Portal:Current events/2012 January 31

January 31, 2012 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

The People's Republic of China claims that 29 Chinese citizens abducted while working on a construction project in the Sudan are still missing. (AP via ABC News America)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
Taliban insurgents attack a Pakistani military post in Jogi with the Pakistani Army suffering seven casualties and another 10 soldiers killed. (AFP via Google News)
An Afghan woman was killed by her husband and mother-in-law 3 months after giving birth to her third daughter after not producing a son. (New York Times)
Six aid workers are kidnapped in Yemen's Al Mahwit Governorate. (CNN)

Business and economy

Former Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Fred Goodwin loses his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II as a result of the near collapse of the bank in 2008. (BBC)

Disasters

A search continues off Turkey's Black Sea coast for eight missing crew members of the Cambodia-flagged freighter the Vera. (AP via The Washington Post)
Italian divers end their search for victims in the Costa Concordia disaster in the underwater section of the wreck. (BBC)
The Alaska Volcano Observatory raises its alert warning for the Cleveland Volcano after it starts forming a new lava dome indicating that the mountain could explode. (AP)

International relations

2011–2012 Syrian uprising: The Arab League calls on the United Nations Security Council to back its proposal for the President of Syria Bashar al-Assad to hand over power to his deputy and prepare for elections. (Reuters)
The International Atomic Energy Agency gives its approval to nuclear reactor safety checks made by Japan. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections