Portal:Current events/2015 January 15
January 15, 2015 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2014 Peshawar school massacre
- Afghan security officials arrest five men in Kabul in relation to their suspected involvement in the Pakistan school massacre. (ABC News Australia)
- Police in eastern Belgium kill two suspected terrorists during an anti-terrorism raid near Verviers. (AP via News24) (CNN) (BBC)
Arts and culture
- Pope Francis's visit to the Philippines
- Pope Francis arrives in Manila and meets Philippines President Benigno Aquino III. (The New York Times)
- The Motion Picture Academy announces the nominees for the 87th Academy Awards best picture at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California. The nominations are American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash. (Washington Post) (Deadline)
Business and economy
- The World Bank states that the Philippines can end poverty in a single generation. (AP via The Philippine Star)
- The Swiss franc to euro exchange rate jumps by 30% immediately following a Swiss National Bank announcement. The bank will abandon its three-year-old cap on the swiss franc's value against the euro as well as lower the interest rate on sight deposits (instant access accounts) to -0.75% (the negative number meaning that the depositor has to pay the bank 0.75% per year to hold the depositor's money). (BBC) (Bloomberg)
- Target will close all of its 133 stores in Canada and put Target Canada into bankruptcy. (Reuters)
- Electronics retailer RadioShack Corp will file for bankruptcy protection by next month. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- A tour bus overturns and catches fire on the North-South Expressway in the Malaysian town of Tapah leaving at least eight people killed and 21 others injured. (The Straits Times)
- A newly manufactured tug boat capsizes during a test run in the Yangtze River in east China's Jiangsu Province leaving at least 20 people missing. (Xinhua)
Health
- The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report estimates the effectiveness of the influenza vaccination in 2014–2015 at 23% which is the lowest since 2006. (CDC)
Law and crime
- Philippine authorities in Manila concentrate street children in cages with some even chained in anticipation of Pope Francis' pastoral visit. (The Daily Mail) (the Philippine Daily Inquirer) (Catholic Online)
- Gyumri massacre: