Portal:Current events/2019 January 2

January 2, 2019 (Wednesday)

Business and economy

China–United States trade war (2018–present)
- American electronics maker Apple warns that iPhone sales are slowing significantly and the product is in weak demand, blaming trade tensions with China. The company says that it has lowered its expected fiscal earnings for the first quarter as a result, citing disappointing holiday sales figures, and that it could lose $9 billion due to the decline. (The Verge)

Disasters and accidents

Great Belt Bridge rail accident
- An express train crashes into an object dropped from a cargo train on the Great Belt Bridge between Funen and Zealand in Denmark, killing at least eight people and leaving several injured. (BBC News)
Four skiers—three Finnish men and a Swedish woman—are killed in an avalanche near the Blåbærfjellet mountain in Troms, Norway. (Yle)

Politics and elections

United States federal government shutdown of 2018–2019
- On the last day of the 115th United States Congress, Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and others meet with President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss implementing a new budget agreement that may include funding for a new Mexico–United States barrier that could end the current federal government shutdown. (CNBC)
- President Trump and congressional leaders fail to resolve their political differences over federal funding for the border barrier, with Pelosi stating that the president will receive "nothing for the wall" from her party. (Politico) (The Hill)
Indigenous territories of Brazil
- President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro issues a decree to place the responsibility for "identification, delimitation, demarcation and registration of lands traditionally occupied by indigenous people" on the Ministry of Agriculture, instead of the indigenous peoples affairs agency, FUNAI. The management of public forests also goes to the agriculture ministry. The move is seen as a big win for the industrial agribusiness lobby. (Reuters)