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Blizzard blankets eastern seaboard of US in deep snow –
A huge blizzard has blanketed the US eastern seaboard in snow, bringing New York and Washington DC to a standstill and affecting some 85 million people. Up to 40in (102cm) of snow settled in parts, paralysing rail and air links, and cutting power to 200,000 people. A travel ban in New York, which saw its second highest snowfall on record, is set to be lifted later on Sunday. At least 18 deaths, from road accidents but also snow shovelling, have been blamed on the weather since Friday. New York’s Central Park received 26.8in, the second-biggest fall recorded since 1869 and just shy of the all-time high, 26.9in, recorded in February 2006. [BBC]

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Tian Tian in the Snow Jan. 23, 2016

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• Deir ez-Zor offensive (January 2016)
  • Airstrikes on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-controlled areas in Syria‘s eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate, leaves at least 47 civilians dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Sky News Australia)
• Jordanian–Syrian border incidents during the Syrian Civil War
  • Jordanian soldiers kill 12 “infiltrators” and wound several others, on the border with Syria, foiling an attempt by dozens of smugglers to cross into the kingdom. The soldiers also confiscated more than 2 million narcotics pills that were left behind. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• January 2016 United States winter storm
  • This potentially record storm, which is predicted to generate blizzard conditions through a third day on Sunday, has caused at least 10 deaths, knocked out power to hundreds of thousands, led to more than 8,300 canceled flights, stranded many travelers on major highways and, with up to 70 mph winds, produced record-high tides along the Delaware and New Jersey shores. (NBC News) (Reuters)(ESPN)

International relations

• China–Iran relations
  • China and Iran agree to expand trade ties between the countries worth $600 billion over the next decade following Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s visit to Tehran. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, said the trade deal marked “the beginning of an important era” in Iran-China relations. (Bloomberg)

Law and crime

• European migrant crisis
  • Around 200 migrants storm the French port of Calais,near the underground tunnel to Britain, after a demonstration in support of migrants living in the nearby Calais jungle camp, with approximately 50 of them boarding the P&O Ferries operated MS Spirit of Britain cross-border ferry. The port was closed following the incident. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• United States presidential election, 2016
  • Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is seriously considering a possible independent presidential run if Donald Trump or Texas Senator Ted Cruz would face Vermont Senator Bernie Sandersin the general election. (The New York Times) (CNN) (NBC News)
• Polish Constitutional Court crisis, 2015, Committee for the Defence of Democracy
  • Poland surveillance law plan angers protesters: Thousands of Poles have taken part in marches in Warsaw and other cities to protest about plans of the conservative government, which they say will curtail privacy and freedom. (BBC News)

Science and technology

• Blue Origin‘s rocket New Shepard has been reflown in Texas. (BBC)

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