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Murchison meteorite fragment

Scientists announce that presolar stardust grains in the Murchison meteorite (fragment pictured) formed five to seven billion years ago, and are the oldest solid material found on Earth to date.
In American football, the LSU Tigers defeat the Clemson Tigers to win the College Football National Championship.
Robert Abela replaces Joseph Muscat as Prime Minister of Malta in the wake of protests over the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

January 19, 2020 (Sunday)

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January 18, 2020 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- Afghan presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi says that the government rejects the proposed "reduction in violence" by the Taliban as an "ambiguous term with no legal or military parameters". On Friday, the Taliban proposed a ten-day truce and to hold follow-up discussions with Afghan government officials. (Al Jazeera)
Yemen Civil War (2015–present)
- 2020 Ma'rib attack
  - Eighty military personnel are killed by ballistic missiles and drones in an attack reportedly carried out by the Houthis against a military camp in the Yemeni city of Ma'rib, according to Saudi state TV. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack. (BBC)
Somali Civil War (2009–present)
- 2020 Afgooye bombing
  - An al-Shabaab car bombing kills four people and injures at least 20 others near Afgooye, Lower Shabelle, Somalia.

International relations

Seoul-based NK News reports that North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho has been replaced. His successor is expected to be publicly announced next Thursday. (Reuters)

Law and crime

List of mass shootings in the United States in 2020
- A boy shoots and kills three children and a woman before being apprehended in Grantsville, Utah, United States. A fifth victim is shot but is in a stable condition in hospital. (The Guardian)

January 17, 2020 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi protests (2019–present)
- At least two people are killed and dozens injured after Iraqi security forces fire upon protesters at Sinak bridge in central Baghdad. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Foreign Minister of the Maldives Abdulla Shahid says that his country could lose entire islands unless it can access cheap financing to fight climate change. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Icelandic fishing company Samherji announces it will cease operations in Namibia. The company was embroiled in a bribery scandal there that resulted in the resignation of Namibian Fisheries Minister Bernhardt Esau and Justice Minister Sacky Shanghala, as well as the arrest of two employees of South African banking corporation Investec. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Crime in China
- A man is sentenced to death for murdering a doctor in Beijing on New Year's Eve. The murder was the latest in a string of attacks on medical staff in China by angry relatives blaming them for the lack of medical resources and services. (Asia One)

Politics and elections

Brazilian federal government secretary of culture, Roberto Alvim, is dismissed after the broadcast of a video where he announces a new national prize on culture. In the video, Alvim seems to paraphrase a speech by Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany's Reichsminister of Propaganda. (The Guardian)
Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk submits his resignation after an audio clip of him allegedly criticizing President Volodymyr Zelensky’s economic policies was leaked earlier this week. Zelensky subsequently announces that Honcharuk is allowed to keep his position. (Reuters)
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 protests
- At a Friday sermon by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his first in eight years, he defends the Revolutionary Guards’ accidental killing of passengers onboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 and praises Operation Martyr Soleimani for giving a “slap on the face” to the United States. His sermon comes as public anger mounts against the government for their handling of Flight 752. (Al Jazeera)
Protesters squat an oil terminal in the eastern Libyan town of Zuwetina at the request of tribal leaders, who claim that the Government of National Accord is using oil revenue to pay for foreign fighters, a reference to Turkey's sending of troops and arms in support of the GNA. The protesters are swiftly condemned by the state-owned National Oil Corporation. (Reuters)

January 16, 2020 (Thursday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

The American-led coalition issues a statement saying that 11 U.S. service members were injured by the January 8, 2020 attack by Iran on U.S. forces in Iraq. The U.S. Department of Defense had initially assessed that there had been no injuries. (CNN)

Arts and culture

LGBT rights in South Korea
- In a landmark case, the South Korean military is set to decide on the first transgender soldier's possible discharge. The soldier underwent surgery overseas and is stationed in Gyeonggi Province. The case sparks a national debate on LGBT issues in the military, which punishes sex between two males with up to two years imprisonment. (Reuters)

Business and economy

The U.S. Senate votes 89–10 to pass the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. Once ratified by Canada, it will supersede the North America Free Trade Agreement. (Reuters)
Alphabet Inc., parent company of Google, becomes the fourth American company to hit a stock market capitalization of US$1 trillion. (Reuters)

International relations

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei cuts ties with the government of disputed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and closes Guatemala's embassy in Caracas. (Reuters)

Law and crime

After his escape from Japan, Carlos Ghosn's Japanese lawyer Junichiro Hironaka and seven other members of his defense resign. Hironaka says Ghosn's escape was a "complete surprise". (CNN)
The bodies of seven people are found in a mass grave in the indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé region of Panama. Authorities believe a religious sect performed an exorcism on the victims. Police rescued 15 people who had suffered bodily injuries. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Mikhail Mishustin is appointed as new Prime Minister of Russia. (The New York Times)

January 15, 2020 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Aftermath of the Sudanese Revolution
- The Sudanese Armed Forces says it has quelled a mutiny by soldiers loyal to ousted President Omar al-Bashir in the capital Khartoum. Former Director of the National Intelligence and Security Service Salah Gosh is accused of orchestrating the mutiny, which left two troops dead. His current whereabouts are unknown. (BBC)

Arts and culture

The Vatican appoints Francesca Di Giovanni undersecretary for multilateral affairs in the Secretariat of State, the first woman to hold a management position in this office. (BBC)

International relations

Egypt–Turkey relations
- Turkey summons its chargé d'affaires to Egypt after accusing the Egyptian security forces of raiding the Cairo offices of the state-run Anadolu News Agency and arresting four of its employees. (Reuters)
Japan–North Korea relations
- North Korean state media condemn Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe for his attempts to reform the pacifist Japanese constitution. The state media say that "in the event of a constitutional revision, which gives [Japan's] self-defense forces legitimacy, the Japanese reactionaries will have all the preconditions necessary to realize military aggression overseas". (UPI)
China–United States trade war
- In a meeting at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He sign "Phase 1" of a new trade deal in which the U.S. will relax some of the tariffs imposed on Chinese imports while China agreed to buy more American products. Both sides also agree to not impose new tariffs. (NPR)

Politics and elections

The Russian government of Dmitry Medvedev's Second Cabinet resigns after President Vladimir Putin delivers the Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly, in which he proposed several amendments to the constitution. Putin accepts the resignation. Medvedev says the constitutional changes would "significantly change Russia's balance of power". (The Independent) (BBC)
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis nominates Council of State president Aikaterini Sakellaropoulou to be President of Greece. If approved, she will be the first female president in Greek history. (Reuters)
The Virginia House of Delegates votes to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment decades after its deadline passed. As the amendment nonetheless now has enough states for it to be fully adopted, legal scholars are divided on whether this means the Constitution of the United States has been amended. (NPR)

January 14, 2020 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Security forces block roads leading to intelligence buildings in Sudan as gunfire is heard in the capital Khartoum. (Reuters)
Battle of Chinagodrar
- ISIL claims responsibility for the attack in Chinagodrar, Tillabéri Region, Niger, that killed at least 89 Nigerien soldiers. (Reuters)

Business and economy

The United Kingdom bans the use of credit cards to make bets both for online and offline gambling, including the purchase of lottery tickets. The only exception to the ban is the purchase of lottery tickets in face-to-face transactions. The Gambling Commission says the ban will come into effect on April 14. (Reuters)
In India, economic slowdown has adversely impacted employment generation in the country, as nearly 1,600,000 fewer jobs are projected to be created in FY20 compared to 8,970,000 fresh jobs in FY19. (The Economic Times)

Disasters and accidents

At least 57 people are killed and others are missing after avalanches in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir over the last 24 hours, senior government officials say. In Indian-administered Kashmir, at least 10 are killed. (Reuters)
An explosion at a chemical plant in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain, kills two members of staff and another man 3 km away. Seven other people are injured. (BBC)
Delta Air Lines Flight 89
- At least 44 people, including twenty elementary school children, are injured after Delta Flight 89, bound for Shanghai, dumped jet fuel over Los Angeles before making an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport. None of the reported injuries required hospitalization. (Time)(USA Today)

International relations

Foreign relations of Tonga
- Tonga pays an outstanding fee in order not to lose its voting rights at the United Nations General Assembly. Tonga was among seven countries suspended last week for not paying their assessed contributions. (RNZ)
Libyan peace process
- General Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army (LNA), refuses to sign a ceasefire agreement after talks in Moscow brokered by Russia and Turkey yesterday with Government of National Accord leader Fayez al-Sarraj. He says that the deal "ignores many of the Libyan army's demands". (Al Jazeera)
Indonesia–Thailand relations
- Thai Army Chief Apirat Kongsompong and his Indonesian counterpart Andika Perkasa sign an intelligence-sharing agreement aimed at combating the insurgency in Thailand’s southern provinces. (Channel News Asia)

Law and crime

After the conviction of serial rapist Reynhard Sinaga, Mohammad Idris, the mayor of Depok, West Java, Indonesia, says he plans to raid the local LGBT community and is condemned by human rights activists. (Reuters)
American rapper Jay-Z and his philanthropic organization Team Roc file a federal lawsuit against Mississippi Department of Corrections commissioner Pelicia E. Hall and Mississippi State Penitentiary superintendent Marshal Turner over the abusive and neglectful treatment of their prisoners, which they claim has led to the deaths of at least three people. (NBC News)(BBC)

Politics and Elections

Alejandro Giammattei takes the oath of office as President of Guatemala for the next four years. Also 160 new members of Congress are installed for a new parlamentary period of four years. (Reuters)

Science and technology

Microsoft officially ends support for the Windows 7 operating system. Microsoft says its Windows 7 users can still use their computers, but warns they will be at "greater risk for viruses and malware". (CNN)

January 13, 2020 (Monday)

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Arts and culture

92nd Academy Awards
- The nominees for this year’s Academy Awards are announced. Joker receives 11 nominations, including for Best Picture and Best Director, the most out of those nominated. (Hollywood Reporter)

Business and economy

The Competition Commission of India launches an antitrust probe into Flipkart and the Indian subsidy of Amazon, alleging that they were promoting certain sellers at the expense of smaller merchants. (Reuters)
Raphael Bostic, President of the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta, says in a speech that he, as a member of the Federal Reserve Board is inclined to keep interest rates at their present, very low, levels. Any evidence of overborrowing or volatility will have to be "systemic" for him to change his mind. (Reuters)
China–United States trade war
- The U.S. Department of the Treasury de-lists China as a currency manipulator. (Reuters).
Visa Inc. purchases financial technology firm Plaid for US$5.3 billion, after it and Mastercard each invested US$250 million into the company last year. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

A sinkhole swallows a bus and several pedestrians on a busy street in Xining, China, killing six people and leaving 16 others injured. According to state media, the sinkhole stretches nearly 10m (32 feet) in diameter. (BBC)

International relations

Libyan peace process
- Representatives of Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) and General Khalifa Haftar's rival Libyan National Army (LNA) reach a ceasefire agreement after talks in Moscow between warring factions in Libya, also attended by Russian and Turkish officials. The preliminary agreement was signed by GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj, while Haftar plans to sign it the next day. (RT)
Saudi Arabia–United States relations, Aftermath of the Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting
- The United States expels 21 Royal Saudi Air Force cadets. Amid an investigation into the Saudi Arabian military following the attack on Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, the cadets were found to have jihadist material and child pornography on their phones. However, none of the cadets are believed to have assisted the gunman in the attack. (BBC)

Law and crime

The Lahore High Court, in Punjab, Pakistan, says the death sentence verdict against former ruler Pervez Musharraf last month is unconstitutional, casting into doubt the legitimacy of the verdict. (Reuters)
Murder of Ján Kuciak
- A suspect accepts guilt for having killed the investigative journalist and his fiancée. (CBC)
Crime in China
- After a standoff, police in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia shoot and kill a hostage taker who had taken three hostages with a homemade gun. The case comes less than a year after five were killed in a shooting in Inner Mongolia, and the case is under investigation. (South China Morning Post)

Politics and elections

2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
- New Jersey Senator Cory Booker drops out of the U.S. presidential race. (NBC News)

Science and technology

Presolar grains
- Analysis of a meteorite found in Australia in 1969 reveals stardust formed 5 to 7 billion years ago, older than Earth's 4.6 billion year-old sun, making the meteor and its stardust the oldest solid material ever discovered on Earth. (MSN)
Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting
- Apple says it is helping authorities in the Pensacola shooting investigation but refuses to unlock their phones. (BuzzFeed)

Sports