Portal:Current events/2013 January 4

Current events of January 4, 2013 (2013-01-04) (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Hundreds of thousands of people rally in Gaza in a show of unity between the governing Hamas, elected in 2006, and Fatah, in opposition since then. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian) Syrian civil war: 9 people are killed by a car bomb at a petrol station in the Syrian capital of Damascus. The bomb reportedly hit the Barzeh al-Balad district, as large numbers of people were queuing for fuel. (BBC) Belfast City Hall flag protests: Police clash with demonstrators in Belfast over when the Union Flag is to be flown over their city hall. (BBC) Business and economy Joblessness in the United States remains constant, with latest official figures showing a modest job creation total of 155,000. (Al Jazeera) Swiss bank Wegelin & Co., the nation's oldest, will cease to operate after pleading guilty to a US tax evasion case and being fined $57.8 million. (BBC) Disasters and accidents At least seven children are killed in a fire at an orphanage in Henan, China. (BBC) (South China Morning Post) (The Irish Times) Three people are killed when a Beechcraft BE35 plane crashes into a home near Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. (CNN) Six Russian tourists are killed and two tourists are seriously injured after a snowmobile towing a sled veers off a ski slope, crashes into a barrier, and flies into a ditch on Italy's Mount Cermis. (BBC) Law and crime A gunman kills eight people in a house-to-house rampage in Kawit, the Philippines. (CNN) The Nigerian police announces that Hyundai has paid a ransom of £118,000 ($190,000) to free 6 kidnapped workers in the Niger Delta region. (BBC) Former Nepalese Colonel Kumar Lama is charged with torture in the UK stemming from allegations of human rights abuses during the Nepalese Civil War. (BBC) U.S. media report that celebrity Naomi Campbell has been assaulted in Paris. Reports say two men on a motorcycle tried to make off with her handbag during the attack. (BBC) Pakistani schoolgirl blogger Malala Yousafzai, shot by the Taliban in October 2012, is discharged from hospital in the UK. (BBC) Politics and elections Demonstrations against sexual violence after Delhi gang rape spread across Asia and are now happening in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. (The Guardian) Journalists in China call for the resignation of the propaganda chief in Guangdong province over "excessive censorship" amid the closure of a liberal website. (Financial Times) The Venezuelan government announces that president Hugo Chávez is being treated for a "respiratory deficiency" after complications from a severe lung infection. (Al Jazeera) The United States Congress officially declares President Barack Obama the winner of the 2012 presidential election. (CNN) The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan, Omar al-Bashir and Salva Kiir Mayardit, respectively, will meet in Addis Ababa to convene for talks regarding escalating tensions is response to Sudan's recent seizure of Abyei. (BBC) King of Spain Juan Carlos I gives a rare television interview to coincide with his 75th birthday. (BBC) Religion The Church of England drops its prohibition on gay clergy in civil partnerships becoming bishops, so long as they promise to be celibate. (BBC) (The Guardian)