Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2023 Israel–Hamas war
  • 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
    • The IDF withdraws five brigades, consisting of thousands of soldiers, from the Gaza Strip and says the war will enter a "different mode of operations". (Al Jazeera)
  • At least 27 rockets are fired by Hamas shortly after midnight at cities and towns in central and southern Israel. (Times of Israel) (Ynet)
• Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
  • The Republic of Artsakh officially ceases to exist, in accordance with a decree signed by former president Samvel Shahramanyan. (Interfax)

Arts and culture

• Public Domain Day
  • 2024 in American public domain
    • The animated short film Steamboat Willie, the German-language version of the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, and other works published in 1928 enter the public domain in the United States. (Mashable)
• The Sheikh Zayed Festival at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates breaks four Guinness World Records for a hour-long fireworks display and drone show during the New Year celebration. (Gulf News)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 Noto earthquake
  • A magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, killing 55 people. A tsunami warning is issued for multiple prefectures along the Sea of Japan. (Reuters)
• One person is killed and 21 others are injured in a fire at a bar in Graz, Austria, that was hosting a New Year's party. (AP)

International relations

• Foreign relations of Ethiopia, Foreign relations of Somaliland
  • Ethiopia announces an agreement with Somaliland to use 20 km of coastline, including the port of Berbera, in exchange for eventual recognition of the Somaliland Declaration of Independence, which would make it the first country to do so. (Reuters)
• Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates formally join the BRICS group as new members. (Tehran Times)

Law and crime

• 2023 Israeli judicial reform
  • Movement for Quality Government in Israel v. Knesset
    • The Supreme Court of Israel votes 8–7 to strike down the "reasonableness" bill passed by the Knesset in July. (BBC News) (Times of Israel)
• LGBT rights in Estonia
  • Same-sex marriage in Estonia
    • Estonia becomes the 36th country in the world where same-sex couples can marry. (Postimees)
• Bangladeshi economist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus and three people that worked at his company Grameen Telecom are sentenced to six months in prison for violating Bangladesh's labor laws. (Al Jazeera)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2023 Israel–Hamas war
  • Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)
    • Assassination of Saleh al-Arouri
      • An Israeli airstrike in the Dahieh neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon, kills seven people, including Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy chairman of Hamas' political bureau, and two other senior Hamas military officials. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack. (Reuters)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Russian strikes against infrastructure
    • 2 January 2024 Russian strikes on Ukraine
      • Four civilians are killed and nearly 100 others are injured by a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv and at least 27 civilians are injured by a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. (AP)
• Spillover of the Afghan conflict
  • Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
    • Unidentified gunmen kill six people in Mir Ali, North Waziristan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (ABC News)
• War in Sudan (2023–present)
  • The RSF attacked the town of Bara, North Kordofan and plundered the University of Gezira in Wad Madani. The SAF launched airstrikes on RSF positions in Wad Madani, Sennar, and the Khartoum area. (Dabanga Sudan)

Arts and culture

• 2023 United States Congress hearing on antisemitism
  • Claudine Gay resigns as president of Harvard University following controversial remarks she made during a congressional hearing on antisemitism and accusations of plagiarism. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 Haneda Airport runway collision
  • A Japan Airlines Airbus A350-900 aircraft collides with a Japan Coast Guard Dash 8 aircraft and bursts into flames at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. All 379 occupants aboard the Japan Airlines flight are evacuated, while five of the six occupants aboard the Coast Guard aircraft are killed. (BBC News) (Reuters)
• A Ugandan People's Defence Force helicopter crashes in the village of Nyamisigiri, Kabarole District, Uganda, killing two people on board the helicopter and one person on the ground. (KFM) (Aviation Safety Network)

Law and crime

• Attempted assassination of Lee Jae-myung
  • South Korean opposition politician Lee Jae-myung is stabbed in the neck in Gadeokdo, Busan. (The New York Times)
• A man breaks into the Colorado Supreme Court building in Denver, Colorado, United States. He holds a security guard at gunpoint and later voluntarily surrenders to police. (Colorado Public Radio)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian War
  • Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Turkey–Ukraine relations
      • Turkey denies access to the Black Sea for two Royal Navy minehunters saying their transit of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits would be in violation of the Montreux Convention of 1936. (The Independent)
    • Ukraine and Russia complete their first prisoner exchange in nearly five months, releasing over 200 people on each side, facilitated by mediation from the United Arab Emirates. (Reuters)
• Myanmar civil war
  • Operation 1027
    • Ta’ang National Liberation Army claimed to have taken control of the town of Mongngaw in Kyaukme Township in Shan State. (Irrawadyy)
• Colombian conflict
  • The Clan del Golfo detonate explosives at an army encampment in Turbo, Antioquia Department, Colombia, killing a soldier and injuring 12 others. (ABC News)
• Kerman bombings
  • Eighty nine people are killed and 284 others injured in a double bombing in Kerman, Iran, during a ceremony marking the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Qasem Soleimani. (AP)

Law and crime

• 2023 Sierra Leone coup attempt
  • A court in Freetown, Sierra Leone, charges former president Ernest Bai Koroma with four offences, including treason for his alleged role during the November coup attempt. (France 24)
• Capital punishment in India
  • A court in India sentences two men to death over a train bombing in 2005 which killed 14 people. (Deccan Herald)
• A court in the U.S. state of New York releases unsealed documents containing the associates list of Jeffrey Epstein to the public. (The Independent)
• Three men are stabbed and injured on a train at Akihabara Station in Tokyo, Japan. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Hilda Heine is sworn in as President of the Marshall Islands. (RNZ)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Iraqi conflict
  • U.S. drone strikes in Iraq and Syria
    • A U.S. drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq, kills four Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba militants, including senior leader Mushtaq Talib Al-Saeedi. (Reuters)
• 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
  • Battle of Khan Yunis
    • IDF claimed to have significantly degraded the command and control of Hamas Khan Younis Brigade's northern and eastern battalions with the destruction of tunnel systems, infrastructure and deaths of company commanders. (Understanding War)
• Kerman bombings
  • Islamic State's Khorasan Province claims responsibility for yesterday's double bombing in Kerman, Iran, which killed 89 people. (BBC News) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 New York City Subway derailment
• Five people are killed and 22 others are injured in a fire at a hospital in Uelzen, Lower Saxony, Germany. (AP)
• At least 1,000 cars are stranded on the E22 highway in Sweden between Hörby and Kristianstad due to heavy snow with people spending the night in their vehicles. The Swedish Army helped drivers get out of their vehicles and supplied them with basic amenities. (NOS)
• A private plane en route from J. F. Mitchell Airport in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to Hewanorra International Airport in Saint Lucia crashes shortly after takeoff, killing four people including German actor Christian Oliver and his two daughters. (Loop News) (AFP via Hindustan Times)

Law and crime

• Perry High School shooting
  • Two people are killed (including the perpetrator) and seven others are injured during a mass school shooting in Perry, Iowa, United States. (KCCI-TV)
• Treatment of women by the Taliban
  • A spokesman for the Vice and Virtue Ministry of the Taliban in Afghanistan announces the arrest of an unspecified number of women for wearing "bad hijab", in the first known crackdown on the dress code since the Taliban's return to power in August 2021. (AP)
• Myanmar announces the pardon of 9,652 prisoners, including 114 foreigners, to mark the country's independence day. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Russo-Ukrainian War
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin issues a decree granting Russian citizenship to foreigners who fight for Russia in the war against Ukraine, and for their families. (Reuters)
• Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah is appointed as Prime Minister of Kuwait. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Myanmar civil war
  • Operation 1027
    • Battle of Laukkai
      • The MNDAA gain full control of Laukkai, capital of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone, following the mass surrender of the last junta forces and officials within the city. (Myanmar-Now)
• Iraqi conflict
  • U.S. drone strikes in Iraq and Syria
    • Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani announces that the Iraqi government is beginning the process to remove the U.S.-led international military coalition from the country after a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad yesterday killed a militia leader. (Reuters)
• Korean conflict
  • North Korea fires 200 artillery shells near South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island, prompting evacuations. (CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 Noto earthquake
  • The death toll from the magnitude 7.6 earthquake in the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, on January 1, increases to 94 people. At least 222 others are still missing. (AP)
• Alaska Airlines Flight 1282
  • An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft loses a door section of its fuselage mid-air and makes an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, United States, with no major injuries reported. The Federal Aviation Administration subsequently orders a temporary grounding of all 737 Max 9 aircraft in response to the incident. (The Guardian) (BBC News) (CNN)
• 2024 Cicalengka station railway collision
  • Two passenger trains collide near Cicalengka railway station in Bandung Regency, West Java, Indonesia, killing at least four people and injuring several others. (AP)

International relations

• Foreign relations of Nepal, Russo-Ukrainian War
  • Nepal suspends the issuance of permits to its citizens to work in Russia and Ukraine after 10 Nepalis are killed while serving in the Russian Army. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• South African former Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is released on parole after serving eight and a half years in prison for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. (France 24)

Politics and elections

• 2024 United States presidential election
  • The U.S. Supreme Court grants a writ of certiorari for former president Donald Trump's appeal of the Colorado Supreme Court ruling in Anderson v. Griswold regarding his presidential eligibility and schedules oral arguments for February 8. (AP)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • Russian forces attack Pokrovsk Raion, Donetsk Oblast, with S-300 missiles according to local authorities, killing at least 11 people, including five children, and injuring eight others. (CNN)
• Afghan conflict
  • Five people are killed and 15 more injured during the explosion of a bomb planted by Islamic State members on a bus carrying Shiites in the neighbourhood of Dashte Barchi, Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2024 Salvadoran general election
  • Electronic voting for Salvadoran expatriates in the presidential and legislative elections begins. (El Mundo)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Myanmar civil war
  • Operation 1027
    • The Three Brotherhood Alliance claimed that it captured the towns of Kutkai and Theinni on midnight after seizing junta military posts in the towns, including the headquarters of the 16th Military Operations Command in Theinni. (Irrawaddy)
  • Tatmadaw airstrikes kill at least 17 people, including nine children, and injure 20 others in Kanan village, Sagaing. (ABC News)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • At least ten people are killed during three separated confrontations between Palestinians and Israel's border police and army in the occupied West Bank. (AP)
• War in Sudan
  • The SPLM-N (al-Hilu) seized control of Dalang following reports of an agreement between the group and the SAF to fight the RSF. (Sudan Tribune)

Arts and culture

• 81st Golden Globe Awards
  • Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, wins five awards at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, while Poor Things wins the awards for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (CNBC)
  • Lily Gladstone (Blackfeet Nation) becomes the first Indigenous woman to win Best Actress for her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon. (ICT News) (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• A fire in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh destroys hundreds of shelters and facilities and displaces nearly 7,000 Rohingya refugees. (Dhaka Tribune) (The Washington Post)

Politics and elections

• 2024 Bangladeshi general election
  • Citizens of Bangladesh vote in a general election with opposition parties boycotting the election. (Al Jazeera)
• Philippine President Bongbong Marcos signs a law that permits electronic tax filing in the country. (Reuters)

Sports

• 2024 ATP Tour, 2024 WTA Tour
  • 2024 United Cup
    • In tennis, Germany wins their first United Cup after defeating Poland 2–1 in the final. (PA Media via The Guardian)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
    • Russia launches a massive missile and drone attack across Ukraine, killing at least four people and injuring 38 others in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. Ukraine says that it shot down all eight drones and 18 of 51 missiles. (AP) (Reuters)
• Israel–Hezbollah conflict
  • Israel assassinates Wissam al-Tawil, the deputy commander of Hezbollah's Redwan Force, during an airstrike against a vehicle in Majdel Selm, Lebanon. Another person is also killed in the airstrike. (Reuters)
• War in Sudan
  • The SPLM-N (al-Hilu) together with the SAF clashed with the RSF in the Nuba Mountains, while the SAF launched airstrikes on an RSF camp in Al-Dabaibat, north of Dalang. (Sudan Tribune)

Disasters and accidents

• Twenty-five people are killed and six others are injured in a crash involving a truck and a tourist minibus on a highway near São José do Jacuípe, Bahia, Brazil. (ABC News) (G1)

Law and crime

• A two-year-long investigation conducted by the BBC accuses Synagogue Church of All Nations founder T. B. Joshua of rape and torture. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

• Farmers block highway access roads in parts of Germany, launching a week of protests against a government plan to remove tax breaks on diesel used in agriculture. (BBC News)
• French prime minister Élisabeth Borne resigns at the request of French president Emmanuel Macron amid political turmoil over immigration reform. (Associated Press)

Science and technology

• Nuclear program of Iran
  • According to De Volkskrant, a Dutch engineer recruited by the General Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands released the malicious computer worm Stuxnet in an Iranian nuclear complex in 2007, disrupting the Iranian nuclear program for years. (NOS) (The Times)
• Peregrine Mission One, the first US lunar lander since the Apollo program, is launched at Cape Canaveral in Florida, United States. It later suffers from a fuel leak, making it unable to complete its objective. (The Guardian)

Sports

• 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season
  • 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship
    • The University of Michigan beats the University of Washington 34–13 in the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship game for NCAA Division I football. (NBC News)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Red Sea crisis
  • Operation Prosperity Guardian
    • U.S. Navy and Royal Navy warships in the Red Sea shoot down 21 suicide drones and missiles launched by Houthi forces in Yemen. British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps describes it as the largest attack in the area by the Houthis to date. (Reuters)
• 2024 conflict in Ecuador
  • President of Ecuador Daniel Noboa declares a state of emergency following the escape of José Adolfo Macías Villamar, leader of the Los Choneros drug cartel, from prison. Gangsters subsequently storm a TC Televisión newsroom in Guayaquil and launch a series of riots, kidnappings, and explosions across the country. Eight civilians are killed, including two at Centro Comercial Albán Borja, and three more injured during random shootings in Guayaquil, while two police officers are killed in Nobol. As a result, schools are closed and the military is called to stop gang activities. (Al Jazeera)
• Israel–Hezbollah conflict
  • Hezbollah launches a drone attack on the Northern Command headquarters in Safed, Israel, marking its deepest incursion into Israeli territory since the outbreak of hostilities. In retaliation, Israel claims the assassination of Ali Hussein Barji, the commander of Hezbollah's air force in Southern Lebanon. Hezbollah denies this claim. (The Guardian) (Reuters)

Health and environment

• South Korea bans the breeding and slaughter of dogs for consumption, effective in 2027. (CNN)

Law and crime

• Federal prosecution of Donald Trump
  • A panel of three federal appellate judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit hears oral arguments regarding the issue of presidential immunity for former US president Donald Trump. (CNN)
• Russo-Ukrainian War
  • Russia places exiled tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky on a wanted list over comments he made regarding the ongoing war. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2023–24 Bhutanese National Assembly election
  • Bhutanese people vote in the second round of the election for 47 members of the National Assembly. (Reuters)
• Gabriel Attal becomes the youngest and first openly gay Prime Minister of France. (BBC News)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Red Sea crisis
  • United Nations Security Council Resolution 2722
    • The United Nations Security Council adopts a resolution condemning Houthi attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea. (The Washington Post)
• Somali Civil War
  • Al-Shabaab insurgents capture a United Nations helicopter carrying seven people, killing one person and abducting five others, while the seventh person is missing. The helicopter landed in al-Shabaab-controlled territory after encountering "a defect" shortly after takeoff from Beledweyne, Hiran, Somalia. (AP)

Business and economy

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approves eleven spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in a landmark decision. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• 2024 Papua New Guinean unrest
  • Riots occur in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, following a strike by police over a reduction in their pay. Ten people are killed and 13 others are seriously injured as a result of the riots. (RNZ) (The National)
• Capital punishment in Pakistan
  • The Supreme Court of Pakistan upholds the 2019 death sentence upon former leader Pervez Musharraf, who lived in exile in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, until his death in February 2023. (Dawn)

Politics and elections

• 2024 United States presidential election
  • Chris Christie 2024 presidential campaign
    • Former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie withdraws from the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries. (NBC News)

Sports

• The 2024 European Men's Handball Championship begins in Germany. (The Local)
• The 2024 UEC European Track Championships begins in the Netherlands. (The Irish Times)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Red Sea crisis
  • Operation Prosperity Guardian
    • The Cabinet of the United Kingdom formally authorises British military action against Houthi militants in Yemen. (Bloomberg)
• 2024 Ecuadorian conflict
  • Two people are killed and nine more injured during an arson attack at a nightclub in El Coca, Ecuador. (AP)
• The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy seizes control of the Marshall Islands-flagged and Greek-operated civilian oil tanker St Nikolas in the Gulf of Oman. The tanker had 19 crew members onboard, including 18 Filipinos and one Greek. It was carrying crude oil from Basra, Iraq, to Turkey. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• Google lays off hundreds of employees in its core engineering team, and others working on Google Assistant and Google's hardware products. (The New York Times)
• The United States Labor Department reports that auto insurance premiums experienced a remarkable rise in 2023, their highest annual increase in nearly half a century. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• A chartered Air Côte d'Ivoire flight from The Gambia to the Ivory Coast, transporting the Gambia national football team to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, makes an emergency landing in Banjul, Gambia, due to a loss of cabin pressure lasting for more than nine minutes. All passengers suffer some degree of hypoxia including loss of consciousness. (Hindustan Times) (The Guardian)

Health and environment

• 2022–2024 Southern Africa cholera outbreak
  • Around 300 people are confirmed dead in an outbreak of cholera in Zambia. (BBC News)

Law and crime

• 2024 Papua New Guinean unrest
  • Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape declares a state of emergency and suspends some officials following yesterday's riots which killed 16 people. (Reuters)
• Smoking in Latvia
  • Latvia bans the sale and use of tobacco and nicotine products for those under the age of 20 years, beginning on January 1, 2025. (ERR)
• South Africa v. Israel
  • A two-day public hearing begins at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, regarding alleged violations by Israel of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention and international law in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. (CNN)

Politics and elections

• 2023 Guatemalan general election
  • Former Minister of the Interior Napoleón Barrientos is arrested for failing to comply with his duties for not using force to evict the blockades and demonstrations that occurred in October, which called for the resignation of Attorney General María Consuelo Porras. (The Washington Post)
  • The Public Ministry orders the arrest of four magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal who have been living in exile since losing their immunity in November. (Prensa Libre)
  • Vice President-elect Karin Herrera presents a legal appeal before the Constitutional Court due to the risk of a possible arrest warrant against her which would violate her immunity. (Prensa Libre)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Operation Prosperity Guardian, Houthi involvement in the Israel–Hamas war, United States–Houthi conflict
  • 2024 missile strikes in Yemen
    • The United States and United Kingdom launch airstrikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in response to attacks on international trade in the Red Sea. Explosions are reported in the capital Sanaa and port city of Al Hudaydah, with at least ten Houthi militants killed. (BBC News) (AP) (Bloomberg)
    • U.S. officials confirm that more than a dozen Houthi sites have been targeted with Tomahawk missiles launched from U.S. Navy warships and fighter jets. The military targets allegedly included logistical hubs, air defence systems, and weapons storage locations. (AP)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine–United Kingdom relations
  • British prime minister Rishi Sunak visits Kyiv to reiterate his support for Ukraine. (The Washington Post) (GOV.UK)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 Noto earthquake
  • The death toll from the magnitude 7.6 earthquake in the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, on January 1, increases to 215 people, with 28 others still missing. (NHK)
• Ten people are killed and six others are missing after an accident at a coal mine in Pingdingshan, Henan, China. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• South Africa v. Israel
  • On the second day of proceedings, Israel defends itself in The Hague, Netherlands, regarding alleged violations of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention and other international law in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. (Times of Israel)
• Law enforcement in Suriname
  • Former President of Suriname Dési Bouterse is reported missing by the authorities after failing to turn himself in to prison. (The Guardian)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2024 missile strikes in Yemen
  • The U.S. Navy conducts additional strikes targeting Houthi-held territory in Yemen. (Reuters)
• Kurdish–Turkish conflict
  • Turkey launches airstrikes against Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria, a day after nine Turkish soldiers were killed in a shooting in Iraq. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 El Carmen de Atrato landslide
  • A landslide in El Carmen de Atrato, Chocó, Colombia, kills 34 people and injures at least 35 others. (AP)
• At least 21 miners are killed and several others are trapped following a collapse at a gold mine in Simiyu Region, Tanzania. (Xinhua)

Politics and elections

• 2024 Taiwanese general election
  • 2024 Taiwanese legislative election
    • The opposition Nationalist Party of China wins the most seats in the Legislative Yuan but no party receives an absolute majority. (Taiwan News)
  • 2024 Taiwanese presidential election
    • Vice President Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party is elected president of Taiwan. (The Guardian)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2023 Israel–Hamas war
  • 2023 Israel–Hamas war hostage crisis
    • Around 120,000 people attend the start of a 24-hour rally in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square to mark 100 days since hostages were kidnapped into Gaza during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7. (The Times of Israel)
• 2024 Ecuadorian conflict
  • All 178 prison employees who were held hostage in at least seven prisons are released. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023–2024 Sundhnúkur eruptions
  • The Reykjanes volcano erupts near the town of Grindavík, Iceland, with one fissure forming inside the town limits. (CNN)
• English Channel migrant crossings
  • Five migrants die after their small boat overturns while attempting to cross the English Channel. Dozens more are rescued, according to the French Maritime Prefecture. (BBC News)

International relations

• India–Maldives relations
  • The Maldives calls for the complete withdrawal of the Indian Armed Forces from its territory by March 15 amid a diplomatic dispute between the two countries. India currently has around 80 troops stationed on the archipelago. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Inauguration of Bernardo Arévalo
  • In Guatemala, the Constitutional Court aligns itself with the outgoing ruling party and denies legal recourse to Semilla, affirming that Semilla's elected members of Congress must assume office as "independents", thereby disqualifying them from running for the presidency of the Congress. The legislature of the outgoing Congress subsequently announces a delay in the investiture of the incoming legislature, as well as in the presidential investiture of Bernardo Arévalo. (Prensa Libre)
  • Despite the Constitutional Court's ruling, Samuel Pérez Álvarez, a member of Semilla, is elected President of the Congress with 92 votes. (Prensa Libre)
• 2024 Comorian presidential election
  • The Comoros hold the first round of presidential elections. (Reuters)
• Abdication of Margrethe II
  • Frederik X is proclaimed King of Denmark following his mother's abdication. (AP)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • 2023 Israel–Hamas war
    • Houthi involvement in the Israel–Hamas war
      • Houthi militants launch a missile at the Marshall Islands-flagged, United States-owned and operated bulk carrier Gibraltar Eagle in the Gulf of Aden. (AP)
    • Israel–Hezbollah conflict
      • An Israeli woman and her son are killed by an anti-tank missile penetrating their home in Yuval, Northern Israel. (BBC News)
  • 2024 Ra'anana attack
    • A woman is killed and 18 other people are severely injured in a stabbing and vehicle-ramming attack by two Palestinian illegal workers from Hebron in Ra'anana, Central Israel. (Haaretz)
• Attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria
  • 2024 Erbil attack
    • Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) kills four people and injures five others in a ballistic missile and drone attack on Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The IRGC also says that they launched a missile at a target in Aleppo Governorate, Syria. (Reuters) (Rudaw)
• Myanmar civil war
  • Operation 1027
    • The Arakan Army captured the town of Paletwa in Chin State following fighting since November 13, 2023. (Irrawaddy)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Southern Ukraine campaign
    • Ukraine claims that it has shot down a Russian Beriev A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft and an Ilyushin Il-22 airborne control center over the Sea of Azov. (CNN)
• War in Sudan
  • Battle of Khartoum
    • Clashes in Khartoum State kill thirteen civilians as the Sudanese Armed Forces continue their offensive in Omdurman. (Radio Dabanga)
• Central African Republic Civil War
  • A Cameroonian peacekeeper in MINUSCA is killed and five others are injured in an explosion in Mbindale, Lim-Pendé, Central African Republic. (AA)(Atlas News)
• Nigerian bandit conflict
  • Bandits attack Nigerian forces at a military base in Nahuta, Katsina State, Nigeria. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023–24 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
  • Cyclone Belal hits the Indian Ocean with flooding reported in Réunion and Mauritius. (BBC News)
• Eleven people are killed by flooding caused by heavy rain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Al Jazeera)
• Four people are killed and another person is injured in a hot air balloon crash in Eloy, Arizona, United States. (Reuters)
• A firefighting plane crashes into a highway near Talca, Chile, killing the pilot and injuring four people in the ground. (Newsweek)

International relations

• Foreign relations of Nauru, Foreign relations of Taiwan, One China
  • Nauru withdraws diplomatic recognition of Taiwan and establishes formal diplomatic relations with China. (Reuters)
• North Korea–South Korea relations
  • North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un says that Korean reunification is "no longer possible" and dissolves three organizations involved in reunification efforts and inter-Korean tourism. He also asks the Supreme People's Assembly to amend the constitution to recognize South Korea as a "primary foe and invariable principal enemy" and distinguish between North Korean and South Korean territory. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Ecuadorian security crisis
  • Forty-three prisoners are at large after escaping a prison in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2024 United States presidential election
  • 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses
    • Former U.S. President Donald Trump wins the Iowa caucus. Vivek Ramaswamy drops out of the race and endorses Trump. (The Guardian) (The New York Times)

Sports

• 2023–24 Premier League
  • English association football clubs Everton and Nottingham Forest are both charged by the Premier League with breaking financial fairplay rules. Everton are currently appealing a 10-point deduction from a previous charge. (BBC Sport)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Houthi involvement in the Israel–Hamas war
  • 2024 missile strikes in Yemen
    • A Greek-owned bulk carrier is hit by a missile launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen with minor damage reported. Separately, the United States launches more airstrikes on Houthi positions, destroying four anti-ship missiles that were being prepared for launch. (BBC News)
    • British multinational oil and gas company Shell suspends all Red Sea shipments indefinitely amid Houthi attacks on commerical vessels. (Fox Business)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Bombing of Kharkiv
    • Seventeen people are injured in a Russian missile strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Reuters)
• 2024 Iran–Pakistan border skirmishes
  • 2024 Iranian missile strikes in Pakistan
    • Iran launches ballistic missiles at Balochistan, Pakistan, targeting what it claims are Jaish ul-Adl terrorist sites, killing two children and injuring three other people. Pakistan calls the action an "unprovoked violation" of its airspace. (AP)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda tensions
  • A Congolese soldier is killed and two others are arrested by the Rwandan Army in a cross-border incident in Rubavu District, Rwanda. (AP)
• Somali Civil War
  • An al-Shabaab suicide bomber kills three people and wounds two others outside of the Mayor of Mogadishu's office in Mogadishu, Somalia. (Anadolu Agency)

International relations

• War in Sudan
  • Sudan suspends its membership in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) after accusing it of inviting Rapid Support Forces official Hemedti to an upcoming summit in Kampala, Uganda. (AP)

Law and crime

• Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases
  • A lawsuit is filed against Madison Square Garden Entertainment chairman James L. Dolan, accusing him of pressuring a woman into having unwanted sex in 2014. The woman also files a lawsuit against film producer Harvey Weinstein, accusing him of sexually assaulting her. (The New York Times)
• A drive-by shooting kills five people in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. Authorities say the killings are likely connected to drug trafficking. (ABC News)
• The Iranian government extends Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi's jail term of 12 years for "spreading propaganda". (BBC News)

Politics and elections

• 2024 United States presidential election
  • Asa Hutchinson 2024 presidential campaign
    • Former Governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson withdraws from the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries. (AP)
• Rwanda asylum plan
  • UK Conservative Party deputy chairmen Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith resign to join 60 other Conservative MPs in voting to back an amendment to the Asylum and Immigration Bill, making it more strict. The amendment later fails to pass. (BBC News)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• United States–Houthi conflict
  • 2024 missile strikes in Yemen
    • The United States Central Command says another round of U.S. strikes has destroyed 14 anti-ship missiles in Yemen that were being prepared to launch at merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region. (Reuters)
  • Operation Prosperity Guardian
    • The United States redesignates the Yemen-based Houthis as a terrorist organization in response to continuing attacks in the Red Sea. (Reuters) (Archive)
• 2024 Iran–Pakistan border skirmishes
  • 2024 Iranian missile strikes in Pakistan
    • Pakistan recalls its ambassador to Iran in response to the missile attack on its territory that killed two civilians. (The Washington Post)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 19 people are killed and three others are missing in an explosion at a fireworks factory in Suphan Buri, Thailand. (AP)
• Three people are killed and 77 others are injured in an explosion caused by explosives stored for use in illegal mining operations at several buildings in Ibadan, Nigeria. (AP)
• Three people are killed when a power line falls on a car during a major winter storm in Portland, Oregon, United States. (AP)

Law and crime

• Lèse-majesté in Thailand
  • Thai activist Arnon Nampa is sentenced to four years in prison for posting a royal insult on social media in 2021. (CNA)
• Three people are killed and five others injured during a mass shooting against a group of men outdoors in Morvant, Trinidad and Tobago. (AP)
• 2024 Bashkortostan protests
  • Thousands of people protest the trial of Bashkir activist Fail Alsynov in Baymak, Bashkortostan, Russia. Clashes with police are reported. (RFE/RL)
• Former Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei is barred from entering the U.S. after the State Department accuses him of "significant corruption". (Reuters)
• UK Home Secretary James Cleverly announces a ban on Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic fundamentalist movement, for its support of Hamas and "violently antisemitic rhetoric". (The Algemeiner)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Insurgency in Balochistan
  • 2024 Iranian missile strikes in Pakistan, Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar, 2024 Iran–Pakistan border skirmishes
    • The Pakistan Air Force launches "precision airstrikes" on Baloch separatist targets inside Iran a day after Iranian airstrikes against Baloch separatist militants in Balochistan, Pakistan, killed at least two civilians. Camps belonging to the Baluch Liberation Front and Balochistan Liberation Army are reportedly hit. Explosions are reported in the city of Saravan. Nine people are killed in the strikes, all of whom are foreign nationals. (Al Jazeera)
• 2024 Ecuadorian conflict
  • Public prosecutor César Suárez, who was investigating the gang TC Televisión newsroom takeover, is killed. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

• At least seven people are killed and ten others are missing due to landslides caused by heavy rains in Davao de Oro, Philippines. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Corruption in Singapore
  • Singaporean Transport Minister S. Iswaran resigns both as cabinet minister, member of parliament of West Coast GRC and as a member of the PAP after being charged with 27 counts of corruption and receiving gratification as a public servant by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). It is considered as the highest-profile graft involving a cabinet minister in 38 years. (AP)

Science and technology

• Water on Mars
  • The European Space Agency probe Mars Express finds huge deposits of dusty ice beneath the equator of Mars, with the discovery being the largest amount of water ice found near the planet's equator. (Space.com)