January 1, 2013 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war:
- Fierce clashes erupt near the Aleppo International Airport in the battle of Aleppo in Syria, with unconfirmed reports it has been temporarily closed. (BBC)
- War in North-West Pakistan:
- Gunmen kill five female teachers and two other people in an ambush on a van carrying workers home from their jobs at a community center in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. (AP) (BBC)
- Colombian conflict:
- Nigerian Sharia conflict:
- Nigeria's military kill 13 members of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram and lose one soldier in a gun battle in Maiduguri. (Reuters) (AFP via The Voice of Russia)
Arts and culture
- American 1950s pop singer Patti Page, best known for the Tennessee Waltz and (How Much Is That) Doggie In The Window dies in Encinitas, California. (NBC San Diego)
Disasters and accidents
- 2013 Houphouët-Boigny stampede: At least 60 people are killed and more than 200 injured in a stampede during a New Year's fireworks celebration near the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. (BBC) (CNN) (Reuters)
- Royal Dutch Shell's drilling rig Kulluk drifts aground near Sitkalidak Island, Alaska, after breaking loose from the anchor handling tug Aiviq. (Anchorage Daily News) (Los Angeles Times)
- A head-on collision between a bus and a minibus occurred in Thiès, Senegal, killing at least 18 people and leaving another 16 wounded. (AFP via NDTV)
- Ten people are killed and 120 injured in a stampede in Luanda, Angola, as they tried to enter an overcrowded Estádio da Cidadela for a New Year's Eve vigil. (BBC) (AFP via Google)
International relations
- Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, Rwanda and South Korea join the UN Security Council. (News24)
- United Kingdom assumes presidency of G8 group. Next G8 summit is to be held on the shores of Lough Erne in Northern Ireland in June 2013. (BBC)
Law and crime
- Two people are killed and three wounded in a shooting in Sacramento during the New Year's Eve celebrations. (Fox News) (CNN) (AP via The Sacramento Bee)
- Celebratory gunfire kills a four-year-old boy and more than 400 others are injured by powerful firecrackers in typically rowdy New Year celebrations in the Philippines. (AFP via Google)
- Similar to numbers in previous years, 1193 empty parked cars are set on fire during New Year's Eve 'celebrations' across France. (AP via Yahoo!)
Politics and elections
- United States "fiscal cliff" debate:
- The U.S. Senate bipartisanly approves a deal to avert general tax hikes and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff". (BBC) (Reuters) (Fox News)
- The U.S. House of Representatives approves the "fiscal cliff" deal, with Republican Speaker of the House John Bohener breaking with his party to vote "yes". Before the vote took place, congressional members were unsure whether or not the deal would be approved after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced his opposition to the deal, and other House Republicans raised concerns about it. (CNN) (The Telegraph) (New York Post)
- North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un makes a rare New Year broadcast, calling for an improved economy and a reunified Korea. (BBC) (Reuters)
- Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, as part of his military duties, pilots a Royal Air Force (RAF) Sea King helicopter which was sent out in the early morning hours to an as of yet unsuccessful search for a Blackpool, England man swept out to sea there. (NBC News)
Sport
- Santos FC striker Neymar is named as 2012 South American Footballer of the Year, running ahead of Paolo Guerrero and Lucas Moura. (ESPN) (HDTV Sports) (Sambafoot)
- In chess, the world number one Magnus Carlsen achieves the highest-ever FIDE official rating (2861) based on Elo rating system, breaking Garry Kasparov's 13-year record. (FIDE) (ChessBase) (ABC.es)
- Srečko Katanec is appointed Slovenia national football team coach, replacing Slaviša Stojanovič. (UEFA) (HRsport.net)
Transportation
- Cheng Lim LRT station opened along the West Loop of the Sengkang LRT line.