Portal:Current events/2017 January 16

January 16, 2017 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Deir ez-Zor offensive (January–February 2017)
  - ISIL's third attack against the Syrian government's forces in the city of Deir ez-Zor reportedly splits the government held area in two. An estimated 14,000 ISIL fighters are participating in the attack according to the government. (Al Masdar News)

Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French corrective eyewear manufacturer Essilor agree to a €50 billion merger. (Reuters via Business Insider)

Disasters and accidents

International relations

War in Donbass, Russia–Ukraine relations
- Ukraine sues Russia at the International Court of Justice, accusing the latter of being engaged in acts of "terrorism" and "discrimination" in eastern Ukraine and Crimea. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Egypt–Saudi Arabia relations
- A top Egyptian court rules against giving away the two Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)
Norway–United States relations, Operation Atlantic Resolve
- Three hundred U.S. marines arrive in Norway for a six-month deployment, becoming the first foreign troops in Norway since World War II. The marines will be stationed at Værnes Air Station in Stjørdal. (Reuters)

Law and crime

2016 South Korean political scandal
- Samsung Group, in relation to the political scandal that has led to the impeachment of Park Geun-hye, the President of South Korea. (Los Angeles Times)

Oman receives 10 former detainees of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp following a request by the United States to take them. (BBC)
A lone gunman opens fire at the BPM Festival in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, killing at least four people and injuring 12 others. (BBC) (Reuters)
Noor Salman, the wife of
2016 Orlando mass shooting is arrested and charged with obstructing the investigation of the case. (New York Times)

2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting, is arrested in Istanbul's Esenyurt district. (AP via New York Times)