Portal:Current events/2013 January 15

Current events of January 15, 2013 (2013-01-15) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war:
  • 15 people are killed and dozens injured in twin blasts at Aleppo University, as government forces and rebels continue fighting in the suburbs of Damascus. (Times of India)
• Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
  • A suicide bomber kills a Sunni MP and six others in Fallujah, two days after Finance Minister Rafi al-Issawi survived an assassination attempt in the same city. The parlamentarian, Ifan Saadoun al-Issawi, was an important member of the Sahwa committee in Fallujah and part of the opposition to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. (AP) (Al Jazeera)

Accidents and disasters

• Badrashin railway accident: A train carrying Egyptian Army recruits derails near Giza, Greater Cairo, killing 19 and injuring 120 others. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) (ABC News)
• A cleaner steals a Saltsjöbanan commuter train and crashes it into a residential building in the upscale Stockholm suburb of Saltsjöbaden. (Dagens Nyheter)

Law and crime

• Egyptian human rights lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawi is sentenced to five years imprisonment and 300 lashes in Saudi Arabia. (BBC)

Politics and elections

• Pakistani Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in relation to a bribery case within 24 hours.(The Washington Post)

Sport

• Paul McGinley is chosen to lead Europe in their defence of the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Perthshire. (RTÉ Sport)
• The Associated Press reports that the U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong has admitted to doping in his career during his interview with Oprah Winfrey, yet to be aired. (The Washington Post)