Most prominent world events in the past 24 hours

1. Japan conducts missile evacuation drills to guard against North Korea

Japanese people during a missile evacuation drill. Photo: Guardian Nigeria.

More than 300 people on January 22 participated in an evacuation drill in Tokyo (Japan) with the prospect of an upcoming missile launch by North Korea.

The drill was held at the Tokyo Dome amusement park, a subway station and a shopping mall.

In the event of a missile attack, loudspeakers will be used to urge people to take shelter indoors or to the subway. At amusement parks, park managers will immediately stop activities. Visitors will immediately leave the visitor desk and calmly move to the basement.

2. Searching the office of the brother of former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. Source: english.hani.co.kr

According to Yonhap, South Korean prosecutors on January 22 raided the residence and office of the brother of former President Lee Myung-bak, as part of an investigation into allegations that Mr. Lee received illegal funds from the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

Specifically, investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office searched the premises of 83-year-old Lee Sang-deuk to confiscate evidence including many documents and computer hard drives.

3. Malaysia resumes trial of Doan Thi Huong

Doan Thi Huong was escorted to court by police. Photo: AP

Trial of two female suspects, accused of murdering the man believed to be the brother of North Korean leaderKim Jong-un, was resumed after a seven-week delay. Witnesses were present to confirm the authenticity of images extracted from surveillance cameras recording the attack.

Prosecutors at a trial in Malaysia on January 22 called three technicians who worked at the airport and the airport hotel to explain how they extracted images of the attack from the server and copied them to disk, allowing the court to accept the images as evidence, the AP news agency reported.

4. Car bomb in the middle of a market in Southern Thailand, 21 people injured and killed

The scene of the bombing. Source: The Nation

A motorcycle bomb attack occurred on the morning of January 22 in a market in Yala province, southern Thailand, killing 3 people and injuring 18 others.

Information about the bombing at the market in Thailand was given by a spokesman for the Internal Security Command (ISOC) to Reuters news agency. ISOC is the Thai government's security force in the southern region.

Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala are the scene of a long-running Muslim insurgency demanding autonomy. More than 6,000 people have been killed since 2004.

5. South Koreans protest against North Korea's participation in the Olympics

Hyon Song-wol, leader of the popular girl band Moranbong, arrives at Gangneung train station. Photo: Reuters.

Activists led by the far-right Korean Patriotic Party burned portraits of Kim, the North Korean flag and the unification flag in front of Seoul train station on January 22. The Korean Unification Flag is expected to be used in a joint parade between the two countries at the opening ceremony of the Olympics next month. Police intervened and put out the fire.

The flag-burning incident took place as a group of North Korean officials arrived at Seoul Railway Station from the South Korean city of Gangneung on the second day of a tour of Olympic venues. The group included Hyon Song-wol, leader of the popular all-girl band Moranbong, handpicked by Mr. Kim.

6.US bipartisan agreement, US government reopens

US Capitol Building. Photo: AFP

The US Senate passed a bill to fund the federal government through February 8 by a vote of 81-18, after Democrats reached a deal with Republicans on the fate of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants. The bill easily passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 266-150 and was sent to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign.

During this time, the US bipartisan negotiations on the 2018 budget continued, which still had some disagreements.

Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont speaks at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, January 22. Photo: AFP

Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, 55, said on January 22 that he would form a new government despite "threats" from the Spanish central government. Puigdemont made the announcement shortly after the Catalan parliament, formed following elections in December, still wanted to choose him as the leader of the autonomous region.

Puigdemont wants to be sworn in in Belgium, where he has been living in exile since late October, after the Catalan parliament declared independence, leading Madrid to dissolve the autonomous government. The former Catalan leader arrived in Denmark on January 22.

8.Former soccer star takes office as Liberia's president

Outgoing Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (left) talks with her successor George Weah during his inauguration on January 22. Photo: AFP.

George Weah, 51, was sworn in as president of Liberia at a stadium in the capital Monrovia on January 22, pledging to crack down on corruption. Weah was a striker for two clubs AC Milan and Paris St Germain. He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1995./.