Portal:Current events/2013 January 15

Current events of January 15, 2013 (2013-01-15) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war:
  • At least 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 would be 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 cleaner 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)

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. (The Washington Post)