January 19, 2012 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2011–2012 Syrian uprising: The Arab League observer mission ends, with its report to be reviewed at the weekend. (CBC)
Business and economy
- Kodak files for bankruptcy protection. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- Five people are killed and thousands of others are affected following the first tropical storm to hit Mozambique since 1984. (AFP via Google News)
Law and crime
- The FBI shuts down Megaupload. In response, hacker group Anonymous shuts down the United States Department of Justice website and many websites of the government and entertainment industry. (Washington Post) (CNET)
- News International pays out compensation to 37 people, including the actor Jude Law and politician John Prescott. over phone hacking by the News of the World. (BBC)
Politics and elections
- Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye and several others are arrested. (Al Jazeera)
- The army of Bangladesh says it has foiled a military coup. (BBC)
- Rick Perry drops out of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries and endorses rival candidate Newt Gingrich. (CBS News)
Science
- A decision by the International Telecommunication Union on whether to abolish the leap second is postponed until 2015 pending the results of further studies. (TIME)
Sports
- Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke dies from complications of injuries she received in a skiing accident nine days earlier. (BBC)