Portal:Current events/2016 January 20

Current events of January 20, 2016 (2016-01-20) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in North-West Pakistan
  • Bacha Khan University attack
    • Gunmen attack a university in Charsadda, Pakistan. At least 21 people are reportedly killed. (BBC News)
• War in Afghanistan
  • A suicide bomber in Kabul, Afghanistan, targets Tolo News, killing four and wounding 20. (BBC News)
• Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL
  • Satellite images released by the Associated Press reveal the historic Saint Elijah's Monastery near the Iraqi city of Mosul, the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq that predates Islam, has been completely razed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants. (Independent)

International relations

• Kyrgyzstan's parliament revokes an agreement with Russia to construct hydropower plants, officially ending a deal that in reality was going nowhere, due to the "unfavorable economic situation" in Russia. (Radio Free Europe)

Politics and elections

• Moldova's parliament approves a new government despite ongoing protests calling for snap elections. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Science and technology

• NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announce that 2015 was the hottest year on record since the beginning of meteorological records in 1890. (NASA)
• A team of astronomers at Caltech infer the existence of a potential new planet (Planet Nine) in the outer Solar System (Washington Post)