Jan. 14
Beijing, China
The linguist Zhou Youguang died at the age of 111 in Beijing. Zhou is credited with creating pinyin, a system of transcribing Mandarin into roman characters, or romanization, a process that makes the language far easier to translate outside of China.
Jan. 17
Istanbul, Turkey
According to the governor of Istanbul, Abdulgadir Masharipov, the suspect in the mass shooting at Istanbul’s Reina nightclub during New Year’s Eve celebrations there, confessed to the act which killed 39 people.
Jan. 18
London, England
A train that departed China on Jan. 1 pulled into London as part of the expansion of China’s One Belt, One Road trade plan.
Jan. 19
Chihuahua state, Mexico
Tarahumara environmentalist Isidro Baldenegro López was assassinated, becoming the latest in a string of targeted killings of indigenous enviro-activists. The Goldman Environmental Prize winner was 51.
Jan. 20
Banjul, Gambia
President Yahya Jammeh announced his intent to finally step down, ending days of standoff and capping off over 20 years of rule.
Jan. 20
Washington D.C., United States
President Donald Trump was officially sworn in, as was Vice President Mike Pence. After a sparsely attended inauguration and the punching of white nationalist Richard Spencer at protests that afternoon, the Trumps and Pences celebrated by twirling around some fancy balls.