January 17, 2018 (Wednesday)

edithistorywatch

January 16, 2018 (Tuesday)

edithistorywatch

Armed conflicts and attacks

Oliver Ivanović, the head politician of the Kosovo Serb party Freedom, Democracy, Justice, is killed
outside his office in North Mitrovica in a drive-by shooting. In January 2016, European Union judges in
Kosovo sentenced him to nine years, but the verdict was overturned by an appeals court a year later. He
was facing a retrial for alleged war crimes against ethnic Albanians committed in 1999. (BBC)

Aftermath of the Caracas helicopter incident

The Venezuelan government confirms that Óscar Pérez, the rogue pilot responsible for the Caracas
helicopter incident in June 2017, was killed in a firefight with the Venezuelan Army yesterday. (CNN)

Arts and culture

Terrorism in Pakistan

Over 1,800 muslim clerics in Pakistan issue a fatwa aimed at prohibiting the use of suicide bombing,
declaring it haram. (Sputnik).

Animal welfare and rights in Europe

The European Parliament approves a call to ban electric pulse fishing, seen by some as cruel. (U.S. News
& World Report)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) names Russell M. Nelson as the 17th
President of the Church. (NPR)

Business and economy

The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches 26,000 points for the first time, after surpassing the 25,000-
mark on January 4. (Chicago Tribune)

In a strategy claimed as "towards healthier products", Nestlé sells its United States confectionery
business, number 4 on the market, to Ferrero SpA for $2.8 billion. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

A Colombian Army Mi-17 helicopter crashes near Segovia, Antioquia, in northern Colombia, killing at
least ten people. (Reuters)
A cable bridge under construction in Colombia collapses, killing 10 construction workers. The victims fell
more than 900 feet in the accident. (New York Times)

International relations

2017–18 North Korea crisis, Korean War

A meeting of senior officials from countries that backed South Korea in the Korean War begins today in
Vancouver which will look at ways to better implement sanctions to push North Korea to abandon its
nuclear weapons. China and Russia, which backed the North in the war but have since agreed to U.N.
sanctions on Pyongyang, will not be attending the meeting. (Reuters)

Palestine–United States relations

The United States will withhold $65 million for Palestinian aid paid via the United Nations Relief and
Welfare Agency stating that UNRWA needs to make unspecified reforms. The U.S. says it will provide
$60 million, 48 percent of the regular payment. (Reuters)

Law and crime

A former U.S. Central Intelligence Agency officer, arrested at New York's Kennedy International Airport
Monday night, is ordered held without bail by the Brooklyn federal court. He faces charges that, after he
left his job, he kept notebooks filled with detailed information about undercover agents and assets.
(Reuters)

Investigators suspect Jerry Chun Shing Lee helped China identify informants and dismantle the United
States spying network in that country. His notebooks detailed meetings with informants and undercover
agents, including their real names and phone numbers. Over two years, more than a dozen sources were
killed or imprisoned, rivaling the losses attributed to the Aldrich Ames and the Robert Hanssen
betrayals. (The New York Times) (The Washington Post) (The New York Times²)

Politics and elections

Special Counsel investigation

The New York Times reports that Special Counsel Robert Mueller subpoenaed Steve Bannon last week to
testify before a grand jury. (CNN)

January 15, 2018 (Monday)

edithistorywatch

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)

A double suicide bombing kills at least 35 people and injures over 90 in Baghdad, Iraq. (BBC)
India–Pakistan military confrontation (2016–present)

Four Pakistani soldiers are killed in shelling by the Indian Army across the disputed Kashmir frontier.
(Reuters)

Syrian Civil War

Turkey threatens to "strangle" the United States-backed Syrian Border Security Force "before it's even
born", while Syria vows to crush it and expel American military personnel from the country. Russia called
the plans "a plot to dismember Syria". (Reuters)

Aftermath of the Caracas helicopter incident

Two police officers and several gunmen are killed near Caracas in an operation to capture Óscar Pérez,
the rogue pilot responsible for the Caracas helicopter incident on June 27, 2017, according to the
Venezuelan government. Five people have also been arrested. (BBC)

Arts and culture

Weinstein effect, #MeToo

American actress Eliza Dushku says that a stuntman molested her when she was 12 years old. (The
Guardian)

Business and economy

After talks between the company, its lenders, and the United Kingdom's government fail to reach a deal,
British multinational facilities management and construction services company Carillion fails and is
liquidated, threatening thousands of jobs. Carillion is currently involved in projects such as the high-
speed rail in the United Kingdom, including the High Speed 2 rail line. (BBC)

List of largest rough diamonds

A 910 ct "D colour Type II A" diamond is dug up in the Letseng diamond mine, Lesotho. (MiningMX)

Disasters and accidents

The mezzanine overlooking the main lobby of the Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta, Indonesia,
collapses, injuring at least 70 people. The Indonesian National Police ruled out terrorism as the cause.
(The Australian), (Daily Express)

The Mayon volcano begins to erupt in the Philippines. (CNN)

Chirajara bridge collapse

A partially completed bridge in Cundinamarca, Colombia, collapses, killing at least 10 workers. (Reuters)

International relations
Israel–Palestine relations

Nabil Shaath, the foreign affairs adviser of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, says that the
Palestinian Central Council freezes its recognition of the state of Israel until Israel recognizes Palestine as
a state. Palestine will freeze the Oslo accords. (Sputnik)

Law and crime

2013 Lahad Datu standoff

Malaysia upholds death sentences for nine Suluk Filipinos over 2013 incursion by a faction of the
Sultanate of Sulu in Sabah. (Reuters)

A knife fight between students breaks out in a school in Perm, Russia. Twelve injured are reported, with
three of them in serious condition. (BBC)

Freedom of speech in the Philippines

Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte threatens to shut down the online newspaper Rappler, which has
been critical of his drug crackdown. (The New York Times), (al-Jazeera)

Two people are arrested in Perris, California, after 13 people aged between 2 and 29 years old are found
being held captive at their house, including some "shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks".
They are all believed to be siblings. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Politics of Egypt

Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat, the nephew of the assassinated Egyptian president Mohamed Anwar al-
Sadat, announces that he will not run in March’s presidential election, blaming an environment of fear
surrounding the vote. (The Guardian)

Politics of Romania

Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose resigns after losing the support of the Social Democratic Party
(PSD). (Reuters)

Rohingya persecution in Myanmar

Win Myat Aye, Myanmar's minister of social welfare, relief and resettlement, announced that his
country would begin repatriating Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh beginning on January 23, 2018.
Burmese officials also promised that a newly built camp for repatriated refugees would also be finished
by that date. (Washington Post) (ABC News)

January 14, 2018 (Sunday)

edithistorywatch
Armed conflicts and attacks

Palestinian tunnel warfare in the Gaza Strip, Blockade of the Gaza Strip

The Israel Defense Forces report the complete destruction of an underground tunnel dug by Hamas
under the Kerem Shalom crossing. Israel shut down the crossing before its jets bombed the tunnel
opening in Gaza Saturday night. The crossing remains closed. (Ynetnews), (CNN)

American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War

The U.S.-led coalition confirms reports that it will form a new 30,000-strong Syrian Border Security Force
(BSF). Half of the forces will be Syrian Democratic Forces veterans. Another 15,000 will be recruited and
trained in the near future. (Daily Sabah)

Disasters and accidents

Sanchi oil tanker collision

The National Iranian Tanker Company-operated MV Sanchi sinks, following its January 6 collision with a
Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship off Shanghai, China, leaving no survivors. (BBC)

2018 Peru earthquake

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes in the Pacific Ocean near Acarí in Peru's Arequipa Region resulting in
1 death and 65 injured. (Reuters), (USGS)

A heat boiler explodes at a community center in Vila Nova da Rainha, Tondela, Portugal, leaving at least
eight people dead and thirty five injured. (BBC)

International relations

Palestine–United States relations

President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas describes President of the United States Donald
Trump's Middle East peace efforts as the "slap of the century." (Euronews)

Politics and elections

2018 Tunisian protests

The Tunisian government announces a wave of social and economic reforms after violent anti-austerity
protests that have resulted in at least one death and the arrest of more than eight hundred people.
(BBC)

Government of Jimmy Morales

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales presents his second government report and starts the second half
of his term surrounded by accusations of corruption and protests. Álvaro Arzú Escobar takes office as
President of the Congress. Arzú is the son of former president Álvaro Arzú and both are accused of
corruption. (Plenglish), (Telesur)

Science and technology

A study in Biological Psychiatry asserts that increasing the activity of the habenula brain region leads to
social problems in rodents, whereas decreasing activity of the region prevents social problems.
(Brinkwire)

January 13, 2018 (Saturday)

edithistorywatch

Disasters and accidents

A search for missing children is underway after a boat capsized off the Indian coast near Dahanu,
Maharashtra. Two bodies have been recovered. (BBC)

Sanchi oil tanker collision

A Chinese rescue team recovers two bodies from the MV Sanchi and salvages the voyage data recorder
from the bridge. (Reuters)

Pegasus Airlines Flight 8622

A Pegasus Airlines flight from Esenboğa International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, departs the runway of
Trabzon Airport in northern Turkey upon landing. All 162 passengers, two pilots, and four cabin crew
evacuated the aircraft, a Boeing 737, unharmed. The local government launched an investigation into
the incident. (Irish Independent), (Sky News)

International relations

Iran–United States relations

Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the January 12 U.S. sanctions on Chief Justice Sadeq Amoli-Larijani
are "beyond all [...] red lines." (BBC) (Sputnik)

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is extending sanctions relief for Iran one last time so Europe and
the U.S. can fix the nuclear deal's "terrible flaws". (BBC)

Iran's Foreign Ministry replies that it "will not accept any change in the deal," adding that it will "not
take any action beyond its commitments." (Politico)

Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation

Russia deploys a second anti-air S-400 missile batallion in Crimea. (TASS) (Radio Free Europe)
2018 Hawaii false missile alert

An emergency alert warning of an inbound ballistic missile is accidentally sent out across the U.S. state
of Hawaii, before being cleared as a false alarm 38 minutes later. This event caused panic and
disruptions across the state on the archipelago inhabited by roughly 1.7 million people. (BBC)

Law and crime

The Bar Council of India forms a 7-member delegation which will attempt to meet the four most senior
Supreme Court judges on behalf of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra. This comes in the wake of
allegations made by the four top judges against the CJI at a first of its kind press conference held on
January 12. (The Times of India)

Nigerian Shia Islamic Movement leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, who is detained at an unknown location
without charges since December 2015, makes a short public appearance, his first in two years, being
allowed to see his doctor. (Reuters)

Two people are killed and another is injured in a mass shooting in Vancouver, Canada. (CBC)

Politics and elections

Czech presidential election

The first round of the presidential election results in a second round that will be held on 26 and 27
January between Miloš Zeman and Jiří Drahoš. (Reuters)

January 12, 2018 (Friday)

edithistorywatch

Arts and culture

Women's rights in Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, Saudi Vision 2030

For the first time, Saudi Arabia allows women to spectate at football matches, part of an easing of strict
rules on gender separation by the ultra-conservative Muslim country. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

A major fire engulfs parts of Nottingham station, United Kingdom. (BBC)

International relations

Turkey–United States relations

Turkey cautions its citizens against travel to the United States in response to an advisory that warned
Americans about terror threats and arbitrary detentions in Turkey. (AP via Fox News)
United Kingdom–United States relations

United States President Donald Trump cancels his scheduled trip to the United Kingdom next month.
(Reuters)

Law and crime

Murder of Zainab Ansari

Protesters set a government office on fire in the Pakistani city of Kasur, in a second day of riots after the
rape and murder of a six-year-old girl. (BBC)

After European Parliament auditors conclude that he used a parliamentary assistant for UKIP party
matters instead of for work related to the duties of a Member of the European Parliament, Nigel Farage
will now pay back £35,500 (€40,000) through having half of his salary withheld. (The Independent)

Politics and elections

Cabinet of Germany

The CDU/CSU (Christian Democrats) and SPD (Social Democrats) agree on a blueprint for formal
negotiations on a new "grand coalition" government after the September 2017 federal election. (BBC)

Politics of Mexico

Mexicans react with incredulity after President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto appointed Alberto Bazbaz
to the position of head of the CISEN intelligence service. Bazbaz is known for having overseen a 9-day
search for a missing girl, Paulette Gebara Farah, who was eventually found dead in her own bed. (The
Guardian)

Science and technology

2018 in spaceflight

The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launches India’s 100th satellite and 30 other
satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. (The Hindu)

A Delta IV launches NROL-47, a classified U.S. military payload, from Vandenberg Air Force Base,
California. It is the last single-core Delta IV to launch from Vandenberg. (Spaceflight Now)

January 11, 2018 (Thursday)

edithistorywatch

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Two 16-year-old Palestinians are shot and killed in separate clashes with the Israeli army. (The
Washington Post)

Arts and culture

Bowing to pressure, French publisher Gallimard suspends plans to reprint a compendium of "violently
antisemitic pamphlets" by novelist Louis-Ferdinand Céline. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

Walmart employee wages

Walmart announces that it will increase the minimum wage for its U.S. employees to $11 per hour and
close 50 Sam's Club stores. (USA Today)

Legal status of cryptocurrency

The South Korean Ministry of Justice announces that it is a preparing a bill to ban cryptocurrency trading
through exchanges. (ABC News Australia)

Disasters and accidents

2018 Southern California mudflows

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office reports this afternoon that up to 43 people are still missing
from Tuesday's mudslides as rescuers continue to search through Montecito’s massive debris field; this
morning the report had been eight missing. The casualty numbers are expected to rise. (Los Angeles
Times)

International relations

Iran–United States relations

The Trump administration through the U.S. Justice Department establishes the Hezbollah Financing and
Narcoterrorism Team to assist with the DEA's Project Cassandra investigation into groups supporting
Hezbollah. (Reuters)

United States–European Union relations

The United Kingdom, France, and Germany call on U.S. President Donald Trump to endorse the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action. (France 24)

Law and crime

Murder of Zainab Ansari

The rape and murder of six-year-old girl Zainab in Pakistan has sparked outrage across the country. Two
people die in protests in Kasur city. (Dawn)
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Section 702

The United States House of Representatives passes a bill to reauthorize, for a period of six years, a key
foreign intelligence collection program. Changes to the program will require the FBI to get a probable
cause warrant if it wants to view the contents of Americans' communications swept up in the process.
(Time)

WikiLeaks, Julian Assange political asylum and life at the Ecuadorian embassy

It is revealed that Ecuador granted citizenship to Julian Assange. Ecuador granted him asylum in August
2012 and he has remained in the Embassy of Ecuador in London avoiding extradition to Sweden on rape
charges. Subsequently, Swedish authorities dropped the charges in May 2017. (The Guardian)

Weinstein effect

Twitter posts disseminate claims that actor Kirk Douglas (aged 101) had been accused in the past of
having sexually assaulted actress Natalie Wood when she was 16 years old (c. 1954). (Mediaite.com)

1964 Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner

Former Ku Klux Klan organizer and convicted murderer Edgar Ray Killen dies in prison at the age of 92.
(The New York Times)

Politics and elections

Haiti–United States relations

U.S. President Donald Trump refers to Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as "shithole countries" in a
private meeting. (CNN)

Sports

The world's oldest professional football player, 51-year-old Kazuyoshi Miura ("King Kazu"), has extended
his contract with Yokohama FC, to take him into his 33rd professional season. (CNN)