Portal:Current events/2020 January 1

January 1, 2020 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Attack on the United States embassy in Baghdad
- Supporters of Iraqi paramilitaries withdraw from the American embassy in Baghdad after being ordered to by the Popular Mobilization Forces, stating the "message has been heard". (Reuters)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present), Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- The Houthis release six Saudi prisoners as part of a United Nations-mediated deal struck last month. All six arrive in Riyadh later the same day. (Reuters)
- The secessionist Southern Transitional Council pulls out of committees working to implement a November agreement that would have placed them in the national cabinet and put their forces under government control. The council claims it was in response to an outbreak of violence in the Shabwah Governorate allegedly caused by their rival, the Al-Islah party. (Reuters)
The Taliban kills 23 security force members in three separate attacks in three different Afghani provinces. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

2019–20 Australian bushfire season
- An additional three deaths have been confirmed on the New South Wales South Coast while another man has been killed in Victoria's East Gippsland region. (News)
2020 Jakarta floods
- At least 21 people are killed and over 19,000 displaced as flash floods hit the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. (BBC News)
The United States Coast Guard searches for five missing crew members after a fishing vessel sinks near Kodiak, Alaska. Two other crew members are rescued. (NBC News)
A fire at Krefeld Zoo, NRW, Germany, kills over 30 animals. (BBC News)

Health and environment

Palau becomes the first country in the world to ban sun cream that is harmful to corals and sea life. The ban comes into effect immediately after an announcement by President Thomas Remengesau Jr. (BBC News)

International relations

North Korea–United States relations, North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un says his nation will be "developing a new strategic weapon" in the near future, after the United States misses a year-end deadline for a restart of denuclearization talks. (Reuters)
China–Indonesia relations, Spratly Islands dispute
- The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejects an earlier statement by Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang that China had territorial claims to the Spratly Islands as part of the Nine-Dash Line, stating it "[has] no legal basis and have never been recognized by the UNCLOS 1982". Indonesia had recalled its ambassador to China two days earlier after a Chinese coastguard vessel trespassed in its waters. (Reuters)

Law and crime

At least 16 inmates are killed and five others injured in a riot that breaks out at a prison in Zacatecas, Mexico. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

2019 Guinea-Bissau presidential election
- Former Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embaló is declared the winner of the country's presidential elections. However, his direct rival Domingos Simões Pereira says he will challenge the results in court. (Reuters)
Investigations involving Benjamin Netanyahu
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces he will seek immunity from his corruption cases. As the Knesset is currently deadlocked, they will likely not come to a decision until after the next election. (Reuters)
Politics of Switzerland
- Simonetta Sommaruga is sworn in as President of the Swiss Confederation for second time. (Xinhua News Agency)
Politics of Austria
- Austria's left-wing Green Party agrees to form a coalition with the ruling right-wing People's Party. This will be the first time the Green Party is part of a ruling government in the country. (BBC News)