Portal:Current events/2025 January 3

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • East Aleppo offensive
    • Clashes between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army escalate near the Tishrin Dam in Aleppo Governorate, Syria. The Turkish Air Force also conducts airstrikes on SDF positions. (SOHR) (SOHR 2)
  • US intervention in the Syrian civil war
    • Deputy U.S. Defense Press Secretary Sabrina Singh says that, despite local reports, the U.S. Army has "no plans" to build a military base in Kobani, Aleppo Governorate, which is currently under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces. (Rudaw)
• Haitian crisis
  • Gang war in Haiti, Guatemala–Haiti relations, El Salvador–Haiti relations, El Salvador–Guatemala relations
    • A contingent of peacekeeping troops from Guatemala and El Salvador arrive in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to enforce a United Nations-backed multinational security mission to restore order to Port-au-Prince amid an increase in gang violence. (Reuters)
• Red Sea crisis
  • The Israeli Defense Forces report the interception of a ballistic missile and a drone launched from Yemen. (France 24)

Business and economy

• Proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel
  • U.S. President Joe Biden blocks a buyout bid by Japanese Nippon Steel for U.S. Steel. (BBC News)
• Qatar Airways announces the resumption of flights to Damascus International Airport in Syria beginning on January 7, becoming the first major international airline to resume scheduled service to Syria since the Syrian civil war began in 2011. (Aviation Week)

Disasters and accidents

• January 2025 North American winter storm
  • The National Weather Service issues winter storm warnings across the central Great Plains and an ice storm warning in Missouri, in anticipation of severe freezing rain and icing events. The winter storm begins impacting the northwestern continental United States with heavy snowfall. (The Weather Channel)
• 2024–25 Ethiopian earthquakes
  • Evacuations are ordered in central Ethiopia due to increasing volcanic tremor and other unrest at the Mount Fentale stratovolcano, which last erupted in the 19th century. (Reuters)
• At least twelve people are killed and 30 others are injured after a bus carrying tourists falls into a ravine near the Pan-American Highway between Pasto and Rumichaca in Nariño Department, Colombia. (EFE)

Health and environment

• Air quality technology company IQAir reports that Hanoi, Vietnam, has the worst air pollution of any city on Earth, with levels of hazardous small particles, known as PM2.5, measured at 266 micrograms per cubic metre. (Reuters)

International relations

• Egypt–Syria relations
  • Egypt bans the entry of Syrians from all countries worldwide, except for those holding temporary residency permits for non-tourism purposes. The ban also includes Syrians married to Egyptians unless they obtain a security clearance. (The New Arab)
• Germany–Syria relations, France–Syria relations
  • German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot become the first European Union foreign ministers to travel to Damascus, Syria, after the fall of the Assad regime to discuss new diplomatic relations with the Syrian Transitional Government and Syrian civil society. (Der Spiegel) (France 24)

Law and crime

• 2024 South Korean martial law crisis
  • Arrest of Yoon Suk Yeol
    • Corruption investigators and prosecutors raid the central Seoul residence of recently-impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to arrest Yoon for refusing to respond to three court summons. The raid is unsuccessful due to the Presidential Security Service blocking further entrance into the residence, leading to a multi-hour standoff. (The Guardian) (AP)
• 2024 Estlink 2 incident
  • A district court in Helsinki, Finland, denies a request to release the impounded oil tanker Eagle S, suspected of damaging the Estlink 2 submarine power cable and carrying sanctioned Russian oil. (Al Jazeera)
• War crimes in the Syrian civil war
  • The Syrian government arrests Aws Salloum, known as the "Angel of Death" of Sednaya Prison. Salloum is accused of multiple murders and abuse of prisoners at Sednaya, including the murder of Mazen al-Hamada. (Al Sharq Al Awsat)
• A suspect is arrested in Rotterdam, Netherlands, for shooting and killing three men between December 21 and January 2. The victims were selected at random. (The Sun)
• Human trafficking in Southeast Asia
  • Chinese actor Wang Xing went missing at the Thailand-Myanmar border. He was rescued later (Jan 7) by Thai authorities. (The Star)

Politics and elections

• 2025 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
  • The United States House of Representatives, composed of 219 Republicans and 215 Democrats, re-elects Mike Johnson as House Speaker over incumbent House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. (CBS News)
• Next Ukrainian presidential election
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that the country will not hold presidential elections as long as the country is under martial law, even if Russia puts it as a pre-condition for negotiations. (Kyiv Independent)
• Pula Nikolao Pula is sworn in as Governor of American Samoa. (Samoa Observer)

Science and technology

• SpaceX successfully launches the United Arab Emirates Space Agency's communications satellite Thuraya 4-NGS via a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, United States. (Space News)

Sports

• 2025 PDC World Darts Championship
  • Luke Littler defeats Michael van Gerwen 7–3 in the final at Alexandra Palace in London, England, to claim his first World Darts Championship title, becoming the youngest player to win a world title at the age of 17 years. (BBC News)