January 20, 2018 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War
- Northwestern Syria campaign (October 2017–February 2018)
- The Syrian Army seizes control of the strategic Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase in Idlib Governorate. (Reuters)
- Northwestern Syria campaign (October 2017–February 2018)
- 2018 Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul attack
- At least four gunmen launch an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan. (CNN)
Business and economy
- United States federal government shutdown of January 2018
- The United States federal government shuts down after the United States Senate fails to pass a budget bill. (The New York Times)
Disasters and accidents
- A bus crash in Turkey's northwestern Eskişehir Province kills at least 11 people and injures 46 others. (BBC)
- The state government of Minas Gerais, Brazil, declares a health emergency in three areas, Belo Horizonte, Itabira and Ponte Nova, over an outbreak of yellow fever. (Outbreak News)
International relations
- South China Sea disputes, Philippines v. China
- China claims its sovereignty was violated when a United States Navy ship sailed close to the Scarborough Shoal near the Philippines. (The Japan Times)
Politics and elections
- 2017–18 Romanian protests
- Tens of thousands of demonstrators protest in Bucharest and major cities against perceived corruption and changes to the judiciary. Romanians in diaspora stage protests in dozens of cities worldwide in solidarity with the anti-corruption movement in the country. (Associated Press) (Balkan Insight)
- 2018 Women's March
- Hundreds of thousands protest in D.C., with thousands of protesters turning out in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and other cities throughout the United States and the world in cities such as Rome, Italy internationally, in support of women's rights. (The New York Times) (Politico)
- Odebrecht case in Guatemala
- Former presidential candidate Manuel Baldizón is captured in the United States accused of receiving bribes from Odebrecht. (Reuters)