Portal:Current events/2013 January 2

Current events of January 2, 2013 (2013-01-02) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian civil war: An airstrike on a petrol station outside the capital Damascus kills and injures dozens of people. (Al Jazeera) The United Nations says the death toll from the conflict could be more than 60,000 people. (UN) 2012 Central African Republic rebellion: Rebels halt their advance towards the capital Bangui and agree to peace talks. (Reuters) President François Bozizé fires both his army chief of staff and his son, Jean Francis Bozizé, as defense minister, taking the ministerial position for himself. (Deutsche Welle) War in North-West Pakistan: An airstrike kills Maulvi Nazir, leader of the Pakistani Taliban along with five others in Angoor Ada near the capital of Wana, South Waziristan. (BBC) Kachin conflict: Military aircraft in Burma target rebel held areas in Kachin State; the government later confirms the operation. (BBC) International relations Officials in South Korea note a significant decrease in the number of refugees from North Korea reaching the country. (Pakistan Daily Times) Law and crime British comedian Jim Davidson is arrested for alleged historic sexual assaults. (The Daily Telegraph) Mauritania bans the use of plastic bags. (BBC) An unnamed gunman, 33, kills 3 women and injures 2 men in the village of Daillon, Switzerland, opening fire from his apartment, and pursuing the attack in the street; he threatened police when they arrived and was shot and hospitalized (it is speculated this will renew debate about males retaining their arms after their mandated military service). (Chicago Tribune) Politics and elections The Presidential Commission on Good Government, the agency tasked to recover the ill-gotten wealth taken during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos has submitted plans to President Benigno Aquino III to end its operations after 27 years. (Business World) (Rappler) The opposition in Venezuela urges the government to be more transparent about the health of president Hugo Chávez as his inauguration approaches on January 10 amid rumours of his deteriorating health. (RIA Novosti) U.S. President Barack Obama signs the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, intended to prevent the "fiscal cliff". (The Huffington Post) U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is discharged from the NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital after being treated for a blood clot. (CNN) Sport American football linebacker Ray Lewis announces he will retire at the end of the 2012 NFL season. (ESPN)