January 18, 2024 (Thursday)

Jordan launches airstrikes against alleged drug traffickers in Arman, Syria, hitting several buildings and killing ten civilians.

The Pakistan Air Force launches "precision airstrikes" on Baloch separatist targets in Iran a day after Iranian airstrikes against Baloch separatist militants in Balochistan, Pakistan, killed at least two civilians. Camps belonging to the Baluch Liberation Front and Balochistan Liberation Army are reportedly hit. Explosions are also reported in the city of Saravan. Nine foreign nationals are killed by the strikes.

Ukraine says that it struck an oil terminal in Saint Petersburg, Russia, with a domestic-produced long-range drone, as part of a new campaign against strategic targets inside Russian territory. However, Russia says that the attack failed.

The largest general strike in more than 50 years occurs in Northern Ireland.

Indian multinational company Tata Steel announces the closure of both its blast furnaces in Port Talbot, Wales, with the loss of around 3,000 jobs across the United Kingdom, in what trade unions are calling a "worst-case scenario" for workers.

Ten people are killed, two are injured and one person is missing due to landslides caused by heavy rains in Davao de Oro, Philippines.

Twelve children and two teachers are killed when a boat on a school trip capsized into a lake near Vadodara, Gujarat, India.

Mexico and Chile announce that they have filed a request for the International Criminal Court to investigate allegations of war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.

Singaporean Transport Minister S. Iswaran resigns as cabinet minister, member of parliament for West Coast GRC, and member of the PAP party after being charged with 27 counts of corruption and receiving gratification as a public servant by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

Ninety-five people are charged in Kenya over the deaths by 429 followers of a religious cult in 2023.

Two people are arrested for killing public prosecutor César Suárez [es].

Protests and riots erupts across Comoros after incumbent president Azali Assoumani was declared winner following an election earlier this month. A government minister’s house is set on fire and roads are barricaded in the capital Moroni, while protestors are tear gassed by police. A person is killed and six more injured.

The United States Congress approves a stopgap bill to extend the deadline for government funding to March 2024, narrowly avoiding a government shutdown, which would have begun at midnight, January 19.

The European Space Agency probe Mars Express finds huge deposits of dusty ice beneath the equator of Mars, with the discovery being the largest amount of water ice ever found near the planet's equator.

Astrobotic's and NASA's Peregrine Mission One lunar lander is destroyed as it reenters Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean following the failure of its propulsion system.