1. Masked gunmen in control of streets of Iraq’s Fallujah :
Masked gunmen remained in control of Iraq’s Fallujah Wednesday even as traffic police returned to the city’s streets after a jihadist group urged Sunnis to keep fighting the Shiite-led government. Fallujah and parts of the Anbar provincial capital Ramadi farther west have been outside government hands for days – the first time militants have exercised such open control in major cities since the height of the insurgency that followed the 2003 US-led invasion.
While more than 13,000 families have fled Fallujah, NGOs said Wednesday, warning of a dire humanitarian situation in Iraq, as masked gunmen held the city, locked in a days-long standoff with the army. And though traffic police returned to its streets, some shops reopened and more cars could be seen, Fallujah was still rocked by clashes and shelling, after an Al-Qaeda-linked group urged Sunnis to keep fighting the Shiite-led government. Fallujah and parts of nearby Ramadi, both in the western, Syrian-border province of Anbar, have been outside government hands for days.
2. Filmmaker Run Run Shaw dies aged 107 :
Hong Kong movie mogul and widely-renowned as the person who brought kung fu films to the world, Run Run Shaw died on Tuesday, according to a statement from Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), which he helped found in 1967. No cause of death was given. Shaw was 107 years old.Shaw’s prolific studio helped bring kung fu films to the world but he also passed on the chance to sign one of the biggest names in that genre — the young Bruce Lee.The missed opportunity was a rare misstep for Shaw, who led TVB until retiring as chairman in December 2011 at the age of 104. He is survived by his second wife and four children from his first marriage.
3. King Sobekhotep I’s Tomb Identified In Egypt :
The impressive tomb of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh has been identified at the Abydos archaeological site near Sohag, Egypt.State Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim announced the identification of King Sobekhotep I‘s tomb on Jan. 6, according to a government press release.A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania worked together with the country’s Antiquities Ministry to identify the site.
A positive identification of the sarcophagus, which weighed close to 60 tons, was made after researchers found and interpreted pieces of stone slab inscribed with the pharaoh’s name, the Agence France Press reports.
King Sobekhotep I is believed to be the founder of the 13th Pharaonic dynasty, the Agence France-Presse reports. Previous to this discovery, little information about the important leader’s rule had been unearthed — a factor that lends particular significance to the breakthrough in Abydos. Ayman El-Damarani, a ministry official, noted that Sobekhotep’s nearly five-year rule was “the longest rule at this time,” the outlet notes.
4. Facebook buys Indian Startup -Little Eye Labs :
In a boost to India’s technology start-up ecosystem, Facebook Inc. has acquired a 18-month-old Bangalore start-up, Little Eye Labs, which builds performance analysis and monitoring tools for mobile Android apps, as the social networking giant seeks technology that will help it grow its mobile business.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reports suggested that the price was $10-15 million. A Facebook spokesman said the company would not comment on the terms of the deal. “The Little Eye Labs technology will help us to continue improving our Android codebase to make more efficient, higher-performing apps,” Subbu Subrama-nian, Facebook’s engineering manager said.
The deal, Facebook’s first in India, is expected to boost interest in the country’s startups.The Little Eye team will move to Facebook’s headquarters, the company said on its website.
5. Senate approves Janet Yellen as Fed chairwoman :
The US Senate on Monday approved Janet Yellen as head of the Federal Reserve, making her the first female chief of the US central bank.She was approved in a 56-26 vote, with some senators who had threatened to vote against her unable to get to Washington DC because of flight delays. Some Republicans who opposed the Fed’s $85bn-a-month asset purchase programme voted against Ms Yellen, despite the agency last month announcing the beginning of its tapering of the stimulus initiative, cutting it to $75bn for January.
6. Portuguese football legend Eusebio dies aged 71 :
Portuguese football legend Eusebio, who was the top scorer in the 1966 World Cup, died Sunday at the age of 71 years, his former club Benfica confirmed.Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, the player known as the “Black Panther”, died after suffering cardio-pulmonary arrest early on Sunday morning.
He had been hospitalised several times in recent years with various health problems and had suffered a stroke in June 2012.
“Eusebio showed signs of fragility lately, but I didn’t expect this at all,” said Joao Malheiro, author of the player’s biography “Eusebio – my story”, who had spoken to him last week by phone to arrange a lunch.
7. India Successfully testfires Nuclear missile Prithvi II :
Prithvi II is the first missile which was developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under India’s prestigious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program)
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