Portal:Current events/2012 January 5
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2011–2012 Syrian uprising:
- 552 political detainees are released by the government. (Reuters)
- A senior official from the Defence Ministry defects while in Cairo. (Al Bawaba)
- Qatar's prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani says the Arab League monitors have made "mistakes" in Syria. (CNN)
- Nigeria:
- Shia Muslim neighbourhoods of Baghdad and in the city of Nasiriyah, with at least 73 killed and 149 wounded. (Al Jazeera)
- Filipino captors have asked $2 million in ransom. (Sydney Morning Herald)
- The Pakistan Taliban claims to have killed 15 security force members it kidnapped last month. (AP)
Disasters
- At least 25 people die with dozens missing as a result of a Compostela Valley Province. (CNN) (AP via MSNBC)
- At least six firefighters die fighting wildfires in southern Chile with two badly burnt and one missing. (AP via Washington Post)
International relations
- An alleged North Korean spy is indicted in South Korea. (Yonhap)
Law and crime
- The former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert is charged with taking bribes in a property scandal. (BBC) (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- The President of the United States Barack Obama announces a new defense strategy, cutting spending dramatically. (AFP via Sydney Morning Herald)
- Portia Simpson Miller is sworn in for the second time as the Prime Minister of Jamaica. (AP via Google News)
- Congregation for Bishops, becomes the new Penitentiary Major. He succeeds Cardinal Fortunato Baldelli, who is retiring at the age of 76. (Catholic World News), (Vatican Information Service)