Portal:Current events/2025 January 19

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Colombian conflict
  • Catatumbo campaign
    • 2025 Catatumbo attacks
      • The National Liberation Army (ELN) and FARC dissidents exchange heavy fire across the Catatumbo region, Colombia, killing at least 80 people and injuring hundreds of others, with an unknown number of people also reportedly being kidnapped, after the ELN accused the FARC dissidents of killing civilians in the area. Thousands of people have fled their homes due to the fighting. The Colombian Army says that it has rescued dozens of people, while the government calls on the ELN to cease their attacks immediately. (CBS News)
• Gaza war
  • Gaza war hostage crisis
    • The Gaza ceasefire agreement formally goes into effect, with the first hostages and prisoners freed as part of the deal. (CNN)
  • Israel announces that its troops have recovered the body of staff sergeant Oron Shaul, who was captured and killed by Hamas in 2014. (The Times of Israel)

Disasters and accidents

• The Washington Post reports that there is an "emerging consensus" among U.S. and European intelligence officials that maritime accidents, rather than Russian sabotage, was the cause of damage to Baltic seabed energy and communications lines. (Washington Post)
• 2025 California wildfires
  • January 2025 Southern California wildfires
    • Cal Fire reports that the Palisades Fire is more than 50% contained, while the Eaton Fire is more than 80% contained. (Forbes)

Law and crime

• 2024 South Korean martial law crisis
  • Arrest of Yoon Suk Yeol
    • Yoon Suk Yeol becomes the first sitting president of South Korea to be formally arrested, following his declaration of martial law in December. (Yonhap)
    • Following Yoon's arrest, pro-Yoon protesters raid the Seoul Western District Court, resulting in 41 injuries and property damage. (Yonhap)
• Capital punishment in Iran, Islam and blasphemy
  • An Iranian court sentences singer Amir Tataloo to death on appeal after Tataloo was convicted of insulting the prophet Muhammad. (Al Arabiya)

Politics and elections

• Gaza war
  • Three ministers of the Government of Israel belonging to the Otzma Yehudit party resign in protest of the approved Gaza ceasefire agreement. (The Times of Israel)

Science and technology

• Restrictions on TikTok in the United States
  • Social media platform TikTok temporarily suspends most of its services in the United States as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act goes into effect. TikTok restores these services, but its app remains unavailable in U.S. markets on the App Store and Google Play. (People) (AP)