January 12, 2020 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Four Iraqi soldiers are wounded when mortar shells strike Balad Air Base, 40 miles (64 km) north of Baghdad, which houses U.S. military personnel. The mortars struck the runway inside the base. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- 2020 Taal Volcano eruption
- The Taal Volcano in southern Luzon, Philippines, spews an ash plume that measures approximately 10 to 15 kilometres (6.2 to 9.3 mi). The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology designates a "level 4" alert level, indicating "an imminent hazardous eruption". (The Guardian)
- The government of the Canadian province of Ontario apologizes for issuing a false alert about an incident at a nuclear plant near Toronto and blames a training exercise mistake. Angry local mayors demand an inquiry, saying the emergency message about the ageing Pickering Nuclear Generating Station has caused unnecessary distress. (Reuters)
International relations
- Japan–Saudi Arabia relations
- Japanese PM Shinzō Abe arrives in Saudi Arabia in his first visit to the Middle East, where he expects to mediate between the United States and Iran amid heightening tensions. (The Japan Times)
Politics and elections
- Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, 2019–20 Iranian protests
- Protests continue for a second day despite a large deployment of security forces. (BBC News)
- The Gambia warns ousted leader Yahya Jammeh not to return to the country, saying his safety cannot be guaranteed if he returns without permission, a government spokesman says. A spokesman for Jammeh's party says he could arrive back at any time from exile in Equatorial Guinea. (BBC News)
- 2019 Malta political crisis
- Robert Abela wins the Partit Laburista leadership election, succeeding Joseph Muscat as Prime Minister after Muscat's resignation. (BBC News) (CNN International)
Science and technology
- Chinese espionage in the United States
- The U.S. Department of the Interior halts its civilian drone program indefinitely out of concerns that China manufactured the fleet via the SZ DJI Technology Company for espionage. (Reuters)