Portal:Current events/2023 January 16

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Battle of Soledar
    • Ukraine announces defeat at Soledar after days of intense fighting. (MSN)
• Tigray War
  • Tigrayan peace process
    • Amharan Special Forces announce their withdrawal from the Tigray Region in line with an African Union-backed peace agreement between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front. (Al Jazeera)
• Somali Civil War
  • The Somali Armed Forces claim to have recaptured the port town of Harardhere from Al-Shabaab militants. According to a Puntland officer, Somali forces allied with regional militias also recaptured the town of El Dhere. (Al Jazeera) (The Globe and Mail)

Disasters and accidents

• International Kite Festival in Gujarat – Uttarayan
  • At least six people including three children died and 176 people were injured from cuts and falls while flying kites during Uttarayan festival in Gujarat. Some bled to death as revellers used sharp strings that entangled around the necks. (The Tribune)
• Nineteen people are killed and 24 others are injured during a collision between a bus and a truck in Sakal Arrondissement, Senegal. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

• Goshen shooting
  • Six people, including a baby, are killed in a mass shooting in Goshen, California, United States. The shooting is believed to have been perpetrated by cartel members. (CNN)
• Metropolitan Police Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection officer David Carrick pleads guilty to 49 offences, including 24 rapes, at Southwark Crown Court in London, UK. (BBC News)
• Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, one of the most wanted men in Italy and Europe, is arrested in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, after 30 years on the run. (BBC News)
• Solomon Peña, a former Republican candidate for the New Mexico House of Representatives, is arrested by SWAT officers for his role in the shootings of at least four New Mexico Democrat politicians' houses. (AP News)

Politics and elections

• LGBT rights in Scotland
  • The British government says that it will block the Gender Recognition Reform Bill passed by the Scottish Parliament despite objections from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, saying that the proposed law would conflict with "equality protections" across Great Britain. (BBC News)
• German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht resigns from the Scholz cabinet amid criticism of her response to the war in Ukraine. (Reuters)