Thursday

January 29, 2015

Armed conflicts and attacks

The Paraguayan People's Army kills a German couple who lived on a ranch near Yby Yaú in northern Paraguay. (Deutsche Welle)

2014 Sydney hostage crisis

A coronial inquest into the siege at the Lindt Cafe in the center of Sydney begins. The inquest hears that one hostage was killed by gunman Man Haron Monis while another was killed by fragments of a bullet or bullets fired by New South Wales Police Force officers. (The Australian) (BBC)

Taliban insurgency

Taliban attacks across Afghanistan kill 17 people. (AP)

An Afghan national kills three American contractors at Hamid Karzai International Airport, the lone shooter was also killed in the incident. (Bloomberg)

Moro insurgency in the Philippines

Philippines President Benigno Aquino III distances himself from a botched raid against a terrorist, Zulkifli Abdhir, that killed around 50 people, including police officers and Abdhir, while pledging support for a peace process with the Moro people. Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno urges the public to continue to support the peace treaty. (The New York Times)

Iraqi insurgency (2011–present)

Several attacks around Baghdad including bombings and shootings kill at least sixteen people. (The New York Times)

Sinai insurgency

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis claims responsibility for widespread attacks on Egyptian army and police targets throughout the Sinai Peninsula killing at least 25 people. (Ynet News)

Shia insurgency in Yemen

Shiite Houthi rebels seize a Yemeni military base south of the capital, Sana'a, where U.S. military advisers once trained Yemeni counterterrorism forces to fight Al-Qaeda in the south of the country. Forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh had manned the captured base. (Wall Street Journal)

Business and economy

The Philippine economy grew by more than 6% in 2014 making it the second fastest growing economy in Asia after China. This is the longest sustained growth period in the country since the 1950s. (Economic Times)[permanent dead link]