Court Documents Allege Proud Boys Leader Worked as FBI Informant

Court documents allege Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, leader of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys, who US authorities arrested shortly before the Capital riots in Washington, worked as an informant for the FBI and local law enforcement agencies during drug and illegal gambling operations dating back to 2014. See Full Story>

Indian Comedian Jailed For Jokes He Never Told

Judges twice denied bail for Munawar Faruqui, a Muslim comedian in India jailed for telling controversial jokes and charged for insulting the Hindu religion, after a group of nationalist stormed a venue where he was about to perform in the city of Indore, before he could begin his set. See Full Story>

Pirates Kidnap 15, KIll One, From Turkish Ship Off Coast of Nigeria

Officials say pirates kidnapped 15 sailors from a Turkish-flagged container ship off the West African coast of Nigeria in the Gulf of Guinea, killing one, in what is being called a brazen attack that was further from shore than similar incidents in the past. See Full Story>

19 Migrants Found Shot to Death, Burned Near Mexico Border

Authorities in Mexico found 19 charred bodies, shot to death and burned alongside a road in the northern state of Tamaulipas near the city of Camargo along the Texas border, a known smuggling transit point for drugs and migrants, and say 13 of the corpses may belong to members of a Guatemalan caravan headed to the US. See Full Story>

Israeli Police Clash With Ultra-Orthodox Protesters Over School Closures

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters clashed with Israeli police in the capital city of Jerusalem and the region of Ashdod after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the enforced closing of nearly all religious schools which had opened in violation to strict Covid-19 safety regulations. See Full Story>

Halsey Buys Mansion, Announces Pregnancy With First Child

26-year-old pop star Halsey surprised fans by announcing her pregnancy with first child to screenwriter Alev Aydin via an Instagram post showing her baby bump, just weeks after purchasing a "haunted" $10.2 million Los Angeles mansion from Liam Paynes. See Full Story>

Puerto Rico Issues Domestic Violence State of Emergency

In response to high numbers of domestic violence claims issued through Puerto Rico's police department, with nearly 6,000 reported last year, the US territory declared a state of emergency over gender crimes against women, allocating resources for agencies to address the problem of femicide across the island. See Full Story>

Eleven Chinese Gold Miners Rescued After Trapped Underground For Two Weeks

Rescuers freed half of the 22 workers who had been trapped underground for two weeks after an unexplained explosion rocked the Hushan gold mine in the city of Qixia in China's eastern Shandong province, killing the eleven others. See Full Story>

Asia's 'El Chapo' Arrested in Amsterdam Airport

Authorities in the Netherlands arrested Tse Chi Lop, an alleged Chinese-Canadian drug lord deemed as Asia's 'El Chapo' and often compared to the Mexican kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, at the airport in Amsterdam, a leader of a syndicate suspected of controlling 70 percent of all the narcotics entering Australia. See Full Story>

Twin Suicide Bombing at Baghdad Marketplace Kills 32, Wounds More Than 100

The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for a rare twin suicide bombing targeting Shia Muslims at a busy marketplace in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, which killed at least 32 people and wounded more that 100 others, the most severe attack to hit the area in nearly three years according to the country's Interior Ministry. See Full Story>

Five Dead After Covid-19 Vaccine Facility Catches Fire in India

Five people died after a fire broke out at the still under construction Serum Institute of India, the country's largest vaccine-making manufacturing plant, while it produced millions of doses of the Oxford Astra/Zeneca Covid-19 vaccine in the southwestern city of Pune. See Full Story>

Kamala Harris Makes History as First Female US Vice President

Former Democratic California Senator Kamala Harris made history after being sworn in as the first female vice president of the United States at the inauguration of 46th president Joe Biden, alongside her husband, Doug Emhoff, the first ever second gentleman. See Full Story>

California Man Survives Undetected in Chicago Airport For Three Months

A 36-year-old California man who obtained security credentials and survived on food from strangers faces felony charges after authorities found him hiding in a restricted area of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport for three months, claiming he was too afraid to fly home for fear of catching the coronavirus. See Full Story>

Thai Woman Gets 43 Years in Prison For Insulting King Under Lese Majeste Law

In the harshest verdict handed down by the Thai monarchy for such a violation, a 65-year-old woman who formerly worked as a civil servant gets sent to prison for 43 years after she shared online posts criticizing King Vajiralongkorn and the royal family, a crime which carries a 15-year sentence for each offense under the country's lese majeste law. See Full Story>

Guatemalan Soldiers Clash With US-Bound Honduran Migrants

Guatemalan soldiers in the region of Vado Hondo clashed with a caravan of more than 8,000 US-bound migrants from Honduras, using tear gas and batons to beat back a train of travelers trying to cross the border ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration and the hope of more lenient immigration policies. See Full Story>

15 Sleeping Workers Run Over by Wayward Truck in India

A dump trunk collided with a tractor trailer in the Surat region of the western Indian state of Gujarat, causing the driver to lose control and veer astray, crushing a group of young migrant workers who slept on the side of the road, killing 12 who died at the scene and three others who succumbed to fatal injuries at nearby hospital. See Full Story>

Palestinian Authority Announces First Elections in 15 Years

For the first time in 15 years, the Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, announced that it will hold free general elections for the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in 2021, while many critics still question its democratic legitimacy and residents have doubts as to whether or not they will happen at all. See Full Story>

Two Female Supreme Court Judges Shot Dead in Afghanistan

Officials in Afghanistan blame the Taliban for the killing of two female judges working for the Supreme Court who were shot dead during a broad daylight ambush in the streets of the capital city of Kabul, the latest in a series of high-profile assassinations targeting journalists, activists and political figures. See Full Story>

More Than 70 Dead in 6.2 Magnitude Indonesia Earthquake

More than 70 people perished in a devastating 6.2 magnitude earthquake which struck Indonesia's West Sulawesi province, with a death toll that continues to rise, and hundreds others suffered injuries, as rescuers continue to search for survivors in the latest of a string of disasters to hit the South Asian country in the past week. See Full Story>

Deadliest Israeli Airstrikes on Iranian-Backed Forces in Years Kill 57 in Syria

With some of the most deadliest airstrikes on Iranian-backed forces in eastern Syria in response to an alleged buildup of trained forces in the region, the Israeli military bombarded targets in the Deir al-Zour and Albu Kamal cities along the Iraqi border, killing 57 people and wounding many others. See Full Story>

Two Landslides Hit Indonesian Village, Killing at Least 12

Two devastating landslides triggered by heavy downpours and unstable soil conditions, striking three and a half hours apart, hit the village of Cihanjuang in the Sumedang region of West Java, Indonesia, killing at least 12 people and wounded 18 others. See Full Story>

Indonesian Passenger Jet Carrying 62 Crashes Into Java Sea

A Boeing 737-500 Sriwijaya Air passenger jet carrying 62 people on board, en route from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta to the city of Pontianak on the Indonesian side of Borneo, crashed into the Java Sea four minutes after takeoff, making it the latest in a series of devestating plane disasters to plague the archipelago nation in recent years. See Full Story>

Nine Shot Dead at Wake in Mexico's Guanajuato State

Nine people in Mexico's central state of Guanajuato died and one person suffered injuries after gunmen opened fire on a group of people attending the wake of a young man who himself had been shot dead days earlier, an attack authorities say has links with infighting between the New Generation Cartel and the Santa Rosa de Lima gang. See Full Story>

India Tragedy: 10 Infants Dead in Hospital Fire

Ten infants between a month and three months old tragically died after a massive fire broke out in the Special Newborn Care Unit of a hospital in India's Maharashtra state, with staff only able to rescue seven babies before being beaten back by the smoke and flames. See Full Story>

Woman Arrested in California by NYC Police For Attacking Teen Son of Jazz Musician

Detectives from the NYPD flew to California with an arrest warrant for 22-year-old Miya Ponsetto, the woman caught on video attacking and falsely accusing the son of jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold in the lobby of Manhattan's Arlo hotel, after he allegedly stole her cell phone. See Full Story>

11 Charged For Gang Rape, Murder of Flight Attendant in the Philippines

Police in the city of Makati in the Philippines charged eleven men with the gang rape and murder of 23-year-old Christine Angelica Dacera, a flight attendant who worked for Philippines Airlines, after friends found her unconscious in a bathtub of City Garden hotel on New Year's Day. See Full Story> 

Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Not Missing, Just Laying Low

After several outlets reported that billionaire e-commerce founder of Alibaba and Ant Group Jack Ma was incognito following his sudden absence as a judge from his popular African talent show and had not been seen in public for two months, sources close to his family say he is not missing, just laying low. See Full Story>

More Than 50 Pro-Democracy Advocates Arrested in Hong Kong

In what many call the most massive crackdown since China imposed its new national security law last year, more than 50 of the most prominent pro-democracy activists, advocates and politicians have been arrested in Hong Kong by the city's police on suspicion of subversion. See Full Story>

US-Backed Agreement Among Gulf Leaders Eases Tensions Between Saudi Arabia and Qatar

A US-backed agreement, brokered under the Trump administration and set to leave a positive mark before the beginning of the new presidential term, between Saudi Arabia and Qatar sets to ease a longstanding impasse, renew diplomatic relations and trade with the two countries, and is called a move which hopes to bring "healing" among the Gulf nations. See Full Story>

Thousands Gather in Baghdad to Protest Anniversary of Soleimani Killing

Thousands of protesters gathered in Baghdad's central square in Iraq chanting anti-American slogans while others demanded revenge as they commemorated the anniversary of the killing of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandi, who died during an US air strike last year. See Full Story>

19 Dead From Crematorium Roof Collapse in India

At least 19 people attending a funeral died after the roof of a crematorium facility in the Ghaziabad district of Muradnagar city in India's Uttar Pradesh province suddenly collapsed due to heavy rains, trapping 38 people under tons of rubble and rebar. See Full Story>

11 Pakistan Coal Miners Killed in Islamic State Attack

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the killing of coal miners working in the western Pakistan province of Balochistan, after the militants reportedly kidnapped a group of civilians, transported them to the nearby mountains and shot them dead at close range. See Full Story>

At Least 22 Killed, 50 Wounded in Yemen Airport Explosion

At least 22 people died and more than 50 suffered injuries when a deadly explosives at Yemen's Aden airport targeting a coalition of officials from a newly formed government arrived back into the country from Saudi Arabia detonated near the terminal, and shortly after the army intercepted a drone attack aimed at the Al-Maashiq presidential palace. See Full Story>