Portal:Current events/2014 January 9

Current events of January 9, 2014 (2014-01-09) (Thursday)

Attacks and conflicts Syrian Civil War: A car bomb kills 18 people, including women and children, in Syria's central Hama province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights organization. (CNN) (Ynet News) Islamic extremist groups in Syria with ties to al-Qaeda try to identify, recruit and train Americans and other Westerners who have traveled there to get them to carry out attacks when they return home. (NYT) Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal): A suicide bomber kills 23 Iraqi army recruits and wounds 36 in Baghdad. (Reuters) 14-year-old boy Aitizaz Hassan in northern Pakistan is killed stopping a suicide bomber at the main gate of his school but saves the lives of all of his schoolmates gathered for their morning assembly. The Sunni group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claims responsibility for the attack. (CNN) (Al Jazeera) The government of Afghanistan announces the release of 72 Taliban fighters from jails, despite American objections that they pose a security threat. (ABC News) Arts and culture Grammy Award-winning pop music duo OutKast reunites. (USA Today) Disasters and accidents An explosion at a Mitsubishi Materials chemical plant in Yokkaichi, Japan, kills at least five people and injures 17 others. (AP via ABC News) West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declares a state of emergency for 100,000 West Virginia American Water customers in five counties (Boone, Lincoln, Kanawha, Jackson, and Putnam) because of a spill of 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol into the Elk River. (NBC) Law and crime New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is sued for his role on "Bridgegate". (BBC News) Russian authorities investigate six suspicious deaths and at least one car explosion in southern Russia's Stavropol territory, about 300 miles from Sochi, the site of next month's Winter Olympics. (CNN) Seven suspects are arrested in the deaths of Venezuelan actress and beauty star, Monica Spear, and her ex-husband, whose 5-year-old daughter witnessed the roadside shooting and was also wounded. (The Miami Herald) Insane Clown Posse sues the Federal Bureau of Investigation for accusing its fangroup, the Juggalos, of being a gang. (NBC News) Politics and elections Prime Minister of Tunisia, Ali Larayedh, steps down following renewed protests, paving the way for new elections, in accordance with an agreement between his Islamist Ennahda party, and secular opposition parties. (The Los Angeles Times) New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, apologizes for his senior aides intentionally causing a traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge for political retribution in September 2013. (Reuters) In the US Congress, a bill is introduced to restore the fast track negotiating authority, under which the president could negotiate trade agreements that Congress could not amend, but could only vote "yes" or "no" on. The bill's sponsors mentioned talks with the EU as well as the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. (Reuters), (US Senate) Science and technology Mount Sinabung in Indonesia erupts once again. (Wired) A 5.1 magnitude earthquake occurs in the Straits of Florida about 112 miles east of Havana, Cuba, swaying medium rise buildings in city. (My News 13) The first conjoined twin gray whales are found in Mexico. (BBC News) Sports Ivory Coast star Yaya Touré, who plays for the club team Manchester City, wins the African Footballer of the Year. (CNN) Dennis Rodman apologizes for a drunken outburst regarding American detainee Kenneth Bae the day before he sang for Kim Jong-Un's birthday. (CNN)