Portal:Current events/January 2018

• Kashmir conflict
  • An armed standoff between Indian security forces and Kashimiri rebels at a paramilitary base ends after 36 hours and leaves eight people dead. (Al Jazeera)

• Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
  • An American Jewish rabbi publishes an ad in The Washington Post calling the New Zealand pop singer Lorde a "bigot" after she cancelled her concert in Israel. (Jerusalem Post)

• Value Added Tax (VAT) has been introduced in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for the first time. (BBC)

• A boat capsizes in the north of Indonesian Borneo, leaving at least eight people dead. (BBC)
• Two people are killed in a plane crash in Northland, New Zealand. (1 News)

• Pakistan–United States relations
  • U.S. President Donald Trump tweets that Pakistan has been a "safe haven" for terrorists from Afghanistan and has given America "nothing but lies & deceit" after getting more than $33 billion in U.S. aid. (Time)
  • Pakistan asks U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale to clarify Trump's remarks. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi calls for Cabinet and National Security Council meetings to discuss the tweet. (Los Angeles Times)
  • Pakistan's Defence Minister accuses the U.S. of giving Pakistan "nothing but invective & mistrust" after receiving "land & air communication, military bases & intel cooperation that decimated Al-Qaeda over last 16yrs". (AOL)

• Legal history of cannabis in the United States
  • California becomes the latest and most-populated state to legalize the recreational use of cannabis. (BBC)
• Brazil prison riots
  • An apparent gang riot at Colonia Agroindustrial prison in Goiânia, Brazil, results in nine deaths and 14 inmates injured. Authorities report 233 prisoners escaped but now only 95 prisoners remain at large. (The Guardian) (Reuters)
• Law of Alaska
  • The U.S. state of Alaska eliminates the posting of bail in criminal cases, replacing it with a points-based system, rating the defendant on their previous criminal history, their danger to the public, and their probability of showing up to court hearings. (US News & World Report)

• 2017–18 Iranian protests
  • Ten people die at the protests overnight, with twelve deaths total so far as the protests enter their fifth day. (BBC)
• Politics of Switzerland
  • Alain Berset takes office as President of the Swiss Confederation. At 45 years of age, Berset is the youngest president of Switzerland since 1934. (Swissinfo)

• 2018 PDC World Darts Championship
  • In darts, Rob Cross wins the PDC World Darts Championship (on his debut) defeating Phil Taylor (in his last career match) 7–2 in the final. (BBC)

• Weinstein effect
  • Vice Media suspends two of its top executives as it investigates allegations made against them. (ABC News)

• United States antitrust law
  • Citing national security concerns, the U.S. government blocks Ant Financial's acquisition of MoneyGram. (Reuters)

• 2018 Pasamayo bus crash
  • A coach bus plunges off a cliff on a coastal road in Peru, killing at least 48 people. (BBC) (CBC)
• Woburn Safari Park fire
  • A fire at Woburn Safari Park kills 13 patas monkeys. (The Guardian)

• Palestine–United States relations, Israel–United States relations
  • President Donald Trump tweets that the U.S. may withhold future payments to the Palestinian authority, over 350 million dollars per year, because they are "no longer willing to talk peace" with Israel, and that Israel "would have had to pay more" in return for his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. (Haaretz) (Politico)
• North Korea–South Korea relations
  • South Korean President Moon Jae-in, responding to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's offer during his New Year’s Day address, proposes a meeting to discuss the Winter Olympics and North Korea's nuclear program next Tuesday at the border city of Panmunjom. (The New York Times) (BBC)
• North Korea–United States relations
  • U.S. President Donald Trump responds to Kim Jong-un's claim of having North Korea's nuclear missile launch button on his desk, boasting that the size of the nuclear missile launch button on his own desk is larger and more powerful than Kim's. (CNN) (BBC) (The New York Times)
• Illegal immigration from Africa to Israel
  • Israel announces plans to deport African migrants residing in the country illegally. Migrants will be given 90 days to leave the country or face imprisonment. (BBC)

• Joshua Boyle, a Canadian man recently rescued from a Taliban linked group, is arrested on 15 charges, including assault, sexual assault, and unlawful confinement. (Global News)
• Nine prisoners have escaped from a Berlin, prison over the last five days, with two escaping today. (BBC)

• United States Senate
  • U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch announces that he will retire in January 2019. (Salt Lake Tribune)

• Boko Haram insurgency
  • A suicide bomber attacks a mosque in Gamboru, Nigeria, killing 11 people. (Deutsche Welle)

• Storm Eleanor
  • Winter storm Eleanor moves from the British Isles to continental Europe with one dead in France as well as injuries and material losses in Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland. (BBC)

• Law of Iceland
  • A new Icelandic law goes into effect which requires government agencies and companies with more than 24 full-time employees to prove they are paying men and women equally, as required by existing legislation. (NPR) (The New York Times)
• Politics of Ethiopia
  • Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announces that Ethiopia will drop charges against all political prisoners and close down the infamous prison camp of Maekelawi. (AP)

• Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity
  • U.S. President Donald Trump dissolves the voter fraud commission noting the cost to the public of litigating against lawsuits from states objecting to the voter information requested. (Reuters) (CNN)

• Computer security
  • Security researchers disclose two hardware vulnerabilities—Spectre, which affects most modern processors, and Meltdown, which affects most Intel chips. (Reuters) (The Guardian)
• Largest known prime number
  • The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search announces the discovery of the latest largest known prime number, a Mersenne prime with 23,249,425 digits, equal to 2^77,232,917 − 1. (International Business Times)

• Afghanistan War
  • A suicide bomber attack near a group of security personnel investigating illegal drugs and alcohol dealing in Kabul, Afghanistan, kills at least 20, wounding another 27 policemen. The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack. (The New York Times) (AP via Time)

• Munich Re reports that the insurance industry faces record claims of US$135 billion from natural catastrophes, such as the Mexico earthquakes, South Asian floods, California wildfires and Atlantic hurricanes in 2017. Overall economic losses from natural disasters are estimated at the second highest amount since 2011. (Insurance Journal)

• January 2018 North American blizzard
  • The Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship travels through the storm, delaying its arrival in New York City. (CBS News) (Cruisefever.net)
  • A massive winter storm hits the East Coast of the United States with up to 18 inches of snow predicted to fall between The Carolinas and Maine. So far, three people have died in North Carolina and one person has died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (AP via Yahoo!)
• 2018 Kroonstad train crash
  • A Shosholoza train collides with a vehicle at a crossing near Kroonstad in the Free State, South Africa, killing 19 and injuring at least 100 people. (BBC News) (The Independent) (News24)

• Pakistan–United States relations
  • The U.S. State Department suspends its security assistance to Pakistan. (ABC News)
• Iran–United States relations
  • The U.S. Treasury sanctions five Iranian entities associated with Iran's ballistic missile program. (Politico)
• North Korea–South Korea relations
  • North Korea accepts South Korea's proposal for official talks, and will meet on January 9 to discuss North Korea's possible involvement with the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. These are the first high-level talks between the Koreas in more than two years. (CNN) (BBC)

• Marijuana policy of the Donald Trump administration
  • U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinds three Obama-era memos that had adopted a policy of non-interference with states that have legalized recreational marijuana. (Associated Press)
• A United Airlines flight headed from Chicago to Hong Kong makes an emergency landing in Anchorage, Alaska, after a passenger allegedly became unruly. (KTUU-TV)

• Virginia House of Delegates election, 2017
  • A drawing is held to resolve a tied election between Democrat Shelly Simonds and Republican David Yancey, with Yancey being randomly chosen as the winner. (ABC News)

• Northern Rakhine State clashes
  • ARSA insurgents, using small arms and homemade land mines, ambush a Burmese military convoy in the village of Turaing. Three members of Myanmar's security forces are reportedly wounded. (BBC) (The Guardian)

• Donald Trump on social media
  • Twitter, in response to criticism over its handling of U.S. President Donald Trump's account, says it will not block world leaders or remove their controversial tweets. (Reuters)
• Weinstein effect
  • Four women accuse film and television producer, director, and writer Paul Haggis (Crash and Million Dollar Baby) of sexual misconduct including two rapes. (Hollywood Reporter)

• 2018 Luxor hot air balloon crash
  • A hot air balloon crashes due to strong winds in Egypt's Luxor Governorate. A tourist from Australia is killed and 12 other tourists are injured. The Egypt Aviation Authority says there were 20 passengers on the balloon. (CNN)

• Accession of Turkey to the European Union
  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says he is "tired" of waiting for the European Union to approve Turkey's membership in the political union. (Al Jazeera)
  • French President Emmanuel Macron suggests that Turkey could have a "partnership" with the EU instead of full membership. (France 24)
• Palestine–United States relations
  • An anonymous U.S. State Department official says no decision has been made on the scheduled January 1, 2018, $125-million payment to the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency), which administers aid for Palestinian refugees. Media reports had stated the money was frozen. The official added the government is still reviewing U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority and has until January 15 to resolve the issue. (Reuters) (The Hill)
• Belgium–Netherlands relations
  • Belgium and the Netherlands, by swapping 48 acres of land, agree that one section of their border is now the center of the Meuse River. This is expected to fix a police jurisdiction problem. (UPI) (The Independent)
• Foreign relations of Iran
  • During a session of the United Nations Security Council, the United States repeat its "unapologetic" support for the ongoing Iranian protests. Russia denounces the "veiled [U.S.] attempt to use the current moment to continue to undermine" the JCPOA. France calls to "be wary of any attempt to exploit this crisis for personal ends". (The New York Times)

• Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
  • Senators Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary refer the British spy Christopher Steele to the U.S. Department of Justice for a potential criminal investigation. (ABC News)

• Politics of the United States
  • National Security Agency director Admiral Mike Rogers plans to retire this spring. President Donald Trump is expected to nominate a successor later this month. (Politico) (New York Magazine)

• Ozone depletion
  • NASA research, published in Geophysical Research Letters, implies that the ozone layer is starting to recover due to man's actions. The decline in ozone-depleting chemicals, specifically chlorine from chlorofluorocarbon (an effect from the 1980's CFC ban, say the scientists), has resulted in 20 percent less depletion since 2005. (Newsweek)
• Six-time U.S. NASA astronaut John Young dies at the age of 87. He was the 9th man who walked on the Moon. (Time Magazine)

• Casamance conflict
  • Gunmen kill 13 people near the town of Ziguinchor, Senegal. (France 24)
• Kashmir conflict
  • An IED bombing kills four Indian Reserve policemen patrolling a deserted market in the upper northwestern city of Sopore, India. Jaish-e-Mohammed militants, fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir, claim responsibility for the attack. (AP via The Washington Post) (Gulf News)

• Sanchi oil tanker collision
  • Thirty-two sailors are missing after Iranian oil tanker MV Sanchi and Chinese freighter CF-Crystal collide off the east coast of China. The collision ignites the oil tanker, which carried a 136,000-tonne load. (CNN), (Reuters)

• Germany–Turkey relations
  • German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel and his Turkish colleague Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu agree to improve relations between their countries. (AFP via News24)
• Cuba–United States relations
  • U.S. Senator Jeff Flake tells Cuban officials there is "no evidence" of a suspected sonic attack on U.S. diplomats at the U.S. embassy in Havana. (CBS News)

• Anti-austerity movement
  • Saudi authorities arrest 11 princes in Riyadh for staging a protest against Saudi Arabia's austerity measures. (Al Jazeera)

• 2017–18 Iranian protests
  • Thousands of government supporters demonstrate across Iran for the fourth consecutive day. (Voice of America)
  • Hundreds of Iranians hold rallies in support of the anti-regime protests in Iran, in cities including Washington, D.C., Stockholm, London, Paris and Berlin. About 400 people gathered in central Paris, and several hundred held a rally in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate with Iranian flags, drums and banners calling for a change of government. (Yahoo! via Reuters)
• Crisis in Venezuela (2012–present)
  • After the Venezuelan government orders shops to lower prices, hundreds of people line up to take advantage of these price cuts. (Reuters)

• Syrian Civil War
  • An explosion at the headquarters of the Chechen-led Ajnad al-Kavkaz rebel group in Idlib, Syria, kills at least 23 people, while several people remain unaccounted for, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (BBC)

• Education in Iran
  • Iran enforces a ban on teaching English in elementary schools, calling it a "cultural invasion" by the West. (Deutsche Welle)
• 75th Golden Globe Awards
  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri wins four Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture – Drama, while Lady Bird wins Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. (The New York Times)

• Six people are killed in a head-on collision and a subsequent fire caused by a single-driver vehicle going the wrong way on Interstate 5 north of Woodland, California. (Reuters) (Sacramento Bee)
• Foreign relations of Iran
  • The Revolutionary Guards announce that Iran broke down the chain of last week's unrest. According to them, the unrest was created "by the United States, Britain, the Zionist regime (Israel), Saudi Arabia, the hypocrites (Mujahideen) and monarchists." (Reuters)

• A man is killed in Stockholm after he picks up a grenade that detonates. According to police, there has been an increased use of hand grenades by criminal groups in the country. (CTV)
• Eleven people are killed in La Concepción, Mexico, near the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, following violent clashes involving gunmen, a community police force, and state police in the southern state of Guerrero. (AP via ABC News)

• Politics of Egypt
  • The former Prime Minister of Egypt, 76-year-old Ahmed Shafik, retracts his candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections. (Reuters)
• Politics of Malaysia
  • The Pakatan Harapan alliance chooses 92-year-old former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad as their candidate Prime Minister in the upcoming Malaysian general election. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will be released from jail on June 8. Mahathir and Anwar join forces in the election. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Politics of Yemen
  • Sadeq Ameen Abu Rass, not Saleh's son Ahmed, is named as the successor to late Ali Abdullah Saleh as leader of the General People’s Congress party. (Reuters)
• Weinstein effect
  • Trond Giske announces his permanent resignation as deputy leader of Norway's Labour Party after several sexual assault accusations. He also gives up his position in the Norwegian parliament's finance committee. (Jamaica Observer)

• Pharmaceutical company Pfizer discontinues research into treating patients with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. (The Telegraph)

• Sanchi oil tanker collision
  • MV Sanchi is still ablaze this morning and it continues to leak oil. Chinese officials mention the danger of explosion and sinking. (BBC) (CNN)
  • The body of a crew member is found on the ship. (Reuters)
• 2018 Kadovar eruption
  • All residents are evacuated, 500 of them to the nearby island of Blup Blup, while the once-dormant Kadovar volcano in the Schouten Islands, Papua New Guinea, erupts for the first known time, sending an ash cloud 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi) above sea level. (carbonated tv) (News.com.au)

• Law of India
  • The Supreme Court of India orders a review of Section 377, a colonial-era law that criminalizes consensual sex between men, and of the Court's December 2013 verdict that upheld the law. In August 2017, the Supreme Court ruled that all Indian citizens have a constitutional right to privacy, noting in the judgment that "sexual orientation is an essential attribute to privacy." (The New York Times) (Hindustan Times)

• Temporary protected status in the U.S.
  • The Trump administration will, in 18 months, end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from El Salvador living in the U.S. under the TPS issued after a series of devastating earthquakes in 2001. The Department of Homeland Security estimates about 200,000 Salvadorans will be impacted. (BBC)
• 2018 Tunisian protests
  • Amid protests against rising prices and tax increases, a protestor is killed and five others are injured in clashes with security forces in the Tunisian town of Tebourba. (Reuters)
  • Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, in a statement, comments, "... while living conditions may have slightly improved, El Salvador now faces a significant problem with drug trafficking, gangs and crime." (CNN) (House.gov)

• 2018 in spaceflight
  • The U.S. government's highly classified Zuma satellite is reportedly lost after being launched by SpaceX on a Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Northrop Grumman, who built the satellite, and SpaceX have both refused to confirm the mission's failure due to its classified nature. (CNBC) (Los Angeles Times)

• 2017–18 in English football
  • Video assistant referee (VAR) technology makes its debut in an English club competition during a 2017–18 FA Cup match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace. (BBC)
• NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
  • In the College Football Playoff National Championship, Alabama defeats Georgia 26–23 in overtime. It is the second national title for Alabama in three years, the sixth for coach Nick Saban, and the 17th officially claimed by Alabama. (ESPN)

• Steve Bannon steps down as executive chairman of Breitbart News amid a dispute with U.S. President Donald Trump over comments he made about the Trump family in Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury. (BBC)

• 2017–18 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
  • Cyclone Ava
    • At least 29 people are dead and 22 are missing in the aftermath of a strong tropical cyclone striking Madagascar. (Firstpost)
• 2018 Southern California landslides
  • At least 15 people are killed by mudslides following heavy overnight rains in areas of Santa Barbara County, California, where last month's wildfires destroyed forests and destabilized the land. (SF Gate) (NBC News) (The New York Times)
• 2018 Swan Islands earthquake
  • A magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes north of Honduras, resulting in tsunami warnings in the Caribbean. (RT)

• North Korea–South Korea relations
  • In the first inter-Korean talks in two years at the Panmunjeom-Paju "Truce Village" (DMZ), both parties agree on the need to ease tensions and hold military talks. North Korea also agrees to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. (The Korea Herald)
• Cuba–United States relations, Health-related incidents at the United States Embassy in Havana
  • An anonymous senior State Department official says that United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson decided to convene a special-panel Accountability Review Board to further investigate the "attacks" at the U.S. embassy in Havana. (Reuters)
• 2017–18 Iranian protests
  • Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei says that Iran has extinguished the unrest and has foiled attempts to turn legitimate protests into an insurgency to overthrow the Islamic Republic. He went on to identify the United States, Britain, Israel, the People's Mujahedin of Iran and "a wealthy government" in the Persian Gulf among Iran's foreign enemies. (Reuters)

• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
  • The United States District Court for the Northern District of California issues a nationwide injunction blocking the rescission of the DACA program, ordering the Trump administration to restart and maintain the program as the legal challenge(s) to the president's decision go forward. (The New York Times)
• Gerrymandering in the United States
  • A three-judge federal panel rules North Carolina's congressional district map was illegally gerrymandered because legislators relied too heavily on partisan affiliation in drawing constituencies. This is the first time a federal court has struck down a redistricting plan for partisan gerrymandering. (NPR) (The Atlantic)

• Politics of Poland, Cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki
  • New ministers of defence, finance, interior, health, environment and foreign affairs, amongst others, are appointed. (Reuters) (Reuters²)
• Politics of Egypt
  • The Parliament of Egypt approves, with a two-thirds majority in favour, extending the nationwide state of emergency for a further three months, starting January 13. (Ahram Online)
• Politics of Spain, 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • Artur Mas announces that he is resigning as president of the PDeCAT party. (Turkey Telegraph)

• Colombian conflict
  • After failing to reach agreement on an extension of the 101-day ceasefire, hostilities resume between Colombia's government and ELN forces. (Colombia Reports)
• Ivorian soldiers in Bouaké attack the Coordination Center for Operational Decision-Making (Centre de Coordination des Décisions Opérationnelles) military base, seizing their weaponry and setting the base on fire after accusations that the unit was spying on them. Last year the soldiers were involved in a series of mutinies. (Reuters)
• Rohingya persecution in Myanmar
  • Senior General Min Aung Hlaing posts on Facebook that Myanmar Army troops and Rakhine State villagers killed 10 Rohingya Muslims whose bodies were found in a mass grave in Inn Din village. This is the first time Myanmar's military has officially acknowledged extrajudicial actions against the Rohingya. Fortify Rights chief executive officer Matthew Smith says the two Reuters journalists who have been jailed since December 12, 2017, were investigating the same mass grave referenced by Min Aung Hlaing. (The Washington Post)
• War in Afghanistan
  • The United States Central Command launches an investigation into a video posted on YouTube which appears to show a U.S. service member firing on civilians inside a truck on a road in Afghanistan. The montage video, titled "Happy Few Ordnance Symphony", has since been removed. (Politico)

• Sanchi oil tanker collision
  • China says no major oil spill has been detected after MV Sanchi disaster. (Channel News Asia)
  • A fire on the oil tanker rages for the fourth day. An explosion forces rescue teams to retreat as 31 sailors remain missing. (Reuters)
• Tom Wolf, the Governor of Pennsylvania, issues a disaster declaration over the "heroin and opioid epidemic”, starting an Opioid Operational Command Center at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. (The Morning Call)

• Immigration policy of Donald Trump
  • The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency conducts operations at 98 7-Eleven stores in 17 states, arresting 21 people suspected of being illegal immigrants. (Reuters)
• The Hellenic Coast Guard seizes the Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship Andromeda – allegedly bound for Libya, loaded with 410 tonnes of explosives – in Heraklion, Greece. 102 safety deficiencies are found, and 8 crew members are arrested. (Maritime Executive) (Creta Live)

• 2018 Tunisian protests
  • More than two hundred people are arrested across Tunisia as protests against economic conditions continue to grip the North African country. At least 49 police officers have been injured during clashes with protesters. (BBC)
  • A Jewish school on the Tunisian island of Djerba is firebombed. (Reuters)
• Cabinet of Mexico
  • President Enrique Peña Nieto accepted the resignation of three secretaries of his cabinet, including the Secretary of the Interior, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong. (Reuters)

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Two 16-year-old Palestinians are shot and killed in separate clashes with the Israeli army. (The Washington Post)

• Bowing to pressure, French publisher Gallimard suspends plans to reprint a compendium of "violently antisemitic pamphlets" by novelist Louis-Ferdinand Céline. (The Guardian)

• Walmart employee wages
  • Walmart announces that it will increase the minimum wage for its U.S. employees to $11 per hour and close 50 Sam's Club stores. (USA Today)
• Legal status of cryptocurrency
  • The South Korean Ministry of Justice announces that it is a preparing a bill to ban cryptocurrency trading through exchanges. (ABC News Australia)

• 2018 Southern California mudflows
  • The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office reports this afternoon that up to 43 people are still missing from Tuesday's mudslides as rescuers continue to search through Montecito’s massive debris field; this morning the report had been eight missing. The casualty numbers are expected to rise. (Los Angeles Times)

• Iran–United States relations
  • The Trump administration through the U.S. Justice Department establishes the Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team to assist with the DEA's Project Cassandra investigation into groups supporting Hezbollah. (Reuters)
• United States–European Union relations
  • The United Kingdom, France, and Germany call on U.S. President Donald Trump to endorse the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. (France 24)

• Media of the Philippines
  • The Securities and Exchange Commission revokes the license of Rappler over its use of Philippine Depository Receipts (PDRs) issued to Omidyar Network. The commission ruled that the provisions of the PDRs issued by Rappler to Omidyar violates constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership and control of companies. Critics of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte condemned the move as an "attack on press freedom". (GMA News) (Reuters)
• Murder of Zainab Ansari
  • The rape and murder of six-year-old girl Zainab in Pakistan has sparked outrage across the country. Two people die in protests in Kasur city. (Dawn)
• Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
  • The United States House of Representatives passes a bill to reauthorize, for a period of six years, a key foreign intelligence collection program, permitted by Section 702. Changes to the program will require the FBI to get a probable cause warrant if it wants to view the contents of Americans' communications swept up in the process. (Time)
• WikiLeaks, Julian Assange political asylum and life at the Ecuadorian embassy
  • It is revealed that Ecuador granted citizenship to Julian Assange. Ecuador granted him asylum in August 2012 and he has remained in the Embassy of Ecuador in London avoiding extradition to Sweden on rape charges. Subsequently, Swedish authorities dropped the charges in May 2017. (The Guardian)
• Weinstein effect
  • Twitter posts disseminate claims that actor Kirk Douglas (aged 101) had been accused in the past of having sexually assaulted actress Natalie Wood when she was 16 years old (c. 1954). (Mediaite.com)
• 1964 Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner
  • Former Ku Klux Klan organizer and convicted murderer Edgar Ray Killen dies in prison at the age of 92. (The New York Times)

• Haiti–United States relations
  • U.S. President Donald Trump refers to Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as "shithole countries" in a private meeting. (CNN)

• The world's oldest professional football player, 51-year-old Kazuyoshi Miura ("King Kazu"), has extended his contract with Yokohama FC, to take him into his 33rd professional season. (CNN)

• Women's rights in Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, Saudi Vision 2030
  • For the first time, Saudi Arabia allows women to spectate at football matches, part of an easing of strict rules on gender separation by the ultra-conservative Muslim country. (BBC)

• A major fire engulfs parts of Nottingham station, United Kingdom. (BBC)

• Turkey–United States relations
  • Turkey cautions its citizens against travel to the United States in response to an advisory that warned Americans about terror threats and arbitrary detentions in Turkey. (AP via Fox News)
• United Kingdom–United States relations
  • United States President Donald Trump cancels his scheduled trip to the United Kingdom next month. (Reuters)
• Nepal–United States relations, Botswana–United States relations
  • Nepalese authorities state that they are "discussing their response" to Trump's recent comment which referred to their country (among others) as a "shithole". Botswana summoned their U.S. ambassador, asking for clarification and expressed their concerns. (CNN)
• Panama–United States relations
  • The United States Ambassador to Panama, John D. Feeley, resigns saying he can no longer serve under Trump administration. (The Telegraph)

• Murder of Zainab Ansari
  • Protesters set a government office on fire in the Pakistani city of Kasur, in a second day of riots after the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl. (BBC)
• After European Parliament auditors conclude that he used a parliamentary assistant for UKIP party matters instead of for work related to the duties of a Member of the European Parliament, Nigel Farage will now pay back £35,500 (€40,000) through having half of his salary withheld. (The Independent)

• Cabinet of Germany
  • The CDU/CSU (Christian Democrats) and SPD (Social Democrats) agree on a blueprint for formal negotiations on a new "grand coalition" government after the September 2017 federal election. (BBC)
• Politics of Mexico
  • Mexicans react with incredulity after President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto appointed Alberto Bazbaz to the position of head of the CISEN intelligence service. Bazbaz is known for having overseen a 9-day search for a missing girl, Paulette Gebara Farah, who was eventually found dead in her own bed. (The Guardian)

• 2018 in spaceflight
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launches India’s 100th satellite and 30 other satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. (The Hindu)
  • A Delta IV launches NROL-47, a classified U.S. military payload, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. It is the last single-core Delta IV to launch from Vandenberg. (Spaceflight Now)

• Racism in South Africa
  • In South Africa, several H&M stores are closed following protests over a controversial advertisement that was featured in the store's webpage. The advertisement showed a black child model wearing a green hoodie reading "Coolest Monkey in the Jungle". Several stores are also ransacked by protesters from the Economic Freedom Fighters over the advertisement. (Reuters) (CNN Business)
  • Rubber bullets are used on EEF protesters at the East Rand Mall. (News24)

• A search for missing children is underway after a boat capsized off the Indian coast near Dahanu, Maharashtra. Two bodies have been recovered. (BBC)
• Sanchi oil tanker collision
  • A Chinese rescue team recovers two bodies from the MV Sanchi and salvages the voyage data recorder from the bridge. (Reuters)
• Pegasus Airlines Flight 8622
  • A Pegasus Airlines flight from Esenboğa International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, departs the runway of Trabzon Airport in northern Turkey upon landing. All 162 passengers, two pilots, and four cabin crew evacuated the aircraft, a Boeing 737, unharmed. The local government launched an investigation into the incident. (Irish Independent), (Sky News)

• Iran–United States relations
  • Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the January 12 U.S. sanctions on Chief Justice Sadeq Amoli-Larijani are "beyond all [...] red lines." (BBC) (Sputnik)
• Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
  • U.S. President Donald Trump says he is extending sanctions relief for Iran one last time so Europe and the U.S. can fix the nuclear deal's "terrible flaws". (BBC)
  • Iran's Foreign Ministry replies that it "will not accept any change in the deal," adding that it will "not take any action beyond its commitments." (Politico)
• Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
  • Russia deploys a second anti-air S-400 missile battalion in Crimea. (TASS) (Radio Free Europe)
• 2018 Hawaii false missile alert
  • An emergency alert warning of an inbound ballistic missile is accidentally sent out across the U.S. state of Hawaii at 8:07 HST, before being cleared as a false alarm 38 minutes later. This event caused panic and disruptions across the state on the archipelago inhabited by roughly 1.7 million people. (BBC)

• The Bar Council of India forms a 7-member delegation which will attempt to meet the four most senior Supreme Court judges on behalf of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra. This comes in the wake of allegations made by the four top judges against the CJI at a first of its kind press conference held on January 12. (The Times of India)
• Nigerian Shia Islamic Movement leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, who is detained at an unknown location without charges since December 2015, makes a short public appearance, his first in two years, being allowed to see his doctor. (Reuters)
• Two people are killed and another is injured in a mass shooting in Vancouver, Canada. (CBC)

• Czech presidential election
  • The first round of the presidential election results in a second round that will be held on 26 and 27 January between Miloš Zeman and Jiří Drahoš. (Reuters)

• Palestinian tunnel warfare in the Gaza Strip, Blockade of the Gaza Strip
  • The Israel Defense Forces report the complete destruction of an underground tunnel dug by Hamas under the Kerem Shalom crossing. Israel shut down the crossing before its jets bombed the tunnel opening in Gaza Saturday night. The crossing remains closed. (Ynetnews), (CNN)
• American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War
  • The U.S.-led coalition confirms reports that it will form a new 30,000-strong Syrian Border Security Force (BSF). Half of the forces will be Syrian Democratic Forces veterans. Another 15,000 will be recruited and trained in the near future. (Daily Sabah)

• Sanchi oil tanker collision
  • The National Iranian Tanker Company-operated MV Sanchi sinks, following its January 6 collision with a Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship off Shanghai, China, leaving no survivors. (BBC)
• 2018 Peru earthquake
  • A 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes in the Pacific Ocean near Acarí in Peru's Arequipa Region resulting in 1 death and 65 injured. (Reuters), (USGS)
• A heat boiler explodes at a community center in Vila Nova da Rainha, Tondela, Portugal, leaving at least eight people dead and thirty five injured. (BBC)

• Palestine–United States relations
  • President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas describes President of the United States Donald Trump's Middle East peace efforts as the "slap of the century." (Euronews)

• Turpin case
  • A couple in Perris, California is arrested for allegedly holding captive and abusing their 13 children. (BBC)

• 2018 Tunisian protests
  • The Tunisian government announces a wave of social and economic reforms after violent anti-austerity protests that have resulted in at least one death and the arrest of more than eight hundred people. (BBC)
• Government of Jimmy Morales
  • Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales presents his second government report and starts the second half of his term surrounded by accusations of corruption and protests. Álvaro Arzú Escobar takes office as President of the Congress. Arzú is the son of former president Álvaro Arzú and both are accused of corruption. (Plenglish), (Telesur)

• A study in Biological Psychiatry asserts that increasing the activity of the habenula brain region leads to social problems in rodents, whereas decreasing activity of the region prevents social problems. (Brinkwire)

• Iraqi insurgency (2017–present), January 2018 Baghdad bombings
  • A double suicide bombing kills at least 35 people and injures over 90 in Baghdad, Iraq. (BBC)
• India–Pakistan military confrontation (2016–present)
  • Four Pakistani soldiers are killed in shelling by the Indian Army across the disputed Kashmir frontier. (Reuters)
• Syrian Civil War
  • Turkey threatens to "strangle" the United States-backed Syrian Border Security Force "before it's even born", while Syria vows to crush it and expel American military personnel from the country. Russia called the plans "a plot to dismember Syria". (Reuters)
• Aftermath of the Caracas helicopter incident
  • Two police officers and several gunmen are killed near Caracas in an operation to capture Óscar Pérez, the rogue pilot responsible for the Caracas helicopter incident on June 27, 2017, according to the Venezuelan government. Five people have also been arrested. (BBC)

• Weinstein effect, #MeToo
  • American actress Eliza Dushku says she was sexually assaulted by a stuntman when she was 12 years old. (The Guardian)

• After talks between the company, its lenders, and the United Kingdom's government fail to reach a deal, British multinational facilities management and construction services company Carillion fails and is liquidated, threatening thousands of jobs. Carillion is currently involved in projects such as the high-speed rail in the United Kingdom, including the High Speed 2 rail line. (BBC)
• List of largest rough diamonds
  • A 910 ct "D colour Type II A" diamond is dug up in the Letseng diamond mine, Lesotho. (MiningMX)

• The mezzanine overlooking the main lobby of the Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta, Indonesia, collapses, injuring at least 70 people. The Indonesian National Police ruled out terrorism as the cause. (The Australian), (Daily Express)
• The Mayon volcano begins to erupt in the Philippines. (CNN)
• Chirajara bridge collapse
  • A partially completed bridge in Cundinamarca, Colombia, collapses, killing at least 10 workers. (Reuters)
• Sanchi oil tanker collision
  • An oil tanker sinks in the East China Sea after burning for a week, causing a major spill. (Gizmodo)

• 2017–18 North Korea crisis, Korean War
  • A meeting of senior officials from countries that backed South Korea in the Korean War begins today in Vancouver which will look at ways to better implement sanctions to push North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons. China and Russia, which backed the North in the war but have since agreed to U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang, will not be attending the meeting. (Reuters)
• Israel–Palestine relations
  • Nabil Shaath, the foreign affairs adviser of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, says that the Palestinian Central Council freezes its recognition of the state of Israel until Israel recognizes Palestine as a state. Palestine will freeze the Oslo accords. (Gulf News)

• Aftermath of the 2013 Lahad Datu standoff
  • Malaysia upholds death sentences for nine Filipino Tausūgs over 2013 incursion in Sabah by a faction of claimant to the Sultanate of Sulu throne. (Reuters)
• A knife fight between students breaks out in a school in Perm, Russia. Twelve injured are reported, with three of them in serious condition. (BBC)
• Two people are arrested in Perris, California, after 13 people aged between 2 and 29 years old are found being held captive at their house, including some "shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks". They are all believed to be siblings. (BBC)
• Chinese espionage in the United States
  • Jerry Chun Shing Lee, a former U.S. Central Intelligence Agency officer, is arrested at New York's Kennedy International Airport and held without bail by the Brooklyn federal court. He faces charges that, after he left his job, he kept notebooks filled with classified information about undercover agents and assets which he allegedly used to help China identify informants and dismantle a U.S. spying network. (Reuters) (The New York Times) (The Washington Post)

• Politics of Egypt
  • The nephew of assassinated Egyptian president Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat announces that he will not run in March’s presidential election, blaming an environment of fear surrounding the vote. (The Guardian)
• Politics of Romania
  • Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose resigns after losing the support of the Social Democratic Party. (Reuters)
• Rohingya persecution in Myanmar
  • Win Myat Aye, Myanmar's minister of social welfare, relief and resettlement, announced that his country would begin repatriating Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh beginning on January 23, 2018. Burmese officials also promised that a newly built camp for repatriated refugees would also be finished by that date. (The Washington Post) (ABC News)
• Partition and secession in California
  • A group of Californians criticize their state government and declare their desire to form a new U.S. state called New California. (U.S. News & World Report)
• Politics of the United States
  • Nine out of the twelve members of the U.S. National Park Service's advisory board resign out of protest over their treatment by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. (The Washington Post), (NPR)

• Aftermath of the Caracas helicopter incident
  • The Venezuelan government confirms that Óscar Pérez, the rogue pilot responsible for the Caracas helicopter incident in June 2017, was killed in a firefight with the Venezuelan Army yesterday. Two police officers and seven people from Pérez's group were killed, and six members of Pérez's group were arrested. (CNN) (teleSUR)

• Animal welfare and rights in Europe
  • The European Parliament approves a call to ban electric pulse fishing, seen by some as cruel. (U.S. News & World Report)
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) names Russell M. Nelson as the 17th President of the Church. (NPR)

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches 26,000 points for the first time, after surpassing the 25,000-mark on January 4. (Chicago Tribune)
• In a strategy claimed as "towards healthier products", Nestlé sells its United States confectionery business, number 4 on the market, to Ferrero SpA for $2.8 billion. (Reuters)

• A Colombian Army Mi-17 helicopter crashes near Segovia, Antioquia, in northern Colombia, killing at least ten people. (Reuters)

• Palestine–United States relations
  • The United States will withhold $65 million for Palestinian aid paid via the United Nations Relief and Welfare Agency stating that UNRWA needs to make unspecified reforms. The U.S. says it will provide $60 million, 48 percent of the regular payment. (Reuters)

• Terrorism in Kosovo
  • Oliver Ivanović, the head politician of the Kosovo Serb party Freedom, Democracy, Justice, is killed outside his office in North Mitrovica in a drive-by shooting. Aleksandar Vučić, the President of Serbia says his government treats this as an act of terrorism. (BBC)
• Terrorism in Pakistan
  • Over 1,800 muslim clerics in Pakistan issue a fatwa aimed at prohibiting the use of suicide bombing, declaring it haram. (Sputnik).

• U.S. Special Counsel investigation
  • The New York Times reports that Special Counsel Robert Mueller subpoenaed Steve Bannon last week to testify before a grand jury. The House Intelligence Committee issues a second subpoena, via powers seldomly used by Congress, following Bannon's testimony today that, while he was willing to answer questions, the White House instructed him not to answer questions related to his White House tenure. (CNN) (NBC News) (The New York Times)

• Climate of Russia
  • Temperatures reach −67 °C (−89 °F) in Russia's Yakutia region, four degrees shy of the record low of −71 °C (−96 °F) recorded in 2013 in Yakutia's village of Oymyakon. (Channel NewsAsia)

• Two Americans and two Canadians are abducted by unknown gunmen in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Two police officers are killed after engaging in a firefight with the abductors. (Reuters)
• Boko Haram insurgency
  • Suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers kill 12 people and injure 48 others, in Maiduguri, Nigeria. (Reuters)
• Insurgency in the North Caucasus
  • In Nazran, Ingushetia, arsonists set fire to the office of Memorial, a Russian human rights organization. (The Moscow Times)

• France–United Kingdom relations
  • The Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the Norman conquest of England, is to be displayed in the United Kingdom for the first time after French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to loan it out for the first time in 950 years. Subject to the outcome of tests, the loan is expected to happen somewhere after 2020. (BBC)

• 2018 Sapphire Aviation Bell UH-1H Iroquois crash
  • Zimbabwean politician Roy Bennett is killed in a helicopter crash near Raton, New Mexico, United States. (BBC)

• North Korea–South Korea relations
  • The South Korean Ministry of Unification announces that both North Korea and South Korea will march together under the Korean Unification Flag during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics. (CNN)
• Visa policy of the United States
  • The U.S. Department of Homeland Security discontinues the eligibility of citizens of Belize, Haiti, and Samoa to obtain H-2A and H-2B visas for temporary work. (Reuters)

• Freedom of the press, Media of the Philippines
  • Following the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines' revocation of Rappler's license, the National Bureau of Investigation of the Philippines launches a probe into Rappler. (Reuters)

• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • The Parliament of Catalonia opens the new legislature. Roger Torrent (ERC) is named Speaker. Three parliamentarians in jail vote through proxies, the five parlementarians in exile in Belgium do not. Carles Puigdemont (PDeCAT, JuntsxCat), through his spokesman, considers it "perfectly plausible" for him to be president remotely. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says that he will not restore Catalonia's autonomous powers if the regional parliament permits Puigdemont to lead the government from exile. (BBC)
• Freedom of the press, Fake News Awards
  • Donald Trump tweets a link to the Republican National Committee's "Fake News Awards", won by ten stories and tweets that he considers misreported. The link also honors ten ways the President "has been getting results" thus far. (Politico)

• The Emirates airline announces an order for up to 36 Airbus A380s. Emirates is already the aircraft's largest operator, with a fleet of over 100. (BBC)

• 2018 Aktobe bus fire
  • A bus carrying Uzbek migrant workers catches fire in Kazakhstan's Aktobe Region, killing 52 people. Five people escape and are treated by rescue workers. (BBC)

• France–United Kingdom relations
  • French President Emmanuel Macron meets with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. (Politico)

• Crime in Serbia
  • Police in Serbia arrest three Australians, one of them Rohan Arnold, a known businessman, for allegedly smuggling 1,280 kilograms (2,820 lb) of cocaine into Sydney in 2016. (Sydney Morning Herald)

• In a world's first, a drone rescues two swimmers off the coast of Lennox Head, New South Wales in Australia by dropping a safety device to them. John Barilaro, the Deputy Premier of New South Wales, praises the rescue as historic. (Channel NewsAsia) (BBC)

• Pan-Amazon region synod:
  • Pope Francis visits Peru and meets 4,000 members of the indigenous communities from the Amazon rainforest. He states that the people of the Amazon are threatened now more than ever, and questions the conservationist policies that affect the Peruvian rainforest. In Puerto Maldonado, he asks for the indigenous communities to be recognized as partners instead of as minorities. He calls on the Peruvian people to put an end to practices that degrade women, and criticizes the sterilization of indigenous women. (Anadolu Agency) (America)

• Turkish military intervention in Afrin
  • With a cross-border artillery bombardment into the Afrin Canton, Turkey starts its announced military campaign to "destroy" the Syrian Kurdish YPG group. (Reuters)

• Protests against Rodrigo Duterte
  • Journalists in the Philippines protest the government's decision to cancel the license of Rappler. (The Philippine Star), (Channel News Asia)

• Fifteen people are injured and an infant is killed after a car hits a group of pedestrians near Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The police report that the driver had an epileptic seizure. (BBC)
• The bodies of ten Syrian men are found after a snowstorm on the Lebanon–Syria border. The Lebanese Army says they tried to enter Lebanon illegally. Two presumed people smugglers are arrested. (Daily Star)

• Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service arrests 7 journalists who were covering this week's economic protests in Khartoum. The charges are unclear. (The New York Times)
• Outside the Fleury-Mérogis prison, French police clash with prison guards who are striking over the detention conditions in French jails. (Reuters)

• Politics of China
  • Citing a national "fervor", the Communist Party of China proposes writing the Xi Jinping Thought into the state constitution, after it was already added to the party constitution. (Reuters)
• Politics of the United States
  • Presenting a new national defense strategy, the United States Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, says terrorism is no longer the focus of the national security of the United States. Now it is competition between great powers. (BBC)
• Politics of the United Kingdom
  • A spokesperson for Prime Minister Theresa May says the government has seen no plans for Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's idea of building a road bridge across the English Channel between France and the United Kingdom. (CNBC)
• Political appointments by Donald Trump
  • Carl Higbie, Corporation for National and Community Service Chief of External Affairs, apologizes and resigns from his position with the agency that runs AmeriCorps after racist and anti-Muslim remarks he made in 2013 are reported by CNN. (NPR)

• An Atlas V rocket successfully deployed the fourth SBIRS satellite for the United States Air Force. This launch completes the geosynchronous segment of SBIRS and provides a global missile detection system for the United States. (Spaceflight 101)
• Twitter announces it is notifying 677,775 people in the U.S. that they had some contact with the Kremlin-linked troll farm, Internet Research Agency, during the 2016 election period. The count of Russian-linked bot accounts is now 50,258, the company having identified an additional 13,512 bot accounts since its November Congressional briefing. (Politico) (Mumbrella)

• Syrian Civil War
  • Northwestern Syria campaign (October 2017–February 2018)
    • The Syrian Army seizes control of the strategic Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase in Idlib Governorate. (Reuters)
• 2018 Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul attack
  • At least four gunmen launch an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan. (CNN)

• United States federal government shutdown of January 2018
  • The United States federal government shuts down after the United States Senate fails to pass a budget bill. (The New York Times)

• A bus crash in Turkey's northwestern Eskişehir Province kills at least 11 people and injures 46 others. (BBC)
• The state government of Minas Gerais, Brazil, declares a health emergency in three areas, Belo Horizonte, Itabira and Ponte Nova, over an outbreak of yellow fever. (Outbreak News)

• South China Sea disputes, Philippines v. China
  • China claims its sovereignty was violated when a United States Navy ship sailed close to the Scarborough Shoal near the Philippines. (The Japan Times)

• 2017–18 Romanian protests
  • Tens of thousands of demonstrators protest in Bucharest and major cities against perceived corruption and changes to the judiciary. Romanians in diaspora stage protests in dozens of cities worldwide in solidarity with the anti-corruption movement in the country. (Associated Press) (Balkan Insight)
• 2018 Women's March
  • Hundreds of thousands protest in D.C., with thousands of protesters turning out in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and other cities throughout the United States and the world in cities such as Rome, Italy internationally, in support of women's rights. (The New York Times) (Politico)
• Odebrecht case in Guatemala
  • Former presidential candidate Manuel Baldizón is captured in the United States accused of receiving bribes from Odebrecht. (Reuters)

• 2018 Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul attack
  • Six insurgents kill at least 18 people, including 4 Afghans and 14 foreigners, in a 13-hour gun battle. The Afghan Interior Ministry says that the siege ended when the last gunman was shot dead. NATO reports that "no foreign troops" died. The Taliban claim that they sent five suicide bombers armed with hand grenades and AK-47 assault rifles. The Afghan government blames the attack on the Pakistan-based Haqqani network. (CBS News), (AP via NBC News), (BBC)
• Turkish military intervention in Afrin
  • Turkish President Erdoğan announces that Turkish Army ground troops have entered the district of Afrin in Syria. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım says the goal is to establish a 30-km safe zone. (Voice of America)

• Turkish military intervention in Afrin
  • France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian calls for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to address the Turkish incursion into Northern Syria's Afrin Region. The UNSC will convene on Monday. (Reuters) (Daily Sabah) (Reuters²)
• Jordan–United States relations
  • Abdullah II of Jordan tells U.S. Vice President Mike Pence the U.S. has to rebuild "trust and confidence" to achieve a two-state solution in Israel after the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. (Reuters)

• 2018 Women's March
  • Hundreds of thousands protest for a second day throughout the United States in support of women's rights. (CNN)
• Politics of Somalia
  • President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed fires Taabit Abdi Mohamed as mayor of Mogadishu and replaces him with his information minister, Abdirahman Omar Osman. (Reuters)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo general election
  • The Kabila government begins blocking internet access in the capital Kinshasa at midnight, after a Catholic lay group's call to march today, in defiance of a government ban on public demonstrations. A joint statement was released by the American and British embassies on Twitter the day prior, applauding "Congolese citizens exercising their constitutional right to assemble peacefully in support of the full implementation" of the Sylvester agreements of December 2016. The statement also said that those who do not protect these fundamental human rights must be held accountable "at the highest level". (Het Laatste Nieuws), (AP via U.S. News & World Report), (Reuters)
  • Congolese security forces kill at least six protesters and fire tear gas in Kinshasa. 57 people are wounded and dozens of arrests are made in protests across the country, notably in Mbuji-Mayi, Goma, Lubumbashi and several other places. (Reuters)
• United States federal government shutdown of January 2018
  • U.S. President Donald Trump says on Twitter that if the shutdown stalemate continues, Republicans should consider the "nuclear option" parliamentary procedure in the Senate. Majority leader Mitch McConnell is opposed to taking this step, a spokesperson said. (Bloomberg) (CNBC)
  • The United States Senate schedules a vote for noon Monday to fund the government through February 8. Since the Senate did not reach a budget compromise late Sunday evening, hundreds of thousands of federal workers will face furloughs on Monday and many federal government offices will remain closed though some facilities, such as the Smithsonian Museums and the National Zoo, are scheduled to be open. (The Washington Post) (BBC) (Reuters) (The Hill)

• 2018 in spaceflight
  • Rocket Lab successfully launches test rocket Electron into orbit from Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, becoming the first rocket to reach orbit using an electric-pump-fed engine, after the original rocket launch in May 2017 had to be aborted by safety officials. (1 News)

• 2017–18 NFL playoffs
  • In American football, the Philadelphia Eagles win the National Football Conference, defeating the Minnesota Vikings 38–7. (NBC Sports)
  • The New England Patriots win the American Football Conference title, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 24–20. (Fox Sports Australia via News Limited)

• Seven people die in clashes between security forces and worshippers taking part in an Ethiopian Orthodox religious ceremony marking Timkat (Epiphany) in Woldiya, Amhara, Ethiopia, over the weekend. (Reuters)
• South Thailand insurgency
  • A motorcycle bomb kills at least three people and wounds 22 others at a market in Thailand's southern Yala Province. (Reuters)

• Net neutrality in the United States
  • Montana Governor Steve Bullock signs an executive order that bars any Internet service provider with state contracts from blocking or charging more for faster delivery of websites to any customer in the state. Montana is the first state to respond this way to the FCC's December 14, 2017, net neutrality ruling. (The New York Times) (The Hill)

• 2018 Mount Mayon activity
  • The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raises Mount Mayon's alert level to 4, its second highest volcano category which indicates a hazardous eruption is imminent. Mayon's activity, which began the afternoon of January 13, 2018, has displaced about 40,000 residents in Albay Province on Luzon island. (Reuters via NBC News) (CNN Philippines)
  • Mayon erupts at 12:43 p.m. (PST). The eight-minute phreatomagmatic eruption was a dense, five-kilometer tall column of volcanic ash, followed by two explosion-type earthquakes. Fountains of intense but sporadic lava, which lasted between three to 30 minutes, began at 9:37 p.m. (GMA News Online) (PHIVOLCS bulletin)
• An explosion on an oil rig in the U.S. state of Oklahoma leaves one injured and five people reported missing. (CBC)
• A landslide pushes a bus into a ravine in Colombia, killing 13 people. (Reuters)

• United States recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital
  • U.S. Vice President Mike Pence declares during a speech in the Israeli parliament that the new U.S. embassy located in Jerusalem will open in 2019, sooner than generally expected. (The Guardian)
• Palestine–European Union relations
  • After a meeting with the President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini again assures President Abbas that the European Union supports his ambition to have East Jerusalem as capital of a Palestinian state. (Reuters)
• Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
  • Italian politician Michele Nicoletti becomes the new President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. (PACE)
• Tariffs in United States history
  • President Donald Trump imposes Section 201 tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines. (Chicago Tribune)

• Crime in Germany
  • German nurse and convicted serial killer Niels Högel is charged with 97 further counts of murder. (Deutsche Welle)

• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • Carles Puigdemont, ex-President of Catalonia, travels to Denmark while Spanish Attorney General requests the European Arrest Warrant. The Speaker of the Catalan Parliament appoints Puigdemont to be invested as President. Spain's Supreme Court refuses to reactivate the arrest warrant. (BBC) (RTE)
• United States federal government shutdown of January 2018
  • The United States Senate reaches an agreement to reopen federal agencies through to February 8. A bill is working its way through the legislative process. The first Senate vote was 81–18. (AP).
• Politics of Liberia
  • George Weah takes office as President of Liberia, and Jewel Taylor as Vice President. It is the first peaceful transition between two Liberian presidents in 74 years. (New York Times)

• USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal
  • Three members of the USA Gymnastics Board of Directors resign amid criticism over their handling of sexual abuse allegations against Larry Nassar. (NBC News)

• Second Libyan Civil War
  • A double car bombing in Benghazi, Libya, kills at least 33 people and wounds "dozens" of others. The victims include both military personnel and civilians, according to local officials. (Reuters)

• 90th Academy Awards
  • The nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards are announced. Among the films nominated as the best of 2017 in film, The Shape of Water leads with thirteen nominations, with Dunkirk following behind with eight nominations. (CNN)
• Russia's Ministry of Culture bars the release of the British–French political satire film The Death of Stalin in the country after accusing the film of containing "ideological warfare" and "extremist" content. (BBC)

• World Economic Forum
  • Various billionaires, world leaders, and investors gather in Davos, Switzerland to discuss economic issues. (Bloomberg)
• Trans-Pacific Partnership
  • The 11 remaining countries aiming to create the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the United States' withdrawal announce that they will sign an agreement in Chile this March. (Reuters)

• 2018 Alaska earthquake
  • A 7.9 magnitude earthquake occurs in the Gulf of Alaska. A tsunami warning is issued for coastal Alaska and British Columbia, and the entire U.S. West Coast is placed under a tsunami watch. Areas of Alaska remain under a tsunami advisory. It is tied as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States, but there are no reports of significant damage or fatalities. (Sky News UK) (CBS News) (USGS)
• A helicopter and a light aircraft collide mid-air close to the Philippsburg Nuclear Power Plant in Germany, killing four people. (Deutsche Welle)

• Haiti–United States relations
  • The United States closes its embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, due to large-scale protests against the policy of U.S. President Donald Trump. (AP via Armenpress)

• 2018 Marshall County High School shooting
  • A school shooting at Marshall County High School in Draffenville, Kentucky kills two people and injures 19. The suspect is arrested. (Fox News)

• Politics of the United Kingdom
  • Theresa May criticizes Boris Johnson for airing National Health Service funding concerns outside private U.K. Cabinet meetings. (Reuters)
• Venezuelan presidential election, 2018
  • The National Constituent Assembly approved a decree that calls for presidential elections before April 30. Incumbent Nicolás Maduro says he will compete for re-election. (Business Insider)
• The United States Senate confirms Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank with 84 votes for and 13 against. (The New York Times)
• Politics of Guatemala
  • President Jimmy Morales is questioned about the high costs he spends to buy food and other luxury items. (BBC)

• Google Lunar X Prize
  • The organizers of the Google Lunar X Prize announce that the $20 million grand prize for a commercial lunar lander will expire on 31 March 2018 without a winner because none of its five finalist teams would be able to launch a mission before the deadline. (Space News)

• 2017–18 NBA season
  • LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers scores his 30,000th career regular-season point in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. James becomes the youngest player to reach the milestone at age 33 years, 24 days, surpassing Kobe Bryant's previous record of 34 years, 104 days. (Sports Illustrated)

• War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
  • 2018 Save The Children Jalalabad attack
    • Attackers detonate explosives before storming the offices of the Save the Children charity in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad. (BBC)
• Turkish military intervention in Afrin
  • British, American and German men are among a group of international volunteers who travelled to Afrin to fight against Turkish-led forces in north-west Syria. (BBC) (Reuters)
  • Several rockets fired from Syria strike the Turkish city of Kilis, near the Syria–Turkey border, killing at least one person and injuring 13 others. Turkey blames the YPG group. (Xinhuanet)
• American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War
  • The U.S.-led coalition against ISIL says it has killed up to 150 militants in air strikes on a headquarters in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria. (BBC)

• Culture of Saudi Arabia
  • A dozen camels are disqualified from a beauty pageant at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, near Riyadh, after reports in the media about injections with botox. A veterinarian is caught performing plastic surgery to make the camels more attractive. Rules prohibit to change the natural form of participating camels. (NPR)
• Senior politicians express outrage after an investigative report by the Financial Times on groping practices at a Dorchester hotel charity gala held by the London-based Presidents Club old boy network. Boris Johnson and Mark Carney both deny knowing that their lunch or tea time was sold as lots in the club's charitable auction. (AP via U.S. News and World Report)

• Crime in Michigan
  • Two Michigan State Police troopers are injured by gunfire in Union City while serving a warrant. The suspect was later found dead nearby. (MLive.com)
• USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal
  • Larry Nassar is sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for molesting Olympic gymnasts and other women. Many of the accusers were children, who were told to not question authority. (Chicago Tribune)

• Animal cloning
  • Chinese scientists announce they have successfully cloned crab-eating macaques using somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), making them the first primates to be cloned. The monkeys were named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua. (Reuters)
• 2018 in spaceflight
  • SpaceX conducts the first static fire test of the Falcon Heavy rocket ahead of its maiden flight with Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster as a dummy payload. (BBC)

• Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2018
  • The Baseball Writers' Association of America elects Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, and Trevor Hoffman to the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame. They will be formally inducted alongside Jack Morris and Alan Trammell, voted in by a special Hall of Fame committee, on July 29. (ESPN)

• Thirteen civilians travelling from Burkina Faso are killed after their vehicle struck a landmine near the village of Boni in Mali's Mopti Region. (Reuters) (AFP via Daily Sabah)

• Tens of thousands of Pentecostal Christians in Mbarara, Uganda take to the streets with songs of praise and thanks to hold a common celebration seen as a way of dedicating people’s lives to Christ and preaching the gospel across the entire district. (UG Christian News)

• Monetary policy of the United States
  • Financial analysts interpret remarks by United States Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin as an indication that the United States may change the strong dollar policy that it has held since the 1990s. This is evidenced by the fact that he did not deliver the usual message that a strong dollar is good for America. (CNBC)
  • Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, says that Mnuchin's comments are contrary to a decades-old agreement not to "target" each other's exchange rate. The European Central Bank keeps its policy unchanged for now despite citing the euro's surge as a source of uncertainty with respect to its strong currency policy. (Reuters)

• Pioltello train derailment
  • At least three people are killed and over 100 injured in a train derailment near Milan, Italy. (BBC) (The Guardian) (Reuters)

• Germany–Turkey relations
  • Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, for the German caretaker government, decide to delay a decision on upgrading Turkey's German-built Leopard 2 tanks until after the formation of a new government coalition. Foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu says Turkey expects "solidarity and support" from its ally. (Reuters) (Jerusalem Post)
• Palestine–United States relations
  • U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to stop aid to Palestine if they do not agree to partake in peace talks with Israel. (BBC)

• Time in Florida
  • Two bills are unanimously approved by the Florida House and Senate Committees that propose moving the state permanently to Daylight Saving Time (UTC−04:00), and shifting most of the Panhandle west of a line from eastern Jackson County to northern Gulf County – which currently lies within the southern boundary of the Central Time Zone (UTC−05:00) – to the Eastern Time Zone, in alignment with the remainder of Florida's 67 counties. If passed by the state legislature, any changes would need to be approved by the Department of Transportation and Congress. (Miami Herald)

• Politics of Brazil
  • The Brazil Workers' Party (PT) insists that former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be their candidate for the upcoming presidential election even as a conviction for corruption bars him from participating. The São Paulo stock market hits new highs and the value of the Brazilian real strengthens. (Reuters)
• Politics of Guatemala
  • The Attorney General and the Head of the Anticorruption Commission of the UN, reported on a new case of corruption in the Superintendency of Tax Administration, leaving 9 people arrested, including the Former President of that organization. (ABC News)

• Doomsday Clock
  • The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moves the Doomsday Clock thirty seconds forward, to two minutes before midnight, the closest setting since 1953. The journal cites the closer approach to the point of hypothetical global catastrophe to the failure of world leaders to deal with looming threats of nuclear war (particularly, tensions involving the North Korean nuclear program) and climate change. (The Washington Post) (Vice Motherboard)

• Syrian Civil War
  • President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says the Afrin offensive, as announced, is now to turn east, towards Manbij and the border with Iraq. (Reuters)

• Protests against Donald Trump
  • Celebrities Alyssa Milano, Michael Moore and Mark Ruffalo organize a "People's State of the Union"-themed concert on Monday in New York City. Common and Andra Day are scheduled to perform. (USA Today)

• CSeries dumping petition by Boeing
  • The United States International Trade Commission votes 4–0 in favor of dismissing the Boeing Company's petition against Bombardier Inc. over alleged price dumping. (Reuters)

• 2018 Miryang hospital fire
  • A fire breaks out in a hospital in Miryang, South Korea, killing at least 37 people and injuring over 130 others. (Reuters via ABC News) (BBC)
• Paris Zoological Park, France, is evacuated and closed after dozens of baboons escape their enclosure. (The Guardian)
• Rescuers, including the Royal New Zealand Air Force, search for the Kiribati ferry MV Butiraoi with around 50 people on board after it is declared missing. (BBC) (The New Zealand Herald)
• Cape Town water crisis
  • Cape Town announces that they will reach their "zero day", when they run out of all available water reserves, on April 12, 2018. (CNN) (BBC)
• Aftermath of the Oroville Dam crisis
  • The cost of the Oroville Dam spill rises to US$870 million. The U.S. state of California continues to hope for federal aid for the project. (KQED)

• Crime in Guatemala
  • Former Defense Minister of Guatemala Williams Mansilla is arrested for a possible corruption case associated with a bond to President Jimmy Morales. The Attorney General asked the Supreme Court to consider again the impeachment against President Morales. (Reuters)
  • José Arturo Sierra, former President of the Supreme Court of Justice of Guatemala, is shot and killed while driving to Guatemala City. (AP via The New Zealand Herald)
• Cryptocurrency and security
  • Hackers steal $535 million worth of the NEM cryptocurrency from Japanese exchange Coincheck. (CNBC)

• Political appointments by Donald Trump
  • U.S. President Donald Trump names former NASA astronaut James F. Reilly as leader of the U.S. Geological Survey. (The Hill)

• 2018 Kabul ambulance bombing
  • A suicide bomber in an ambulance packed with explosives kills at least 102 people and wounds 158 outside a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. (The Washington Post)
• Gunmen kill at least 14 soldiers at a military base in Soumpi, central Mali. (AFP via France 24)

• Energy in Europe
  • United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says that the U.S. and Poland "oppose" the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. They see it as undermining Europe's overall energy security and stability. (Reuters via U.S. News and World Report)

• Riverside homes and businesses in Paris are on high alert as the swollen River Seine threatens to overflow its banks. (BBC)

• Turkish military intervention in Afrin
  • According to the Turkish presidency, United States National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster said January 26 that the U.S. "will not provide any more weapons to the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia". (Reuters via U.S. News & World Report) (AP via The Washington Post)

• Weinstein effect
  • In the United States, billionaire Steve Wynn, best known for his casino hotels and resorts, resigns as Republican National Committee finance chairman following sexual harassment reports, including a $7.5 million settlement with a former worker at his Las Vegas resort. (Bloomberg via Fortune)

• Czech presidential election, 2018
  • Incumbent Miloš Zeman, who opposes immigration and objects to EU sanctions against Russia, is elected to a second term as President of the Czech Republic, after receiving 51.8 percent of the votes in the run-off election over pro-EU challenger Jiří Drahoš. (BBC) (ABC News)
• Presidency of Donald Trump
  • The United States will pay Boeing nearly US$24 million to replace two of the five 27-year-old chiller units on Air Force One, customized to carry 70 cubic feet of refrigerated storage for about 3,000 meals. (Star and Stripes) (Defense One)
• Politics of Honduras
  • President Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado takes oath of his second presidential term amid protests led by Salvador Nasralla, former candidate for the Alliance of Opposition against the Dictatorship. (Deutsche Welle)

• 2018 in sumo
  • In sumo, Tochinoshin Tsuyoshi becomes the first Georgian wrestler in history to win the makuuchi (top division) championship. (Reuters)

• Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
  • Battle of Aden (2018)
    • United Arab Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) fighters seize control of government buildings in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, after clashing with forces loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. At least 10 people are reportedly killed and 30 wounded. Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr accuses the separatists of mounting a coup. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
• Turkish military operation in Afrin
  • Turkish airstrikes and shelling heavily damage the ancient Syro-Hittite Ain Dara temple in Syria's Afrin District. The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums calls on the international community to pressure Turkey "to prevent the targeting of archaeological and cultural sites". (Reuters)

• 60th Annual Grammy Awards
  • Leonard Cohen and Carrie Fisher win posthumously. (The New York Times)
  • Alessia Cara wins Best New Artist. (NPR)
  • Bruno Mars wins three of the Big Four awards with Song of the Year for "That's What I Like", Record of the Year for "24K Magic" and Album of the Year for 24K Magic. (CNN), (Billboard)

• Researchers note that in November 2017, Strava, which processes data from apps and Internet of Things devices such as Fitbit, accidentally revealed the locations of alleged United States military bases overseas, including in Afghanistan, Djibouti and Syria. (The Verge), (The Guardian)

• Shipwrecks in 2018
  • Seven survivors from the MV Butiraoi, six adults and a baby, are found in a dinghy and rescued, four days after the 50-passenger ferry sank in Kiribati. New Zealand rescuers say there is a lot of debris near the dinghy, but no sign of anyone else. (Sky News)

• China–Japan relations
  • Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Japanese Foreign Minister Tarō Kōno in Beijing and says they hope to work to improve relations. (Reuters)

• Mass shootings in the United States, Crime in Pennsylvania
  • Four people are shot and killed at a car wash in the Melcroft suburb of Saltlick Township in Pennsylvania. A fifth person, believed to be the gunman, is severely injured. (CBS News)
  • Four people are shot and killed in a house in Reading, Pennsylvania. (USA Today)

• Cypriot presidential election, 2018
  • Incumbent Nicos Anastasiades wins the first round of the election, but is well short of an absolute majority required to win outright. He will face his rival from the 2013 election, Stavros Malas, in the second round. (Cyprus Mail)
• Finnish presidential election, 2018
  • Incumbent Sauli Niinistö takes an unprecedented first round victory after receiving 62.7 percent of the votes. (Bloomberg)
• 2017–2018 Russian protests
  • Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is arrested by police at a protest rally in Moscow. His arrest comes shortly after police raid the headquarters of his unregistered Progress Party in an apparent attempt to disrupt online broadcasts of opposition rallies against Vladimir Putin, while police say they were looking for a bomb. Navalny is released from police custody without charge late Sunday but needs to appear in court later. (The Guardian) (Reuters)

• 2018 Australian Open
  • Swiss tennis player Roger Federer successfully defends his title in the five-sets men's singles final against Marin Čilić, winning his sixth title at the Australian Open and becoming the first man to win 20 titles in Grand Slam tournaments. (ESPN)
• Royal Rumble (2018)
  • In professional wrestling, Shinsuke Nakamura wins the 31st Royal Rumble match. Asuka wins the 32nd, the first all-woman version. Both receive championship matches at WrestleMania 34. Former UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey returns to WWE. (Sports Illustrated)

• Bus plunge
  • A bus plunges into the Bhairab River after falling off a bridge in Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India, killing at least 36 people. The late response by rescuers to save passengers leads to violence between local residents and police. (BBC)

• Crime in Toronto
  • Toronto Police charge landscaper Bruce McArthur with a total of five counts of first-degree murder, after garden planters containing the remains of three additional people are found on a property linked to him. (CBC News)
• Mass shootings in the United States, Crime in Pennsylvania
  • The gunman who fatally shot four people at a car wash in the Melcroft suburb of Saltlick Township in Pennsylvania the previous day dies at a hospital from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. (CNN)

• Politics of Egypt
  • Minutes before the registration deadline, a second candidate, Moussa Mostafa Moussa, fulfills paperwork to participate in the 2018 presidential election. Leading opposition members called for a boycott, saying that a wave of repression has cleared the field of challengers to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. (Reuters)
• Politics of Romania
  • Viorica Dăncilă (PSD) is confirmed as Romania's first female Prime Minister. She is Romania’s third premier in less than 13 months. (Irish Times)
• Presidency of Donald Trump
  • Andrew McCabe resigns as Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation amid a dispute with President Donald Trump. (The Independent)

• Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
  • Battle of Aden (2018)
    • The Southern Transitional Council (STC) takes control of the Yemeni port city of Aden following two days of fierce fighting in the city which has left dozens dead. Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr, and members of the President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi-led government are confined to the presidential palace which has been surrounded. (Reuters)

• Russia–United States relations
  • Reports surface about the publication on January 29 by the United States of a list of Russian politicians and oligarchs that the U.S. government was required by CAATSA to draw up. Russian President Vladimir Putin says that the list, on which he is not included, is an "unfriendly act" that complicates ties between the two countries. (BBC₁), (BBC₂)

• 2018 State of the Union Address
  • U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union Address to the 115th United States Congress in the chamber of the House of Representatives. (The New York Times)
• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • The Speaker of the Parliament of Catalonia delays the session of investiture of Carles Puigdemont after the suspension by the Constitutional Court of the telematic investiture. Roger Torrent insists that Puigdemont is the only candidate, disobeying the decision of the high court. (The Guardian)
  • Shortly after the decision, demonstrators assaulted the Parliament gardens as a form of protest, facing the Mossos d'Esquadra. (El País)
• Aftermath of the Kenyan general election, 2017
  • Raila Odinga stages a swearing in ceremony in Nairobi in which he names himself the 'People's president'. (New York Times)

• War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
  • A BBC study finds that, as of October 2017, the Taliban presently maintains control of or has some territorial presence in 70% of Afghanistan, with full control of 14 districts (totaling 4% of the country) and demonstrating an open physical militant presence in 263 others (encompassing the remaining 66% of the group's occupied territory). (Reuters)

• 2018 Crozet, Virginia train crash
  • An Amtrak train carrying Republican lawmakers to a retreat in West Virginia collides with a garbage truck in Crozet, Virginia. At least one person dies and one person is seriously injured. The White House states that there are no serious injuries among members of Congress or their staff. (NPR)

• Crime in Belgium
  • Renaud Hardy, a suspected serial killer from Mechelen, Belgium, confesses to two murders and two attempted murders ahead of his February assizes case in Tongeren. (De Standaard)
• Cannabis in California
  • San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón announces the city will retroactively apply California's new marijuana laws to nearly 5,000 felony convictions, expunging or reducing misdemeanors and felonies dating to 1975. (Los Angeles Times)
• Federal Reserve System
  • The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rules, by a 7–3 vote, that the independent structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is constitutional. A separate case involving directorial succession is under appeal; lower courts have approved the president's selection of Mick Mulvaney as head of CFPB. (NPR)

• Politics of the United Kingdom
  • Prime Minister Theresa May orders Phillip Lee, a Justice minister, to "air his views in private" after he suggested that Brexit planning should be based on evidence rather than dogma. (The Independent)
  • MPs vote 236–220 in favour of moving out of the Houses of Parliament for six years while the Palace of Westminster undergoes repairs at a cost of around £4 billion. The move out of Westminster will not occur before 2025. It will be the first time MPs have moved out of the Palace of Westminster since World War II. (Sky News)
• Politics of Guinea-Bissau
  • President José Mário Vaz appoints Artur Silva as Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau, succeeding Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who resigned on January 16th. (CGTN Africa)
• Political appointments by Donald Trump
  • Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald resigns as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention following a report that she purchased stock in food, health insurance, and tobacco companies shortly after taking up her federal government position. (CNBC)
• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • Private messages between former President of the Generalitat of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont and Antoni Comín, the exiled regional minister of Health, come to light, in which the former President confesses that the secession procedure "is over", opening, once again, tensions between the pro-independence political parties and more confusion about the future of Catalonia. (The Guardian)

• January 2018 lunar eclipse
  • A lunar eclipse is seen in Oceania, Asia, and North America, coinciding with a supermoon and blue moon. (AP via Los Angeles Times)

• 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship
  • The upcoming Formula One season will abandon the practice of using "grid girls", arguing that the practice does not "resonate" with Formula One's values. Four days before, the Professional Darts Corporation abandoned the use of "walk-on girls" to accompany men onto the stage. (CNN)