riday,  January 19th, 2024 

North Korea announces that it has tested a nuclear weapon delivered by an unmanned underwater drone system in the Sea of Japan. (Reuters) 

The European Court of Human Rights announces that the Republic of Ireland launched legal action against the United Kingdom on January 17, over a law that gives amnesty to soldiers and militants involved in decades of violence in Northern Ireland. (Reuters) 

Philippine Senator Jinggoy Estrada is found guilty on charges of bribery, but acquitted on charges of plunder over the use of the Priority Development Assistance Fund. He is sentenced to 8 to 9 years for direct bribery, 2 to 3 years for indirect bribery and ordered to pay a fine of almost US$54,000. (Rappler) 

Thursday, January 18th, 2024 

The European Space Agency probe Mars Express finds huge deposits of dusty ice beneath the equator of Mars, with the discovery being the largest amount of water ice ever found near the planet’s equator. (Space.com) 

Ukraine says that it struck an oil terminal in Saint Petersburg, Russia, with a domestic-produced long-range drone, as part of a new campaign against strategic targets inside Russian territory. However, Russia reports that the attack failed. (Reuters) 

UK Home Secretary James Cleverly announces a ban on Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic fundamentalist movement, for its support of Hamas and “violently antisemitic rhetoric”. (The Algemeiner) 

The United States Congress approves a stopgap bill to extend the deadline for government funding to March 2024, narrowly avoiding a government shutdown, which would have begun at midnight, January 19. (Reuters) 

The Pakistan Air Force launches “precision airstrikes” on Baloch separatist targets inside Iran a day after Iranian airstrikes against Baloch separatist militants in Balochistan, Pakistan, killed at least two civilians. Camps belonging to the Baluch Liberation Front and Balochistan Liberation Army are reportedly hit. Explosions are also reported in the city of Saravan. Nine foreign nationals are killed in the strikes. (Al Jazeera) 

Jordan launches airstrikes against alleged drug traffickers in Arman, Syria, hitting several buildings and killing ten civilians. (Al Jazeera) 

The largest general strike in more than 50 years occurs in Northern Ireland. (BBC News) 

Indian multinational company Tata Steel announces the closure of both its blast furnaces in Port Talbot, Wales, with the loss of around 3,000 jobs across the United Kingdom, in what trade unions are calling a “worst-case scenario” for workers. (BBC News) 

Ten people are killed, two are injured and one person is missing due to landslides caused by heavy rains in Davao de Oro, Philippines. (AP) 

Twelve children and two teachers are killed after a boat on a school trip capsized into a lake near Vadodara, Gujarat, India. (BBC) 

Mexico and Chile announce that they have filed a request for the International Criminal Court to investigate allegations of war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip. (Hindustan Times) 

Two people are arrested for killing public prosecutor César Suárez [es]. (NBC News) 

Ninety-five people are charged in Kenya over the deaths by 429 followers of a religious cult in 2023. (Al Jazeera) 

Singaporean Transport Minister S. Iswaran resigns as cabinet minister, member of parliament for West Coast GRC, and member of the PAP party after being charged with 27 counts of corruption and receiving gratification as a public servant by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau. (AP) 

Protests and riots erupts across Comoros after incumbent president Azali Assoumani was declared winner following an election earlier this month. A government minister’s house is set on fire and roads are barricated in the capital Moroni, while protestors are tear gassed by police. A person is killed and six more injured. (AP) 

Astrobotic‘s and NASA‘s Peregrine Mission One lunar lander is destroyed as it reenters Earth‘s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean following the failure of its propulsion system. (BBC News) 

Wednesday, January 17th, 2024 

The United States Central Command says another round of U.S. strikes has destroyed 14 anti-ship missiles in Yemen that were being prepared to launch at merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region. (Reuters) 

The United States redesignates the Yemen-based Houthis as a terrorist organization in response to continuing attacks in the Red Sea. (Reuters) (Archive) 

Pakistan recalls its ambassador to Iran in response to the missile attack on its territory that killed two civilians. (The Washington Post) 

Public prosecutor César Suárez [es], who was investigating the takeover of the TC Televisión newsroom by armed men, is killed in Guayaquil, Ecuador. (Al Jazeera) 

At least 19 people are killed and three others are missing in an explosion at a fireworks factory in Suphan Buri, Thailand. (AP) 

Three people are killed and 77 others are injured in an explosion caused by explosives stored for use in illegal mining operations at several buildings in Ibadan, Nigeria. (AP) 

Three people are killed when a power line falls on a car during a major winter storm in Portland, Oregon, United States. (AP) 

Thousands of people protest the trial of Bashkir activist Fail Alsynov in Baymak, Bashkortostan, Russia. Clashes with police are reported. (RFE/RL) 

Thai activist Arnon Nampa is sentenced to four years in prison for posting a royal insult on social media in 2021. (CNA) 

Three people are killed and five others injured during a mass shooting against a group of men outdoors in Morvant, Trinidad and Tobago. (AP) 

Former Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei is barred from entering the U.S. after the State Department accuses him of “significant corruption”. (Reuters) 

Wednesday, January 17th, 2024 

Pakistan recalls its ambassador to Iran in response to the missile attack on its territory that killed two civilians. (Washington Post) 

At least 23 people are killed during an explosion at a fireworks factory in Suphan Buri, Thailand. (AP) 

Three people are killed and 77 others injured during a blast caused by explosives stored for use in illegal mining operations at a dozen of buildings in Ibadan, Nigeria. (AP) 

Thousands of people protest the trial of Bashkir activist Fail Alsynov in Baymak, Bashkortostan, Russia. Clashes with police have been reported. (RFE/RL) 

Thai activist Arnon Nampa is sentenced to four years in prison for a 2021 royal insult on social media. (CNA) 

Tuesday,  Jan 16th, 2024 

A Greek-owned bulk carrier is hit by a missile launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen with minor damage reported. Separately, the United States launches more airstrikes on Houthi positions, destroying four anti-ship missiles that were being prepared for launch. (BBC News) 

British multinational oil and gas company Shell suspends all Red Sea shipments indefinitely amid Houthi attacks on commerical vessels. (Fox Business) 

Iran launches ballistic missiles at Balochistan, Pakistan, targeting what it claims are Jaish ul-Adl terrorist sites, killing two children and injuring three other people. Pakistan calls the action an “unprovoked violation” of its airspace. (AP) 

17 people are injured by a Russian missile strike on a residential area in Kharkiv. (Reuters) 

A Congolese soldier is killed and two others are arrested by the Rwandan Army in a cross-border incident in Rubavu District, Rwanda. (AP) 

An al-Shabaab suicide bomber kills three people and wounds two others outside of the Mayor of Mogadishu’s office in Mogadishu, Somalia. (Anadolu Agency) 

Sudan suspends its membership of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) after accusing it of inviting Rapid Support Forces official Hemedti to an upcoming summit in Kampala, Uganda. (AP) 

A lawsuit is filed against Madison Square Garden Entertainment chairman James L. Dolan, accusing him of pressuring a woman into having unwanted sex in 2014. The woman also files a lawsuit against film producer Harvey Weinstein, accusing him of sexually assaulting her. (The New York Times) 

A drive-by shooting kills five people in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. Authorities say the killings are likely connected to drug trafficking. (ABC News) 

The Iranian government extends Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi‘s jail term of 12 years for “spreading propaganda”. (BBC News) 

Former Governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson withdraws from the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries. (AP) 

UK Conservative Party deputy chairmen Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith resign to join 60 other Conservative MPs in voting to back an amendment to the Asylum and Immigration Bill, making it more strict. (BBC News) 

Monday,  January 15th, 2024 

The Reykjanes volcano erupts near the town of Grindavík, Iceland, with one fissure forming inside the town limits. (CNN) 

Around 120,000 people attend the start of a 24-hour rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to mark 100 days since 240 hostages were kidnapped into Gaza during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7. (The Times of Israel) 

Houthi militants launch a missile at the Marshall Islands-flagged, United States-owned and operated bulk carrier Gibraltar Eagle in the Gulf of Aden. (AP) 

An Israeli woman and her son are killed by an anti-tank missile penetrating their home in Yuval, Northern Israel. (BBC News) 

A woman is killed and 18 other people are severely injured in a stabbing and vehicle-ramming attack by two Palestinian illegal workers from Hebron in Ra’anana, Central Israel. (Haaretz) 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) kills four people and injures five others in a ballistic missile and drone attack on Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The IRGC also says that they launched a missile at a target in Aleppo Governorate, Syria. (Reuters) (Rudaw) 

Arakan Army captured the town of Paletwa in Chin State following fighting since November 13, 2023. (Irrawaddy) 

Ukraine claims that it has shot down a Russian Beriev A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft and an Ilyushin Il-22 airborne control center over the Sea of Azov. (CNN) 

Clashes in Khartoum State kill thirteen civilians as the Sudanese Armed Forces continue their offensive in Omdurman. (Radio Dabanga) 

A Cameroonian peacekeeper in MINUSCA is killed and five others are injured in an explosion in Mbindale, Lim-Pendé, Central African Republic. (AA)(Atlas News) 

Bandits attack Nigerian forces at a military base in Nahuta, Katsina State, Nigeria. (Reuters) 

Cyclone Belal hits the Indian Ocean with flooding reported in Réunion and Mauritius. (BBC News) 

Eleven people are killed by flooding caused by heavy rain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Al Jazeera) 

Four people are killed and another person is injured in a hot air balloon crash in Eloy, Arizona, United States. (Reuters) 

A firefighting plane crashes into a highway near Talca, Chile, killing the pilot and injuring four people in the ground. (Newsweek) 

Nauru withdraws diplomatic recognition of Taiwan and establishes formal diplomatic relations with China. (Reuters) 

North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un says that Korean reunification is “no longer possible” and dissolves three organizations involved in reunification efforts and inter-Korean tourism. He also asks the Supreme People’s Assembly to amend the constitution to recognize South Korea as a “primary foe and invariable principal enemy” and distinguish between North Korean and South Korean territory. (Reuters) 

Forty-three prisoners are at large after escaping a prison in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. (Reuters) 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump wins the Iowa caucus. Vivek Ramaswamy drops out of the race and endorses Trump. (The Guardian) (The New York Times) 

English association football clubs Everton and Nottingham Forest are both charged by the Premier League with breaking financial fairplay rules. Everton are currently appealing a 10-point deduction from a previous charge. (BBC Sport) 

Sunday, January 14th, 2024 

Frederik X is proclaimed King of Denmark following his mother’s abdication. (AP)