Portal:Current events/2023 January 22

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Germany–Russia relations, Germany–Poland relations
    • German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock says that Germany will not prevent Poland from sending Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine which Ukrainian officials say are pivotal to defeating Russian forces. (Reuters)
• Arab–Israeli conflict
  • The Lebanese Army declares a "state of alert" after stopping Israeli bulldozers and accompanying soldiers from approaching a border fence in Southern Lebanon. Peacekeeping forces from UNIFIL have also been deployed to the area. (AA)

Disasters and accidents

• Four people are killed and three others are feared dead in an apartment fire in Kobe, Japan. (The Japan Times)
• At least 13 people are killed when a five-story building collapses in Aleppo, Syria, due to a leaking of water in the building's foundation. (Reuters)
• Four people are killed and six others are injured in a fire at a two-story cottage in Qusar, Azerbaijan. (Xinhua)

Law and crime

• Police in Cameroon find the mutilated body of prominent journalist Martinez Zogo, who had been kidnapped by unknown assailants five days ago, amid increasing violence against reporters in the country. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2023 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election
  • The ruling Labour Party unanimously elects education and public service minister Chris Hipkins to succeed Jacinda Ardern as the party's leader following Ardern's resignation three days ago. Governor-General Cindy Kiro is expected to appoint Hipkins as the 41st prime minister of New Zealand on January 25. (AP)
• Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses health and interior minister Aryeh Deri from his cabinet after the Supreme Court ruled that Deri was barred from holding a position as a cabinet minister due to his conviction for tax offenses. (AFP via France 24)

Sports

• In surfing, American lifeguard Luke Shepardson wins the 2023 edition of The Eddie at Waimea Bay on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii, United States, after finishing with 89.1 points out of 90, defeating defending champion John John Florence. (AP)