January 5, 2012 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2011–2012 Syrian uprising:
- 552 political detainees are released by the government. (Reuters)
- A senior official from the Defence Ministry defects while in Cairo. (Al Bawaba)
- Qatar's prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani says the Arab League monitors have made "mistakes" in Syria. (CNN)
- Nigeria:
- Iraqi insurgency: A series of explosions occur in mainly Shia Muslim neighbourhoods of Baghdad and in the city of Nasiriyah, with at least 73 killed and 149 wounded. (Al Jazeera)
- Kidnapped Australian man Warren Rodwell states that his Filipino captors have asked $2 million in ransom. (Sydney Morning Herald)
- The Pakistan Taliban claims to have killed 15 security force members it kidnapped last month. (AP)
Disasters
- At least 25 people die with dozens missing as a result of a landslide at a gold mining site in the Philippines Compostela Valley Province. (CNN) (AP via MSNBC)
- At least six firefighters die fighting wildfires in southern Chile with two badly burnt and one missing. (AP via Washington Post)
International relations
- An alleged North Korean spy is indicted in South Korea. (Yonhap)
- William Hague, the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commences a two day tour of Myanmar. (BBC) (Xinhua)
Law and crime
- The former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert is charged with taking bribes in a property scandal. (BBC) (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- The President of the United States Barack Obama announces a new defense strategy, cutting spending dramatically. (AFP via Sydney Morning Herald)
- Portia Simpson Miller is sworn in for the second time as the Prime Minister of Jamaica. (AP via Google News)
- Pope Benedict XVI appoints a new head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, one of the Vatican’s three top tribunals. Archbishop Manuel Monteiro de Castro, who is serving as secretary for the Congregation for Bishops, becomes the new Penitentiary Major. He succeeds Cardinal Fortunato Baldelli, who is retiring at the age of 76. (Catholic World News), (Vatican Information Service)