Portal:Current events/2017 January 9

January 9, 2017 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

January 2017 Jerusalem vehicular attack
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blames the Islamic State for the attack that killed four soldiers and injured 15 others in East Jerusalem. (CNN)
Sinai insurgency
- An attack by several gunmen and a truck bomb on a police checkpoint in El-Arish leaves 13 dead and 15 wounded, including the attackers. (Al Jazeera)
A U.S. Navy destroyer fires three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels after they close in at a high speed near the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. defense officials. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

A California storm in the Calaveras Big Trees State Park fells the 1,000-year-old American tree, the Pioneer Cabin Tree. (BBC)
2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning
- The death toll from people who drank poisonous methanol in Irkutsk, Russia, rises to 76. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
January 2017 European cold wave
- Dozens of people die in eastern Europe and Italy in recent days as a result of a cold snap with cancelled flights, frozen rivers, and traffic accidents. (Independent Online SA)

Law and crime

Two Orange County, Florida police officers are killed in connection with an apprehension attempt of a murder suspect. (CNN) (Reuters)
Lawyers of former Chadian President Hissène Habré, who was convicted of crimes against humanity last May and sentenced to life in prison, appeal the verdict, claiming there were irregularities in the trial and question the credibility of some witnesses. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

Death and state funeral of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
- The Iranian government declares three days of national mourning following the death of the former president and one of the key figures in the Islamic Republic. (The Daily Mail)
- President Hassan Rouhani praises Rafsanjani as a great man of the Iranian Revolution. (BBC)
Cyprus dispute
- Greek and Turkish local leaders of Cyprus resume talks to end the division of the island before a high level multilateral conference takes place in Geneva this week in the latest effort to reunify the island. (The Guardian)
The cabinet of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte investigates an email leak that allegedly indicates the involvement of the vice president Leni Robredo in attempts to overthrow Duterte. (ABS-CBN)
Renewable Heat Incentive scandal
- Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin resigns as the NI deputy first minister in protest of handling by the Democratic Unionist Party of a failed energy scheme that cost Northern Irish taxpayers £490 million. His decision will likely lead to a snap election. (BBC)
115th United States Congress
- Talks between top Donald Trump advisers and Speaker Paul Ryan happen at the capital to discuss tax reform. (The Washington Post)

Sports