Portal:Current events/2013 January 20

January 20, 2013 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Syrian refugees fleeing the violence from the Syrian civil war are gunned down by the Syrian Army while trying to cross the Jordanian border. (Al Arabiya)
Northern Mali conflict:
- Islamists flee the town of Diabaly, Mali, after repeated French airstrikes. The government of Mali now says that they control the city. (AP via CBS)
Kachin conflict:
- Burmese troops launch an attack on a strategic hilltop held by rebel Kachin forces in the north of the country, breaking a government ceasefire. (BBC)
In Aménas hostage crisis:
- The death toll has risen to at least 48 hostages killed during a four-day siege at a gas plant, raising the number of militants and their captives killed to at least 80. Algerian troops had found the bodies of 25 hostages at the complex on Sunday. (Reuters) (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

At least four miners are killed and four others trapped after a fire at a mine in Prokopyevsky District, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. (Voice Of Russia) (RIA Novosti)
A French sailor who had spent three days adrift in a life raft in the Southern Ocean off the coast of Tasmania in Australia is rescued by the cruise ship MV Orion. (BBC)

International relations

Law and crime

A 15-year-old male shoots and kills a family, with three children, at a house near Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. A suspect is later apprehended. (BBC)
A drug lord named Mario Smith Pomare, who had long been wanted by the police in Colombia, is arrested at his villa on the Atlantic coast of Honduras. (El Heraldo) (Voice of Russia)

Politics and elections

The second inauguration of Barack Obama as the President of the United States takes place in the Blue Room of the White House. (BBC) (Reuters) (USA Today)
Rahul Gandhi is appointed as the vice president of the Indian National Congress. (The Times of India) (NDTV)
Indian Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on Thursday decided to raise the cap on subsidised liquefied petroleum gas to nine cylinders per household in a year from existing six. (The Hindu)
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-left opponents win a narrow victory in Lower Saxony state election. (BBC)
Austrian conscription referendum, 2013:
- Austria holds a national referendum, choosing between keeping the current system of a conscripted army and optional social service for young men, or introducing a professional army and a voluntary community service. (Channel New Asia) (Business Ghana)
- Preliminary results show Austrians have voted by a wide margin to retain compulsory military service. (BBC) (VB2013)

Science and technology

A NASA spacecraft, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, is providing new evidence of a wet underground environment on Mars that adds to an increasingly complex picture of the Red Planet's early evolution. (NASA)

Sport

In mixed martial arts, Vitor Belfort defeats Michael Bisping via TKO at 1:27 in the 2nd round in the main event of UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping. (Fox Sports)
In snooker, Mark Selby wins 2013 Masters defeating Neil Robertson in the final with a 10–6 score. (BBC) (Snooker.org)
In Serie A, Genoa C.F.C. makes its second coaching change of the season, sacking Luigi Delneri and reportedly rehiring Davide Ballardini. (FIFA) (ESPN)
In American football, the NFL's San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens win the NFC and AFC championship games, respectively, to advance to Super Bowl XLVII. The game will be the first time in NFL history that two brothers – Jim Harbaugh of the 49ers and John Harbaugh of the Ravens – have been opposing head coaches in the Super Bowl. (ESPN)
In basketball, the owners of the NBA's Sacramento Kings reportedly reach an agreement to sell a controlling stake in the team to a Seattle-based group, fueling speculation that the team will move to Seattle. (ESPN)