turkish officials. The preliminary agreement was signed by GNA head
Fayez al-Sarraj, while Haftar plans to sign it the next day.
(RT)
After a standoff, police in
Hohhot,
Inner Mongolia shoot and kill a hostage taker who had taken three hostages with a homemade gun. The case comes less than a year after five were killed in a shooting in Inner Mongolia, and the case is under investigation.
(South China Morning Post)
Analysis of a meteorite found in Australia in 1969 reveals
stardust formed 5 to 7 billion years ago, older than Earth's 4.6 billion year-old sun, making the meteor and its stardust the oldest solid material ever discovered on Earth.
(MSN)
The
United Kingdom bans the use of
credit cards to make bets both for
online and offline
gambling, including the purchase of
lottery tickets. The only exception to the ban is the purchase of lottery tickets in face-to-face transactions. The
Gambling Commission says the ban will come into effect on April 14.
(Reuters)
In
India,
economic slowdown has adversely impacted employment generation in the country, as nearly 1,600,000 fewer jobs are projected to be created in FY20 compared to 8,970,000 fresh jobs in FY19.
(The Economic Times)
Disasters and accidents
At least 57 people are killed and others are missing after
avalanches in
Pakistan-controlled
Kashmir over the last 24 hours, senior
government officials say. In
Indian-administered Kashmir, at least 10 are killed.
(Reuters)
At least 44 people, including twenty elementary school children, are injured after
Delta Flight 89, bound for
Shanghai, dumped jet fuel over
Los Angeles before making an emergency landing at
Los Angeles International Airport. None of the reported injuries required hospitalization.
(Time)(USA Today)
Tonga pays an outstanding fee in order not to lose its voting rights at the
United Nations General Assembly. Tonga was among seven countries suspended last week for not paying their assessed contributions.
(Radio New Zealand)
American rapper
Jay-Z and his philanthropic organization Team Roc file a federal lawsuit against
Mississippi Department of Corrections commissioner Pelicia E. Hall and
Mississippi State Penitentiary superintendent Marshal Turner over the abusive and neglectful treatment of their prisoners, which they claim has led to the deaths of at least three people.
(NBC News)(BBC News)
In a meeting at the
White House,
U.S. PresidentDonald Trump and
Chinese Vice PremierLiu He sign "Phase 1" of a new trade deal in which the U.S. will relax some of the tariffs imposed on Chinese imports while China agreed to buy more American products. Both sides also agree to not impose new tariffs.
(NPR)
After his escape from
Japan,
Carlos Ghosn's Japanese lawyer Junichiro Hironaka and seven other members of his defense resign. Hironaka says Ghosn's escape was a "complete surprise".
(CNN Business)
The bodies of seven people are found in a
mass grave in the indigenous
Ngäbe-Buglé region of
Panama. Authorities believe a religious sect performed an
exorcism on the victims. Police rescued 15 people who had suffered bodily injuries.
(BBC News)
Prime Minister
Tom Thabane announces his forthcoming resignation after an arrest warrant is issued for his current wife, first lady
Maesiah Thabane, who is wanted in connection for the 2017 murder of Thabane's estranged wife,
Lipolelo Thabane.
(The Sowetan)
A 16-year-old boy, identified as Colin Haynie, shoots his parents and three younger siblings in their home in
Grantsville, Utah, killing all but his father, who then apprehended him at the scene. The
familicide was the deadliest mass shooting in
Utah in 13 years.
(USA Today)
Afghan presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi says that the government rejects the proposed "reduction in violence" by the
Taliban as an "ambiguous term with no legal or military parameters". On Friday, the Taliban proposed a ten-day truce and to hold follow-up discussions with
Afghan government officials.
(Al Jazeera)
The couple will keep their titles as Duke and Duchess of Sussex. While Prince Harry will lose all his
military appointments, he will remain a
prince.
(Sky News)
A historic blizzard strikes
Atlantic Canada, with
St. John's in
Newfoundland worst affected – over 30 inches (76 cm) of snow fell during the day, breaking the city's all-time daily snowfall record. 21,000 homes are without power and one person is missing.
(The Weather Channel)
High winds and heavy snowfall impact the Midwest and mid-Atlantic states of the United States, with the heaviest snowfall recorded in
Chicago,
Cleveland and
Detroit.
(The Weather Channel)
The tenth named storm of the
2019–20 European windstorm season makes landfall in northern Spain, killing at least 13 people. Heavy rainfall leads to widespread flooding, while high winds and coastal storm surges cause further damage.
(BBC News)
Several people have died from
hypothermia after heavy snowfall and high winds combined to bring historic blizzards over higher ground of mainland Spain. Local meteorologists have described Gloria as the worst storm to impact the region in 38 years.
(BBC News)
A man facing eviction shoots three police officers, killing two, then sets a house on fire, which spreads to four nearby houses, in
Honolulu,
Hawaii, United States. He is presumed dead in the fire.
(Hawaii News Now)
Two people (including the perpetrator) were killed and fifteen others were injured during a shooting at a nightclub in
Kansas City, Missouri.
(WDAF-TV)
After having announced it the previous month,
Boeing temporarily stops production of the new
737 MAX planes. Already produced ones will remain grounded an additional month until June or July.
(CNN)(NPR)
Two judicial sources announce that the trial of seven
Cameroonian soldiers has begun for the killing of two women and two children in July 2018, in a case that sparked international outcry. Six of the soldiers admit to the charges, but say they were
given the order to open fire.
(Reuters)
Elliott Management, a prominent
hedge fund, has sold all its shares in the
Hyundai Motor Group of South Korea. It had long quarreled with Hyundai's management, demanding more generous dividend pay-outs. Their departure from the shareholder ranks is likely welcomed by Hyundai executives.
(Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
Police in the
Solomon Islands launch search operations to find nine people from a capsized boat near
Isabel Province. Five men, two women and two children were on board.
(RNZ)
Chinese authorities
quarantine the entire city of
Wuhan to prevent the further spread of the novel
coronavirus as the death toll rises to 17. Nobody in the city will be able to leave starting from 10 a.m. local time on January 23, and all public transport in the city is suspended.
(The Guardian)
Malaysian agriculture giant
FGV Holdings Berhad announces it will increase its sugar imports from
India from 88,000 tonnes to 133,000 in an attempt to resolve the
palm oil trade dispute between the two nations.
(Reuters)
Police detain a gay couple in
Nouakchott after a video purportedly of them marrying in a secret location emerges, in what is considered to be the first major prosecution of its kind in recent years. The attendees in the video were also detained.
(North African Post)
Two women, one of them pregnant, are killed and seven others are injured when artillery hits a
Rohingya village in
Rakhine State. The locals blame
Myanmar's
armed forces. The armed forces deny responsibility and blame the
Arakan Army, and say the artillery hit the village amid ethnic clashes.
(Reuters)
Iraqi security forces raid a protest site in
Baghdad and try to remove protesters in southern cities, firing
tear gas and live bullets, killing four and wounding dozens more. The raid comes after
Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers to withdraw.
(Reuters)
Afghan forces launch ground and air operations against the
Taliban, killing 51 of them in nine
provinces of the country. Afghanistan's
Ministry of Defense say that the military conducted thirteen ground offensives and twelve airstrikes. In the northern province of
Balkh, local officials say that three women and four children were killed.
(Reuters)
A leading group on the prevention and control of the outbreak is established, led by Chinese Premier
Li Keqiang. The leading group decides to extend the
Spring Festival holiday to contain the outbreak.
(Xinhua News)
The
World Bank delays its decision on granting a
US$500 million loan to
Tanzania, in response to pressure from activist groups over the country’s policy of banning
pregnant students from attending
state schools.
(CNN)
Brazil's antitrust authority ruled in favor of a pending acquisition of the commercial aviation division of
Embraer S.A. by
Boeing, without restrictions.
(Reuters)
Six travelers from China are denied entry and turned away from
Samoa following the island country's introduction of a ban on all travelers from China. They later arrive in
Fiji, where they are
quarantined with no symptoms. These strict regulations come after a
measles outbreak
ravaged Samoa last month.
(RNZ)
Germany confirms its first case of
novel coronavirus in the state of
Bavaria. The infected man has been placed in an
isolation ward and the risk of further infection is currently considered to be "low", according to the Bavarian Health Ministry.
(Deutsche Welle)
The
Lebanesegovernment votes 49–13, with eight abstentions and the rest boycotting, to pass the government budget in the midst of escalating protests. The budget projects a deficit of six percent, with no new taxes and most of the cuts going to the state utility company
Électricité du Liban. Economists criticize the bill for failing to address the issues that caused the protests.
(Al Jazeera)
The
British government announces that rail firm
Northern will be
nationalized following public outcry over
Arriva UK Trains handling of the firm. Arriva says it "understood the government's decision", but blames problems on "external factors" such as rail infrastructure.
(BBC News)
The
World Health Organization declares a "global emergency", a rare designation that helps the international agency mobilize financial and political support to contain the pandemic.
(CNBC)
The
Royal Solomon Islands Police Force stop searching for nine people who disappeared at sea on January 15 when their boat capsized. Five men, two women and two children are now presumed dead.
(RNZ)
President
Donald Trump announces a close of travel from China of non U.S. citizens or residents in response to the growing Coronavirus cases in Wuhan.
(Trump White House Archives)
The U.S. bans Tanzanian official
Paul Makonda from entering the U.S. for his announcement about a crackdown on Tanzanian homosexuals in
Dar es Salaam in 2018, among other accusations.
(Reuters)
Law and crime
In
Farrukhabad,
Uttar Pradesh, India, a man is shot and killed by police after taking more than 20 children as hostages for more than 10 hours. Angry locals later beat the hostage-taker's widow to death. It is unknown whether she was involved in her husband's plan.
(BBC News)