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Worldwide current events · Sports events

Topics in the news

Gunmen kill 12 people at the headquarters of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
Archaeologists announce the discovery of the tomb of the previously unknown ancient Egyptian queen Khentakawess III.
Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, and Venezuela take their seats on the United Nations Security Council.
Lithuania becomes the 19th member of the Eurozone.
At least 36 people are killed as a result of a stampede at a New Year's Eve celebration in Shanghai.
Authorities confirm the discovery of debris and bodies from Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 (aircraft pictured), which crashed en route to Singapore with 162 people on board.

Recent deaths: Edward Brooke – Mario Cuomo – Luise Rainer

January 8, 2015 (Thursday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Charlie Hebdo shooting
- One of the suspects in the killings, Hamyd Mourad, voluntarily surrenders to police in Charleville-Mézières while the other two suspects are still at large. (The New York Times) (CNN)
Boko Haram
- Boko Haram terrorists raze the entire town of Baga in north-east Nigeria. Bodies lay strewn on Baga's streets with as many as 2,000 people having been killed. Boko Haram now controls 70% of the Borno State, which is the worst-affected by the insurgency. (BBC)

Business and economy

Dunkin' Donuts signs a franchise agreement for 1,400 new cafes in China by the year 2035. (Reuters)
Coca-Cola announces that it plans to cut 1,800 jobs worldwide. (CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

Schools in the Midwestern and Northeast United States close for a second successive day due to bitterly cold temperatures. (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
A catamaran tourist ship off the coast of Punta Leona, Costa Rica catches fire while carrying one hundred passengers; the Red Cross confirms that at least two are dead. (KRON)

Law and crime

An unknown gunman shoots dead Nerlita Ledesma, a journalist from the Philippine tabloid Abante in the province of Bataan; her death is the 172nd murder of a journalist since the return of democracy in 1986 and the 31st during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III. (Rappler)

Politics and elections

Sri Lankan presidential election, 2015
- Voters in Sri Lanka go to the polls for a presidential election with a tight contest predicted between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and challenger Maithripala Sirisena. (BBC)

January 7, 2015 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Charlie Hebdo shooting
- Gunmen attack the Paris office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing twelve people and injuring ten. Some witnesses report that the gunmen identified themselves as belonging to al-Qaeda in Yemen. A 2011 issue had depicted a cartoon of the Islamic prophet Muhammed. (BBC)
- French police identify three suspects in the killings with raids being conducted in the city of Reims for the assailants, brothers Said and Cherif Kaouchi, aged 32 and 34, respectively, and Hamyd Mourad, 18. (Washington Post), (Bloomberg via Washington Post)
al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
- A car bomb explodes outside a police college in the Yemeni capital Sanaa with at least 38 people reported dead and more than 50 wounded. (Reuters), (BBC), (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Archaeologists in China uncover 2,800-year-old tombs (Eastern Zhou dynasty) in Hubei province. (Ancient Origins)

Disasters and accidents

An Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation bus falls into a ravine near the town of Penukonda in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh killing at least 20 people. (DNA)

Health

Nature publishes the findings of Northeastern University scientists that a new class of drug can kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria. (Reuters)

International relations

Philippines President Benigno Aquino III demands an investigation after a drone purportedly belonging to the United States Navy is found in the Philippine province of Quezon, the second found in the country. (Manila Standard Today)
The United States denounces a flag-raising ceremony at Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington DC, saying the ceremony violated US-Taiwan ties. (AFP via Yahoo)

January 6, 2015 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- Clashes with ISIL in Anbar province kill twenty-three Iraqi Army soldiers and allied Sunni fighters. (AP via The Hindu)
- The Combined Joint Task Force combating ISIL conducts ten airstrikes in Syria, eight of them targeting the contested city of Kobani, with the airstrikes destroying fourteen ISIL fighting positions and a building. (Reuters)
A suicide bomber kills herself and a policeman in an attack on a police station in a popular tourist district in the Turkish city of Istanbul. (New York Times)

Arts and culture

Officials in the American state of Massachusetts open a time capsule left behind by founding fathers Paul Revere and Samuel Adams. (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

Business and economics

American luxury fashion company Coach, Inc. agrees to purchase shoe brand Stuart Weitzman for $574 million. (Wall Street Journal)
The price of crude oil drops to $48 per barrel, the lowest since April of 2009. (KGO)

Disasters and accidents

A military truck collides with a bus carrying members of the National Guard of Ukraine in Ukraine, killing 12 soldiers and injuring 20 others. (BBC)
Two commuter trains collide at Mesquita, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, injuring 158 people. (AFP via News24)

Health

Scientists at Oxford University begin a new Ebola vaccine trial on 72 healthy volunteers. (BBC)
43 US states report an epidemic of influenza, with 21 confirmed deaths. (NBC News)

International relations

Cuba–United States relations
- Cuba starts releasing political prisoners as part of an historic agreement with the United States announced last month. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

Thai police arrest Gurmeet Singh convicted of involvement in a bombing in Chandigarh that killed 18 people in 1996, including Beant Singh who was then chief minister of Punjab. (Reuters)
Various California state district attorneys fine Safeway a total of $10 million for the illegal dumping of electronics and pharmaceuticals into landfills. (KPIX)
A man claiming to be the Lord's Resistance Army top commander Ugandan Dominic Ongwen turns himself in to United States forces in the Central African Republic. (AP)
A U.S. District Judge sentences former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell to two years in prison for corruption. (AP via FOX News)
A gunman shoots a doctor at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, and then kills himself. (Daily Mail)
An improvised device explodes outside of the Colorado Springs chapter of the NAACP with no injuries. (ABC News)

Politics and elections

The 114th United States Congress begins. (ABC News)
The US Congress re-elects John Boehner to his third term as Speaker. (USA Today)

Science and technology

NASA's Kepler space observatory announces the discovery of three new planets in the Goldilocks zone capable of supporting life. (News Limited)

Sport

Major League Baseball
- A proposal to change the demolition of Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California from a gradual process to implosion has been met with opposition from the city's residents, citing health risks from the dispersal of concrete dust. (KGO)
- The Baseball Hall of Fame announces the results of balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) for the Hall's induction class of 2015. The BBWAA elects Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio; this marks the first time since 1955 that the group has elected four players. (Boston Herald)

January 5, 2015 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- A Libyan warplane bombs a Greek-operated oil tanker anchored offshore the city of Derna, killing two sailors, one Greek and one Romanian. The Greek government condemned what it called an "unprovoked and cowardly" attack and demanded an investigation and punishment for those responsible. (Reuters)
Boko Haram
- News emerges that two days prior hundreds of Boko Haram militants had overrun several towns in northeast Nigeria and captured the military base in Baga. (Wall Street Journal)
Two militants, one wearing a suicide vest, kill two Saudi Arabian border guards and a general near the border with Iraq. (Businessweek)
Bangladeshi police report that two opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party activists are shot dead in clashes with members of the ruling Awami League in the town of Natore on the first anniversary of disputed general election. (BBC)
A suicide car bomber hits the headquarters of EUPOL Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing one person and injuring five others. The Taliban have claimed responsibility. (AP via ABC)

Arts and culture

A Czech archaelogical team discovers the tomb of formerly unknown Ancient Egyptian queen Khentakawess III who lived during the Fifth Dynasty. (CNN)
The site where Jesus may have been tried, prior to his crucifixion, opens to the public for the first time loacated under an abandoned prison building, called Kishle, that is part of the Tower of David Museum ground in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel. (Huffpost)

Business and economics

China relaxes controls over the export of rare earth elements after losing a case brought by the United States at the World Trade Organization. (AP)
Ireland becomes the first European nation to be allowed to export beef to the United States since the mad cow disease scare 15 years ago. (AP via Star Tribune)

Disasters and accidents

For the second day in a row a multi-story residential building in Nairobi, Kenya, collapses, this time an 8-story building, killing one person with eight people still missing. (AP via ABC)
An avalanche near the Rettenbach glacier in the Austrian Alps, kills two prospects for the United States ski team, Ronnie Berlack and Bryce Astle. (AP)
After being grounded in Abu Dhabi for over 12 hours with all passengers onboard, Etihad Airways Flight 183 completes its flight to San Francisco International Airport. (KRON).

International relations

South Korea announces that it will repatriate the remains of Chinese Peoples Liberation Army soldiers killed in the Korean War. (Yonhap)
Lebanon implements stricter immigration rules on its Syrian border in response to the refugee crisis caused by the Syrian Civil War. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Taiwan's justice ministry releases former President Chen Shui-bian from jail on a one-month medical parole. (BBC)
The anti-graft body of the Communist Party of China detains Yang Weize, incumbent Party Secretary of Nanjing, the provincial capital of Jiangsu province, for investigation. (SCMP)
The Justice Department charges two American citizens of Gambian descent with violating the Neutrality Act by helping to finance and lead the 2014 Gambian coup d'état attempt. (New York Times)

Sport

In ice hockey, the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship closes with Canada beating Russia in the gold medal game, while Slovakia captures bronze. (Canadian Press via Yahoo! Sports Canada)

January 4, 2015 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan:
- A U.S. drone strike kills eight Uzbek people claimed to be linked with al-Qaeda in Pakistan. (Channel 9 News)
- The Pakistan Air Force strikes Pakistani Taliban positions in Khyber Agency, Pakistan, killing 31 militants. (Channel 9 News)
- A bomb detonates at a volleyball match in Orakzai Agency, Pakistan, killing four people and injuring eight. (AFP via The Daily Star)
Northern Mali conflict:
- A vehicle carrying United Nations peacekeepers hits a roadside bomb in northern Mali, injuring six soldiers. (Reuters)
Shia insurgency in Yemen:
- A bombing at a local Houthi movement headquarters in Dhamar Governorate, Yemen, kills five people and wounds 25. (AP via The Daily Star)
Somali Civil War:
- A suicide car bomber detonates near a military convoy in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing four people. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

A six-story building collapse in Nairobi, Kenya, kills one person and leaves several others injured. (New Zealand Herald)

Religion

Pope Francis announces the appointment of 20 new Cardinals, many of them coming from outside of Europe. (Reuters)

Sport

In darts, Gary Anderson of Scotland defeats Phil Taylor of England 7-6 to win his first PDC World Darts Championship. (Reuters via ABC News Australia)

January 3, 2015 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram
- Fleeing villagers from a remote part of the Borno State report that Boko Haram had three days prior kidnapped around 40 boys and young men. (BBC)

Arts and culture

Turkey permits the building of a Syriac church in Istanbul, the first construction of a Christian house of worship allowed since the founding of the modern republic in 1923. (DAWN) (BGN News)

Disasters and accidents

The Singapore-registered cargo ship MV Höegh Osaka runs aground on Bramble Bank off the coast of the Isle of Wight, in the entrance to Southampton Water. (BBC News)
MS Bulk Jupiter, a Norwegian-owned cargo ship, sinks off the coast of Vietnam, with eighteen dead and one survivor. (KRON)
The Cypriot-registered cargo ship Cemfjord sinks off the northern coast of Scotland leaving eight onboard missing. (BBC News)

Law and crime

A prison in Bruges, Belgium, will euthanise serial rapist and murderer Frank Van Den Bleeken on January 11. (International Business Times)

Politics and elections

Greek parliamentary election, 2015
- Former Prime Minister George Papandreou announces the formation of a new party, Movement of Democratic Socialists, threatening to push the long-dominant PASOK under the election threshold. (Al Jazeera), (Reuters)

January 2, 2015 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Somali civil war
- Somali al-Shabaab militants attack an army base on the outskirts of Baidoa, killing seven soldiers. (Reuters via Daily Times)
Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
- Boko Haram militants attack a bus in Waza, Cameroon, killing eleven people and injuring six. (CNN via WLKY)
1998 United States embassy bombings
- Abu Anas al-Libi, a one-time associate of Osama bin Laden, dies in New York, United States, while awaiting trial for allegedly plotting the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. (NBC News)

International relations

North Korea–United States relations
- The United States enacts more sanctions on North Korea in response to their alleged involvement in the hacking attack on Sony. The sanctions target the North Korean Special Operation Force and 10 government officials. (Reuters)

More January 2015 events...

Ongoing events
Economic Eurozone crisis Greek government-debt crisis Financial crisis in Russia Environmental North Indian Ocean cyclone season Southeast Asian floods Pacific typhoon season Health Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa Political Irish demonstrations against water tax Military intervention against ISIL American-led intervention in Syria American-led intervention in Iraq Iranian-led intervention in Iraq Pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Russian military intervention in Ukraine South Sudanese Civil War Unrest in Ferguson, Missouri More details on ongoing conflicts below edit sidebar

Recent deaths
January 7: Cabu 7: Charb 7: Tignous 7: Georges Wolinski 7: Julio Scherer García 7: Bernard Maris 7: Arch A. Moore, Jr. 7: Jethro Pugh 6: Vlastimil Bubník 5: Jean-Pierre Beltoise 5: Khan Bonfils 4: Pino Daniele 4: Chitresh Das 4: Gasan Magomedov 4: Stu Miller 4: Hank Peters 4: Stuart Scott 3: Martin Anderson 3: Edward Brooke 3: Allie Sherman 2: Abu Anas al Libi 1: Mario Cuomo 1: Donna Douglas 1: Omar Karami December 31: Edward Herrmann 31: James McNaughton Hester 30: Philip Converse 30: Beau Kazer 30: Luise Rainer 29: Madhu Kaithapram 28: Michio Kushi 27: Ron Henry 26: James B. Edwards 26: Leo Tindemans 25: Alberta Adams 25: Nand Chaturvedi 25: Kjell Hanssen 25: George Miller 25: Gleb Yakunin 24: Ekhlasuddin Ahmed 24: Rubén Amorín 24: Leonard Beerman 24: Owen H. Johnson 24: Krzysztof Krauze 24: Rosella Towne 23: K. Balachander 23: Jo Jo Benson 23: Mike Elliott 23: John J. Powers 22: Joe Cocker 22: Jeremy Lloyd 21: Morteza Ahmadi 21: Udo Jürgens 21: Billie Whitelaw 20: Lucio Abis 20: Gino Pellegrini 19: Barbara Jones 18: Virna Lisi 18: Mandy Rice-Davies 17: Daniel Sintentu Mpasi 16: Man Haron Monis 15: Donald Metcalf edit sidebar

Ongoing conflicts
Global War on Drugs War on Terror Operation Active Endeavour Operation Enduring Freedom Terrorist incidents in 2015 Africa Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Maghreb insurgency OEF – Horn of Africa OEF – Trans Sahara Central African Republic Civil conflict Egypt Islamist unrest Sinai insurgency Libya Post-civil war interfactional fighting 2014 Libyan Civil War Nigeria Boko Haram Somalia Civil war Sudan and South Sudan Sudan internal conflict South Sudan internal conflict War in Darfur Americas Colombian conflict Internal conflict in Peru Mexican War on Drugs Paraguayan People's Army insurgency Asia Afghanistan War Military operations Taliban insurgency India Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir Insurgency in Northeast India Korea Korean maritime border conflict Pakistan Balochistan conflict North-West War Sectarian violence Philippines Communist insurgency Moro insurgency Southeast Asia Cambodian–Thai border dispute Kachin conflict Papua conflict South Thailand insurgency Territorial disputes in the South China Sea Europe Abkhaz–Georgian conflict North Caucasus insurgency Pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine War in Donbass Dissident Irish Republican campaign Middle East Arab–Israeli conflict Gaza–Israel conflict Israeli–Lebanese conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Israel–Iran proxy conflict Iraqi insurgency Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant Kurdistan Kurdish–Iranian conflict Syrian Civil War Yemen al-Qaeda crackdown Shia insurgency South Yemen insurgency edit sidebar

Elections
Recent: December 8: Dominica, Parliament 10: Mauritius, Parliament 14: Japan, Parliament 17: Greece, President (1st round) 20: Liberia, Senate 21: Tunisia, President (2nd round) 21: Uzbekistan, Parliament (1st round) 23: Greece, President (2nd round) 28: Croatia, President (1st round) 29: Greece, President (3rd round) Recent: January 8: Sri Lanka, President Upcoming: January 11: Croatia, President (2nd round) 20: Zambia, President 25: Comoros, Parliament (1st round) 25: Greece, Parliament Upcoming: February 7: Slovakia, Referendum edit sidebar

Trials
Recently concluded Australia: Brett Peter Cowan, Craig Thomson, Robert Hughes Canada: Michael Thomas Rafferty, Luka Magnotta China: Li Daqiu, Liu Tienan Croatia: Ivo Sanader Egypt: Peter Greste Germany: Breno Borges Iran: Mohammad Reza Rahimi Italy: Silvio Berlusconi Jordan: Abu Qatada Malaysia: Anwar Ibrahim Russia: Leonid Khabarov, Vladimir Kvachkov, Pussy Riot South Africa: Chris Mahlangu, Oscar Pistorius Turkey: Kenan Evren, Tahsin Şahinkaya United Kingdom: Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, Ali Dizaei, Antoni Imiela, Brian Regan, Donna Air, Ched Evans, Clayton McDonald, Titus Bramble, Dan Penteado, John Terry, Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed, Asil Nadir, Justin Lee Collins, Kweku Adoboli, Tony McCluskie, Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, Chris Huhne, Nicola Edgington, Vicky Pryce, Derek Rose, Mick Philpott, Mairead Philpott, Paul Mosley, Kevin Liverpool, Junior Bradshaw, Aggro Santos, Stuart Hazell, Mark Bridger, Andrew Lancel, Dale Cregan, Ray Wilkins, Michael Le Vell, Liam Adams, R v Grillo and Grillo, Ian Watkins, William Roache, Dave Lee Travis, Nicholas Jacobs, Nigel Evans, Max Clifford, Stuart Hall, Dappy, Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, Rolf Harris, Tulisa Contostavlos, Chris Denning, Ray Teret United States: Bob McDonnell, George Huguely, Allen Stanford, Roger Clemens, Jerry Sandusky, Jared Lee Loughner, Lauryn Hill, Kermit Gosnell, George Zimmerman, Chelsea Manning, Ariel Castro, Whitey Bulger, Robert Bales, Nidal Malik Hasan, Crystal Mangum, Abu Hamza al-Masri International ICC: Germain Katanga, Thomas Lubanga ICTY: Momčilo Perišić, Mladen Markač, Ante Gotovina SCFSL: Charles Taylor Ongoing Brazil: Mensalão scandal Cambodia: Khmer Rouge Tribunal China: Organized crime in Chongqing Egypt: Mohamed Morsi, Hosni Mubarak Germany: Christian Wulff, Beate Zschäpe, Uli Hoeness, Bernie Ecclestone Iran: Babak Zanjani Philippines: Andal Ampatuan, Jr., Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Janet Lim-Napoles, Imelda Marcos, Jovito Palparan Russia: Alexei Navalny South Africa: Shrien Dewani South Korea: MV Sewol crew members United Kingdom: Eddy Shah, Koo Stark United States: Jodi Arias International ICTY: Radovan Karadžić, Ratko Mladic Upcoming Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Spain: Lionel Messi United Kingdom: Dane Bowers, Gary Glitter, Andy Coulson United States: Paul Anthony Ciancia, Javaris Crittenton, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Dylan Quick, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, James Eagan Holmes, Aaron Hernandez, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Anas al-Libi, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Rick Perry International ICC: Laurent Gbagbo edit sidebar

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2012: January; February; March; April; May; June; July; August; September; October; November; December

2011: January; February; March; April; May; June; July; August; September; October; November; December

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