January 6, 2012 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2011–2012 Syrian uprising: According to Syrian state media, 26 people are killed and 63 wounded when a suicide bomber blows himself up at a police station in Damascus. The Syrian opposition blames the Syrian government for orchestrating the attack, and alleges that they have leaked information from security forces that Aleppo is next. (Al Arabiya) (CNN)
- Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, the Iranian-backed Shiite militia that carried out deadly attacks on U.S. troops agrees to lay down its arms and join the political process in Iraq. (ABC News)
- Eight people are killed and 10 wounded in Kano, in the latest in a series of attacks on church in northern Nigeria. (VOA)(CNN)
Law and crime
- The Ramnit worm steals more than 45000 Facebook logins and passwords. (Vancouver Sun) (Euronews Youtube) (CNet)
- Symantec, maker of the popular Norton antivirus software, acknowledges that hackers have acquired "a segment of its source code," a partial confirmation of claims made by the Lords of Dharmaraja. (Reuters)
Politics
- A Tibetan protester sets himself on fire in Sichuan, China. (BBC)
- The Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller announces that the country is to become a republic, with plans to remove Queen Elizabeth II as head of state and the Jamaican monarchy in general. (The Guardian)
- Peter MacKay, Canadian Minister of Defence. marries Nazanin Afshin-Jam, an Iranian former beauty queen, in a private ceremony in Mexico. (CBC)
Sports
- Sweden beats Russia 1-0 in overtime in the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships gold medal game. (USA Today) (ESPN)