January 9, 2015 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Charlie Hebdo shooting
- The two suspect brothers take a hostage at a sign printing company, Création Tendance Découverte, in the French town of Dammartin-en-Goële. (AAP via SBS)
- A second hostage situation of unclear connection occurs at a Jewish market, Hypercacher, in the eastern Paris suburb of Vincennes. There are two suspected hostage takers, Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, and Amedy Coulibaly, 32, who were previously suspected of shooting a policewoman dead earlier in the week. There are at least sixteen hostages. (Herald-Sun)
- The concurrent standoff ends with Coulibaly dead as well as four hostages. Four additional hostages and two police officers require hospitalization. Boumeddiene remains at large. (MSNBC)
- 2015 Baga massacre
- Refugees flee Nigeria's Borno State following the Boko Haram massacre in the town of Baga. 7,300 flee to neighbouring Chad while over 1,000 are trapped on the island of Kangala in Lake Chad. Nigeria's army vows to recapture the town, while Niger and Chad withdraw their forces from a transnational force tasked with combating militants. (UNHCR) (NPR via BBC)
Business and economy
- The People's Republic of China plans to soon permit the online sale of prescription drugs. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- A 193-vehicle pileup along a snowy Interstate 94 highway in Kalamazoo County, Michigan leaves one motorist dead and 20 injured. A fire among the vehicles which includes a chemical tanker and a truck loaded with fireworks further compounds the disaster. The debris and fire closes the expressway for over 14 hours. Exploding fireworks hit rescue workers injuring an additional three. (ABC News) (CNN)
Law and crime
- Former Prime Minister of Thailand Yingluck Shinawatra appears to face impeachment charges over a failed rice subsidy scheme. (BBC)
- Russia lists transsexual and transgender individuals among those with "personality and behavioural disorders" who will be banned from obtaining driving licenses. (BBC) (The Moscow Times)
- At a court in New York City, a US District Judge sentences the radical imam Abu Hamza al-Masri to a life sentence for terrorism offences in the United States. (Reuters via ABC News Australia)
- In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, blogger Raif Badawi receives 50 lashes for "insulting Islam". This first punishment is part of a sentence of ten years' imprisonment and 1,000 lashes. He will receive 50 lashes a week for 19 more weeks. (Gulf News) (Guardian)
- A shooting into a car in San Francisco, California, U.S., leaves four men dead. (AP)
Politics and elections
- Sri Lankan presidential election, 2015
- Mahinda Rajapaksa concedes defeat to Maithripala Sirisena. (The Guardian)
- Barack Obama proposes a new program to waive tuition at community colleges in the United States for the first two years. (The New York Times)
- Stockholm University cuts its ties with the Confucius Institute citing concerns about foreign interference in academic freedom. (South China Morning Post)
Science and technology
- The Lovejoy Comet enters its brightest phase to roughly magnitude 4 or 5. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Sports
- 2015 AFC Asian Cup
- The AFC Asian Cup holds the opening ceremony, followed by the first game in Group A between Australia and Kuwait in Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. Australia wins the match 4–1. (ABC)