January 2, 2016 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Terrorism in India
- 2016 Pathankot attack
- Heavily armed terrorists, reportedly members of Jaish-e-Mohammed, attack an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab; three security force personnel and four of the terrorists are reported to have been killed. (DNA)
- 2016 Pathankot attack
- Mexican Drug War, List of politicians killed in the Mexican Drug War
- Gisela Mota Ocampo, mayor of Temixco in Mexico's Morelos state is assassinated by gunmen at her home, less than a day after taking office. Morelos Governor, Graco Ramírez, attributed Mota's killing to organized crime, without citing a particular drug cartel or gang. (AP via Daily Mail)
- Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
- Armed militiamen, including members of the Bundy family of Nevada, take over and occupy the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon following a peaceful rally in support of Dwight and Steve Hammond, who were convicted of arson in 2012 for setting fires on public land adjacent to their property. (Oregon Live)
Law and crime
- Sheikh Nimr, 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests
- The Saudi Arabian government executes 47 people, including Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia Muslim cleric and leader of the anti-government Shia opposition group. His execution generated negative worldwide reactions from politicians, Muslim religious figures, and Shia people. (BBC) (The Nation) (Indian Express) (Reuters)
- Iranian protesters ransack and set fire to the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran, in response to the Saudi execution of Nimr al-Nimr. (The New York Times)