Portal:Current events/2017 January 25

Current events of January 25, 2017 (2017-01-25) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Somali Civil War
  • Twenty-eight people are killed in a coordinated attack against the Dayah Hotel in central Mogadishu. The Al-Shabab terrorist group claims responsibility. (Yahoo) (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average breaks 20,000 for the first time ever. (CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

• Over 800 homes are destroyed or flooded in Tahiti, French Polynesia, following severe storms over the weekend, with at least 4,000 people affected. (Radio New Zealand)

Human rights

• Domestic violence
  • The Russian Duma backs a law decriminalizing a first instance of domestic violence that does "not seriously injure" the person, making it an administrative offense. The bill also includes violence against children. (CNN)
• Women's rights
  • Belgium supports a plan by Dutch minister Lilianne Ploumen to launch a fund compensating worldwide for the United States' newly-reinstated Mexico City policy. (De Standaard) (Reuters)

Law and crime

• The German government decides it will abolish the crime of lèse-majesté, almost one year after the Böhmermann affair. (AFP by Digital Journal)

Politics and elections

• The Vatican City State announces that Pope Francis will name a Pontifical Delegate to head the Sovereign Military Order of Malta after Prince and Grand Master Matthew Festing's unexpected forced resignation in a spat over condoms. (Reuters)
• Presidency of Donald Trump
  • United States President Donald Trump announces that he intends to seek an investigation into possible voter fraud from last year's election, despite bipartisan citations that voter fraud is extremely rare within the country. (Reuters) (FOX News)
  • United States President Donald Trump signs executive order to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. (Telegraph)

Sports

• The International Olympic Committee says that sprinter Nesta Carter took the banned substance methylhexaneamine while competing in the 2008 Olympic 4 × 100 metres relay. As a result, the Jamaican team is disqualified and Usain Bolt loses his ninth Olympic gold medal. (ESPN)
• With a victory in the second stage of the Vuelta a San Juan, Tom Boonen becomes the first professional road cyclist to win a race on a bike equipped with disc brakes. (RoadCyclingUK)
• In sumo wrestling, Kisenosato Yutaka becomes the 72^nd yokozuna. He is the first Japanese national to effect the promotion to the highest rank in 19 years. (Time)