• Islamist insurgency in Nigeria:
  • Boko Haram kill at least 45 in a reprisal attack on a village in northeastern Nigeria. (Reuters)
• Kachin conflict
  • The Myanmar Army attacks a Kachin Independence Army headquarters near Laiza, killing at least 22 insurgents. (AP via ABC News)
• A car bomb targets a government building in the Iraqi Kurdish capital Irbil, resulting in four deaths. (BBC)

• The American NBC television network scraps a project with comedian Bill Cosby after past sexual assault allegations resurface. (BBC)
• German-born American director and producer Mike Nichols (The Graduate) dies at age 83. (BBC)

• A giant snowstorm covers half the United States causing at least eight deaths and causing widespread disruption of flights. Areas near the city of Buffalo in New York state are worst affected with at least six deaths. (AFP, Reuters via ABC News Australia)

• Maria Jose Alvarado, a 19-year-old Miss World competitor, is found fatally shot and buried along with her 23-year-old sister Sofia Trinidad in Santa Barbara, Honduras. The boyfriend of Sofia Trinidad, Plutarco Ruiz and an accomplice are arrested. (Sky News)

• Independents win a majority of seats in the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands. (ABC Online)
• Basuki Tjahaja Purnama is inaugurated as the Governor of Jakarta, the first ethnic Chinese ever to hold the post. He succeeds Joko Widodo, who is now president. (TIME)
• The Scottish Parliament elects Nicola Sturgeon as the first female First Minister of Scotland. (The Scotsman)

• The Bombardier Innovia APM 100 C801As entered service on the Bukit Panjang LRT line, operated by SMRT Trains Ltd.