Portal:Current events/2013 January 18

January 18, 2013 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Kachin conflict:
- President Thein Sein of Myanmar orders the Myanmar Armed Forces to observe a ceasefire with Kachin rebels. (Reuters) (CNN) (BBC)
Northern Mali conflict (2012–present):
- Battle of Konna:
  - The Military of Mali recaptures the town of Konna three days after French jets drove out Islamist militants. (BBC) (Bloomberg) (The Telegraph)
In Aménas hostage crisis:
- About 60 foreign hostages are unaccounted for in the standoff with Islamist militants now entering its third day. (BBC) (AP via WPSD)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
- The terrorists demand that the United States government release Omar Abdel-Rahman and Aafia Siddiqui in exchange for releasing American hostages. (USA Today) (New York Daily News) (The Telegraph)
Syrian civil war:
- Two suicide car bombs explode south of Damascus, Syria, near a mosque killing many people. (AP via USA Today)
- A large explosion rocks Aleppo, Syria, causing several casualties. Syria TV says that it was a rocket launched by "terrorists". Syrian rebels state that it was a Syrian Air Force jet causing havoc in the city. (Reuters) (The Hindu)
- French journalist Yves Debay is killed by a Syrian sniper while he was covering clashed between Syrian forces and rebels. In a separate incident, Al Jazeera reporter Mohamed al-Horani is killed by a Syrian sniper while covering clashes in Busra al-Harir. (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

January 2013 Great Britain and Ireland snowfall:
- Heavy snowfall causes extensive disruption in the United Kingdom. (BBC)
- London’s Heathrow airport, the busiest in Europe, cancels 395 flights or 30 percent of the total scheduled. (Bloomberg) (BBC)
At least 4 people are killed and 16 injured when a bus and a truck collided in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. (Xinhua)

International relations

The United States will officially recognize Somalia's new government and officially open diplomatic relations with Somalia for the first time since the Battle of Mogadishu. (BBC) (Reuters) (Voice of America)
Benjamin Netanyahu says in an interview that he will not destroy any more Israeli settlements during his second term. (The Hindu)

Law and crime

Lottery winner Urooj Kahn's body is exhumed after investigators concluded he was poisoned by cyanide. (Chicago Tribune)
An unknown assailant throws acid in the face of Sergei Filin, who is the artistic director of the Bolshoi Theatre, leaving him partially blind. The attack is attributed to the current power struggle for the famed Russian opera house. (BBC) (AP) (Reuters)
Ray Nagin, the former Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, is indicted on 21 different counts including fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, bribery, and tax evasion. (BBC) (AP) (NPR)
A cleaning woman accused of stealing an empty commuter train in Saltsjöbaden, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, was not to blame for the crash. (BBC) (Dagens Nyheter)

Politics and elections

Science and technology

NASA scientists beam a picture of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, to Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a spacecraft orbiting the Moon, marking a first in laser communication. (NASA) (Space.com)
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft observations show that the craters on Saturn’s moon Titan are disappearing. (NASA)

Sport

American cyclist Lance Armstrong admits to doping in all of his seven Tour de France victories in his interview given to Oprah Winfrey. (BBC) (AP) (Reuters)
In football, the United Arab Emirates wins the 2013 Gulf Cup of Nations defeating Iraq in the final with a 2–1 score after extra time. (AFP via Google) (Soccerway)
In NBA, the Phoenix Suns fires coach Alvin Gentry, calling it a mutual agreement, ending his five-year run. (USA Today) (ESPN)