- Overnight News Summaries ,
- Tags: Africa, Colombia, earthquake, Egypt, Egyptian, Facebook, Hosni Mubarak, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Middle East, Mubarak, Protest, protests, Tunisia, United States, Yemen, YouTube
- 24 Jan
KEY STORYLINES
- AFRICA: Explosions were heard in Kano, Nigeria, following a week of violence
- AMERICAS: A former CIA agent was arrested in the US for leaking classified documents
- ASIA: Hundreds of rebels surrendered their weapons in northeast India
- EUROPE: The French Senate adopted a bill criminalizing the refusal to acknowledge the Armenian genocide; Turkey condemned the legislation
- MIDDLE EAST: Two bombs exploded in Baghdad, Iraq, killing eight
- TECHNOLOGY: A YouTube video suggested Anonymous plans an attack to shutdown Facebook on 28JAN
TOP STORY
- Iran: Increased global pressure mounts
- EU agreed to freeze the assets of the Iranian central bank
- European foreign ministers agreed to ban oil imports starting 01JULY
- Gold, precious metals, diamonds and petrochemical products from Iran were also banned
- US vowed to continue to impose new sanctions on Iran
- Japan and Australia considered cutting crude oil imports in an effort to align with the West
- Coverage: Reuters, Bloomberg, NYT, Kyodo, Reuters-2
AFRICA
- Nigeria: Explosions were heard near a police station in Kano, the site of suicide attacks earlier in the week. (AFP)
- Sudan: UN Security Council condemned a deadly ambush that led to the killing of a UN peacekeeper of the joint UN-AU mission in Darfur. (Xinhua)
- Tunisia: PM Jebali deplored security breaches indicating they are causing economic havoc. (AFP)
AMERICAS
- Region: Canadian and Colombian labor ministers met to examine the free trade agreement that took effect last August. (Xinhua)
- Region: Due to the booming Brazilian economy, at least 4,000 Haitians have immigrated to Brazil since an earthquake destroyed Haiti in 2010. (DPA)
- United States: A former CIA officer was charged with disclosing classified information to reporters. (AP)
ASIA
- India: Hundreds of rebels surrendered their weapons Tuesday as several local insurgent groups formally joined a cease-fire with the government in a step toward ending three decades of insurgency in the northeast of the country. (AP)
- Korea, North: The air force conducted more winter training than normal despite Kim Jong-Il’s death. (AFP)
- Pakistan: Police suspected a Kenyan aid worker was kidnapped in the Sindh province. (AP)
- Pakistan: Pakistan released a report laying out its version of a cross-border airstrike by U.S. and coalition forces that left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead, repeating its disagreement with the U.S. version of events. (CNN)
EUROPE
- Region: Turkey dismissed the French Senate’s passage of a bill criminalizing the refusal to recognize the mention of Armenian killings in 1915 as genocide. (Xinhua)
- Hungary: PM Orban continued to seek European acceptance by stacking the government with party loyalists, drawing criticism from US. (Reuters)
- United Kingdom: The government planned to cut penalties for small-scale drug dealers while increasing the severity of jail with more serious offenders. (BBC)
MIDDLE EAST
- Iraq: Two car bombs exploded, killing eight and injuring 32 others, in a Shiite district in Baghdad. (AP)
- Israel: Six Israeli diplomatic missions throughout the US and Europe received envelopes containing a white powder, initially thought to be anthrax. (AFP)
- Syria: The GCC, in a joint statement with the Arab League, decided to pull its observers from the violence-laden country. (Reuters)
- Yemen: Army forces killed six al-Qaida militants in Abyan during a heavy shelling operation. (Xinhua)
TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS
- Cybersecurity: A YouTube video suggested Anonymous plans to shutdown Facebook on 28JAN. (Mashable)
- Technology: Google introduced a new feature called “Hotel Finder,” which allows users to find lodging near popular landmarks. (Mashable)
WORLD
- Cyclones: Tropical Cyclone 08S (Funso)
- Location: 550 nm NE of Maputo, Mozambique
- Movement: S at 4 knots
- Winds: 115 knots
- Map
- Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
- Earthquakes: South of the Fiji Islands
- Magnitude: 6.3
- Depth: 582.8 km
- Map
- Earthquakes: Offshore of Bio-bio, Chile
- Magnitude: 6.2
- Depth: 29.7 km
- Map
- Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK (25JAN)
- Global: Annual World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland.
- Egypt: National day of celebration commemorating Egyptians’ initial protests against Hosni Mubarak – 2011.
- Tunisia: US Deputies of State and Treasury visit to discuss economic issues and democratic reform.
- United States: Department of Defense hosts Cybercrime Conference in Atlanta.
END