January 3, 2013 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal): - A suicide bombing in Mussayab kills 27 Shiite pilgrims and injures 60 others. (Reuters)
Mexican Drug War: - Mexican troops kill 12 alleged drug traffickers who opened fire at a checkpoint in La Estación, Zacatecas. (BBC)
M23 rebellion: - The March 23 Movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo announces that peace talks will only commence if President Joseph Kabila's government signs a ceasefire. (Reuters)
Arts and culture- Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, grants Russian citizenship to Gérard Depardieu who has renounced his French citizenship due to high taxes. (AFP via ABC News)
- Romanian film director, actor and politician Sergiu Nicolaescu dies at the age of 82 after complications from surgery which led to cardiac arrest. (AAP via News Limited)
Business and economy- News channel Al Jazeera acquires Current TV from Al Gore and Joel Hyatt. (AP)
- Hormel is announced to be purchasing Skippy peanut butter from Unilever for $700 million. (MarketWatch)
- Starbucks plans to open a coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, expanding its reach to 12 Asian nations. (The Globe and Mail)
- Subaru issues a recall for nearly 634,000 vehicles in the United States due to a lighting problem. (The Detroit News)
International relations- The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron say the future of the Falkland Islands is up to its inhabitants, not Argentina. His statement comes after the President of Argentina Cristina Fernández de Kirchner urged the prime minister to abide by a 1965 UN resolution to "negotiate a solution" to the dispute. (BBC)
Law and crime- Police in India charge five men with the murder of a 23-year-old woman who was gang-raped on a bus in Delhi on December 16, 2012. (BBC)
Politics and elections
United States Congress: - The 113th United States Congress is sworn in, replacing the 112th Congress. (CNN)
- Republican Congressman John Boehner is re-elected Speaker of the House. (CNN)
Sports- A friendly match between A.C. Milan and Italian lower divison Pro Patria is suspended after Kevin-Prince Boateng and several other A.C. Milan were the target of racists chants by Pro Patria crowd. (BBC Sport)
January 4, 2013 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks- Hundreds of thousands of people rally in Gaza in a show of unity between the governing Hamas, elected in 2006, and Fatah, in opposition since then. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
Delhi gang rape: - Demonstrations against sexual violence spread across Asia and are now happening in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. (The Guardian)
Syrian civil war: - 9 people are killed by a car bomb at a petrol station in the Syrian capital of Damascus. The bomb reportedly hit the Barzeh al-Balad district, as large numbers of people were queuing for fuel. (BBC)
- Police clash with demonstrators in Belfast over when the Union Flag is to be flown over their city hall. (BBC)
- A gunman kills eight people in Kawit, the Philippines. (CNN)
Business and economy- Joblessness in the United States remains constant, with latest official figures showing a modest job creation total of 155,000. (Al Jazeera)
- Swiss bank Wegelin & Co., the nation's oldest, will cease to operate after pleading guilty to a US tax evasion case and being fined $57.8 million. (BBC)
Disasters- At least seven children are killed in a fire at an orphanage in Henan, China. (BBC) (South China Morning Post) (The Irish Times)
- Three people are killed when a Beechcraft BE35 plane crashes into a home near Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. (CNN)
- Six Russian tourists are killed and two tourists are seriously injured after a snowmobile towing a sled veers off a ski slope, crashes into a barrier, and flies into a ditch on Italy's Mount Cermis. (BBC)
Law and crime- The Nigerian police announces that Hyundai has paid a ransom of Ł118,000 ($190,000) to free 6 kidnapped workers in the Niger Delta region. (BBC)
- Former Nepalese Colonel Kumar Lama is charged with torture in the UK stemming from allegations of human rights abuses during the Nepalese Civil War. (BBC)
- U.S. media report that celebrity Naomi Campbell has been assaulted in Paris. Reports say two men on a motorcycle tried to make off with her handbag during the attack. (BBC)
Politics and elections- Journalists in China call for the resignation of the propaganda chief in Guangdong province over "excessive censorship" amid the closure of a liberal website. (Financial Times)
- The Venezuelan government announces that president Hugo Chávez is being treated for a "respiratory deficiency" after complications from a severe lung infection. (Al Jazeera)
- The United States Congress officially declares President Barack Obama the winner of the 2012 presidential election. (CNN)
- The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan, Omar al-Bashir and Salva Kiir Mayardit, respectively, will meet in Addis Ababa to convene for talks regarding escalating tensions is response to Sudan's recent seizure of Abyei. (BBC)
- King of Spain Juan Carlos I gives a rare television interview to coincide with his 75th birthday. (BBC)
Religion- The Church of England drops its prohibition on gay clergy in civil partnerships becoming bishops, so long as they promise to be celibate. (BBC) (The Guardian)
January 5, 2013 (Saturday)
Disasters- 2013 Tasmanian Bushfires: Thousands of people are stranded by four major fires burning out of control in the Australian state of Tasmania. (AAP via TV New Zealand)
Law and crime- The male friend of the Delhi gang-rape victim - the only witness in the case - on Friday spoke for the first time in front of the nation and exclusively told Zee News that his friend was “positive” and wanted to live even after the horrific incident that took place on the night of December 16. (Zee News)
- An armed standoff between a gunman and police leaves three hostages and the perpetrator dead in an Aurora, Colorado home. (CNN) (BBC) (Fox News)
January 6, 2013 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
Syrian civil war: - The President of Syria Bashar al-Assad delivers a rare television appearance addressing the Syrian crisis and denounces the Syrian rebels as "enemies of God and puppets of the West". It is his first television appearance since June 2012. (BBC)
- A cross-border raid conducted by Indian troops in the disputed Kashmir region results in the death of one Pakistani soldier and another critically wounded, according to Pakistani reports. (AP via The Washington Post)
- A drone attack conducted by the United States kills at least ten people (suspected militants) in South Waziristan, Pakistan. (BBC)
Kachin conflict: - Kachin rebels claim the government has fired shells at the rebel de facto headquarters of Laiza. (Washington Post)
- Suicide bombers kill four in an attack in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan. (BBC)
- South Africa announces it will send 400 more soldiers to the Central African Republic in an effort to assist the current regime, which faces a potential attack by the Seleka rebel coalition on the capital. (BBC)
Politics and elections- Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian National Authority, orders that the words "State of Palestine" be used on official documents. (BBC)
- In the Netherlands, Gerard Helders who served as Minister of Colonial Affairs from the 1957 until 1959, the oldest known former politician in the world dies at the age of 107. (NOS)
Sport- In ice hockey, the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association reach an agreement that ends the 113-day lockout and averts the cancellation of the 2012-13 season. (Think Progress)
Technology And Electronics- At Apple, applications developers say they gave Apple plenty of warning about issues with its iOS maps issues. (CNET)
January 7, 2013 (Monday)
Disasters- An explosion in a coal mine in the Turkish province of Zonguldak kills eight mine workers. (Hürriyet Daily News)
Law and crime- A court in Delhi, India, charges five men with the murder of a 23-year-old woman who was gang-raped on a bus in Delhi on December 16, 2012. (BBC)
Politics and elections- U.S. President Barack Obama nominates PIAB Chairman Chuck Hagel to be the next Secretary of Defense and HSC Advisor John O. Brennan to be the next Director of the CIA. (BBC)
Science- Scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics estimate that there are at least 17 billion planets approximately the size of Earth in the Milky Way. (AP)
Sports- In association football, Lionel Messi of Argentina wins the FIFA Ballon d'Or as the best player for a third consecutive time. Abby Wambach of the United States wins the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year award, the first time in ten years that an American has won the award. (ABC News Australia)
January 8, 2013 (Tuesday)
Activism- Bob Brown, former leader of the Australian Greens, becomes the President of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society leading the campaign against Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean. (ABC News Australia)
Armed conflicts and attacks- Four are killed and a further four are wounded in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan, Pakistan. (AFP)
- In a fifth night of protests in Belfast, protestors throw rocks, "missiles", and petrol bombs at police, with law enforcement responding with water cannons and plastic bullets. (BBC)
- The Malian army used artillery on Islamist rebels in Gnimignama in the first skirmish between the two belligerents since April 2012, when Islamist and Tuareg rebels first assumed control of the region. (BBC)
- India claims two of its soldiers have been killed during a gunfight with Pakistani forces in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. This report comes two days after Pakistan made a similar claim of the death of one of its troops due to an Indian cross-border operation in the disputed region. (Reuters)
Business and economy- AIG, the insurance giant that has recently paid the U.S. treasury back funds it received on "too big to fail" grounds in 2008, says that it may join a lawsuit against the U.S. for the supposedly harsh nature of the bailout terms. (Reuters)
Disasters- More than 130 wildfires are burning on the east coast of Australia with thousands of people forced to leave their homes. (The Telegraph)
Law and crime
Death of Amy Winehouse: - A new inquest begins into the death of British singer Amy Winehouse after it was discovered that the original coroner was not qualified to conduct the inquiry. (AFP via France 24)
- A second inquiry into Winehouse's death concludes that the singer died of alcohol poisoning. (CNN)
- An Illinois man is killed by cyanide poisoning after winning the lottery. (CNN)
Politics and government- The Venezuelan government announces that Hugo Chávez is in stable condition, and is still receiving medical treatment for a respiratory infection. (Huffington Post)
- Roberto Maroni announces that an electoral pact signed between his Lega Nord party and Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party explicitly rules out Berlusconi assuming the prime minister position again. (BBC)
January 9, 2013 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
Syrian civil war: - Forty-eight Iranians who were kidnapped by Free Syrian Army rebels in the capital Damascus in August 2012 are released in exchange for 2,130 prisoners held by the Syrian government. (BBC)
Business and economy- James M. Buchanan, who won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1986 for his role in developing public choice theory, dies in the American town of Blacksburg, Virginia. (AAP via News Limited)
- AIG announces that it will not join a lawsuit against the U.S. government over the 2008 bailout. (CNN)
Disasters- A SeaStreak ferry travelling to Lower Manhattan, New York City, crashes into the dock, injuring 85 people. (CNN)
Law and crime- Retired British businessman Christopher Tappin is sentenced to 33 months in prison by a U.S. court after pleading guilty to selling weapon parts to Iran. (BBC)
Politics and elections- U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announces her resignation from the position, and is expected to step down some time around the presidential inauguration in late January. (CNN)
- The Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice rules that the latest inauguration of President Hugo Chávez can be deferred while his recovery continues from a cancer operation. (Reuters)
Sport- In baseball, no candidates were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time since 1996, with some candidates such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens performing poorly due to allegations of steroid use. (The New York Times)
- In ice hockey the Board of Governors of the National Hockey League unanimously approves the new CBA between the league and the National Hockey League Players' Association. Pending approval of the CBA by the players' association, the league will play a shortened 48-game season beginning January 19. (ESPN)
January 10, 2013 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks- Twin bombings at a billiard hall in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta kill at least 81 people and wound up to 120 others, hours after a bombing at a market area killed 11 people in the same city. (BBC)
- Police in France discover the bodies of Sakine Cansız, one of the co-founders of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, and two other Kurdish activists who were all shot dead in a Kurdish information center in the capital, Paris. (BBC)
- 2012–2013 Northern Mali conflict: Islamists capture the town of Konna, previously held by the Malian army. (Reuters)
Law and crime- April Casburn, a senior detective with the Metropolitan Police is found guilty of trying to sell information on the investigation into phone hacking to the News of the World, the newspaper at the centre of the scandal. (BBC)
- A gunman opened fire inside a classroom of Taft Union High School in Taft, California. A 16-year-old student was critically wounded, and another student was shot at but was not injured. The gunman surrendered after the classroom's teacher ordered him to drop his weapon. The teacher also suffered minor injuries after being struck by a shotgun pellet. A 16-year-old student, the suspected gunman, was arrested. (CNN)
Politics and elections- U.S. President Barack Obama nominates White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew to be the next Secretary of the Treasury. (ABC News)
Science- Near-earth asteroid 99942 Apophis passes close to the Earth with observations by European astronomers estimating that it is larger than previously thought. (CBS News)
Sport- Researchers confirm that deceased NFL linebacker Junior Seau's suicide was brought on by chronic traumatic encephalopathy. (ESPN)
January 11, 2013 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks- Syrian civil war: Rebel forces take over the strategic Taftanaz airbase in northern Syria. (USA Today)
Arts and culture- The first official portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge, painted by Paul Emsley is unveiled to a mixed reception from critics. (BBC)
Disasters- 18 people die after a landslide buries a village in the Yunnan province of China, while 40 people are feared to be buried. (BBC)
- 29 people die and 12 people are injured after a bus veers off a mountain road in Doti, Nepal. (BBC)
- A fire sweeps through a complex containing housing for foreign workers in Manama, Bahrain, leaving 13 foreign nationals dead. (BBC)
Law and crime- The Metropolitan Police and NSPCC have confirmed 214 separate sexual offences committed by Jimmy Savile over a period of fifty years. (BBC)
- Three people are injured after a hostage situation takes place in a Nordstrom Rack chain in the neighborhood of Westchester in Los Angeles, California. (Los Angeles Times)
Politics and elections- The Parliament of Sri Lanka passes an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. (BBC)
January 12, 2013 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts
Northern Mali conflict: - A French pilot is killed in a helicopter raid in northern Mali, according to French Minister of Defence Jean-Yves Le Drian. (CNN)
- One French soldier and 17 militants are killed in a failed attempt to free a French hostage in Bulo Marer, Somalia. (France 24)
Climbing & exploration - The funeral of Ian McKeever, who was killed by a lightning strike on Mount Kilimanjaro, occurs in County Wicklow, Ireland. (RTÉ News)
Disasters- The death toll in landslides in the province of Yunnan, China rises to 46, according to state media. (BBC News)
Health and environment- Beijing's air pollution reaches levels judged as hazardous to human health. (BBC News)
Politics & elections- Thousands of people gather in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the People's Uprising Rally, a protest over many government policies and decisions. (News Straits Times)
Sport- In ice hockey, the National Hockey League Players' Association overwhelmingly votes to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement reached with the league. NHL training camps are scheduled to open on January 13, with a shortened 48-game regular season to begin on January 19. (ESPN)
January 13, 2013 (Sunday)
Business and economy- Neelie Kroes, the European Commissioner for Digital Agenda, said in an interview with the Financial Times of London that the European Union is planning regulatory moves later in the year that will facilitate consolidation of the telecommunications market across national borders. (Financial Times)
Politics and elections- Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake is removed from office by President Mahinda Rajapaksa after being impeached. (BBC News)
January 14, 2013 (Monday)
Armed Conflicts
Syrian civil war: - Government forces conduct air raids against rebels south of Damascus, as well as in Aleppo, with local observers reporting dozens of deaths, including children. (Al Jazeera)
- At least 57 countries submit a petition to the UN Security Council, calling on it to refer the conflict to the International Criminal Court for a pending war crimes investigation. (Al Jazeera)
Northern Mali conflict: - Islamists rebels capture the Malian town of Diabaly after fierce fighting with government troops, as French airplanes strike targets in Gao. (Reuters)
Kachin conflict: - Myanmar government forces shell the rebel stronghold of Laiza for the first time since the resumption of hostilities in 2011, killing 3 civilians and injuring 6 others. (Al Jazeera)
2011–present Libyan factional fighting: - A police officer is wounded after a grenade attack in Benghazi, as Italy announces the temporary withdrawal of the country's consulate in the city after an unsuccessful attack against the consul two days earlier. (Reuters)
Business and economy- British music retailer HMV goes into administration, becoming the UK's latest large employer to experience financial hardship. (BBC)
Politics and elections- Former US President George H.W. Bush is released from a Houston hospital after more than seven weeks of treatment for bronchitis. (Reuters)
January 15, 2013 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
Syrian civil war: - 82 people are killed and dozens injured in twin blasts at Aleppo University, as government forces and rebels continue fighting in the suburbs of Damascus. (Times of India) (Reuters)
Northern Mali conflict (2012–present): - African troops are to be deployed in Mali to fight alongside French and Malian soldiers within a week. (Al Jazeera)
Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal): - A suicide bomber kills a Sunni MP and six others in Fallujah, two days after Finance Minister Rafi al-Issawi survived an assassination attempt in the same city. The parlamentarian, Ifan Saadoun al-Issawi, was an important member of the Sahwa committee in Fallujah and part of the opposition to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. (AP) (Al Jazeera)
Kashmir conflict: - Pakistan claims another of its soldiers is killed from gunfire by Indian troops near the Line of Control. This is the fifth such fatality reported in the past two weeks from either of the neighboring countries who each claim the disputed territory. (Reuters)
Accidents and disasters- Badrashin railway accident: A train carrying Egyptian Army recruits derails near Giza, Greater Cairo, killing 19 and injuring 120 others. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) (ABC News)
- A janitor steals a Saltsjöbanan commuter train and crashes it into a residential building in the upscale Stockholm suburb of Saltsjöbaden. (Dagens Nyheter)
Law and crime- Egyptian human rights lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawi is sentenced to five years imprisonment and 300 lashes in Saudi Arabia. (BBC)
- Two people are shot dead and another person was wounded at Hazard Community and Technical College in Hazard, Kentucky. (Kentucky.com)
Politics and elections- Pakistani Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in relation to a bribery case within 24 hours.(The Washington Post)
Sport- Paul McGinley is chosen to lead Europe in their defence of the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Perthshire. (RTÉ Sport)
- The Associated Press reports that the U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong has admitted to doping in his career during his interview with Oprah Winfrey, yet to be aired.
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When Problems are so Big & Your Strength is no Longer enough to CaRRy them, Don't Give uP; Because where your Strength Ends the Grace of Almighty ALLAH Begins
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