Portal:Current events
Topics in the news
- Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) (pictured) makes its closest approach to the Earth.
- A suicide bombing in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, kills 100 people and injures more than 220 others.
- Petr Pavel is elected as president of the Czech Republic.
- Cyclone Cheneso leaves at least 33 people dead in Madagascar.
- A Palestinian attack at a synagogue in East Jerusalem kills seven Israeli civilians, following an Israeli raid in the Jenin refugee camp that killed ten Palestinians, including two civilians.
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Tigray War
- Tigrayan peace process
- Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed meets with officials of the Tigray People's Liberation Front for the first time since the signing of a peace treaty in November. (AFP via RFI)
- Tigrayan peace process
Business and economy
- The FTSE 100 Index, the main share index of the 100 most highly capitalized companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, reaches a record intraday value of 7,906.58 points, surpassing the previous highest intraday value of 7,903.50 points recorded on May 22, 2018. (AFP via Barron's)
Disasters and accidents
- Three people are killed and several others are injured when a bus overturns near Murska Sobota, Mura Statistical Region, Slovenia. (AP)
- At least seventeen people are killed in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck in Kohat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (AP)
- Chile expands its state of emergency due to wildfires that have burned up to 8,000 hectares and also declares a catastrophe in the Biobío region amid a summer heat wave. (Reuters)
International relations
- 2023 China balloon incident
- China–United States relations
- The United States accuses China of "a clear violation of sovereignty" after a suspected high altitude surveillance balloon hovered over Montana. (The Independent)
- The United States Department of Defense reports that a second surveillance balloon is flying over Latin America. (NBC News)
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postpones his official visit to Beijing, initially scheduled for February 5, in response to the incident. (Al Jazeera)
- China–United States relations
Law and crime
- Corruption in South Korea
- A court in South Korea sentences former justice minister Cho Kuk to two years in prison after convicting him on charges of abuse of power and for helping his children enter prestigious schools using fake credentials. (The Washington Post)
Science and technology
- The Brazilian Navy scuttles the decommissioned aircraft carrier São Paulo into the Atlantic Ocean, following the rejections of injunctions from the Ministry of the Environment and the Federal Public Ministry. (AFP via RFI)
Disasters and accidents
- Eight construction workers are killed near Sevastopol, Crimea, in an overnight fire at a barracks. (Reuters)
Health and environment
- 2020–2023 H5N8 outbreak
- The UK Health Security Agency confirms that avian influenza has crossed over to several wild mammals, including foxes, otters and seals. The agency says that the risk to humans remains very low, however, there will now be more "targeted surveillance" and testing of animals. (BBC News)
International relations
- Israel–Sudan relations
- 2023 China balloon incident
- The United States Department of Defense monitors a high-altitude balloon from China flying over Montana. The Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry says the balloon is used for civilian meteorological research and had drifted off-course due to unexpected weather. (AFP via NDTV) (The Guardian)
- Philippines–United States relations
- The Philippines permits the U.S. Armed Forces access to an additional four military bases, thereby expediting the full implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. (AFP via France 24)
Law and crime
- War on terror
- The United States releases Majid Khan from the Guantanamo Bay prison and transfers him to Belize. Khan had been captured in 2003 in Pakistan and was being held on accusations of helping al-Qaeda. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- Qatar corruption scandal at the European Parliament
- Two MEPs, Andrea Cozzolino and Marc Tarabella, have their legal immunity revoked by European Union lawmakers amid an investigation into money laundering and bribery. (BBC News)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Russian Iskander-K ballistic missile destroys an apartment complex in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, killing at least three people and injuring 20 others, according to local officials. (Reuters)
- Attacks on civilians in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Kivu conflict
- M23 offensive
- M23 insurgents capture the town of Kitshanga in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, after days of heavy fighting. The DRC army confirms the withdrawal of its troops from the town, saying that it was a "tactical move to protect civilians". (Al Jazeera)
- M23 offensive
- Syrian civil war
- Northwestern Syria clashes
- Eight soldiers are killed near Kafr Rumah in Idlib Governorate by Tahrir al-Sham militants. (AFP via Barron's)
- Northwestern Syria clashes
- 2018–2023 Haitian crisis
- Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness says that his government is willing to send troops to Haiti as part of a "multinational security assistance deployment". (Reuters)
Business and economy
- Lebanese liquidity crisis
- The central bank of Lebanon devalues the Lebanese pound by 90% amid an ongoing financial crisis. (Reuters)
- 2021–present United Kingdom cost of living crisis
- More than 500,000 workers across multiple public sectors go on strike in the United Kingdom, forcing thousands of schools to close and many services to be delayed or cancelled, amid disputes over pay and working conditions. It is the largest industrial action in the UK since 2010. (CNBC)
- 2021–2023 inflation surge
- U.S. payment service provider PayPal announces that it will cut around 2,000 jobs, about 7% of its workforce, citing the "challenging macro-economic environment". (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- January 31 – February 2, 2023 ice storm
- Eight people are killed by a winter storm in Texas, United States. (NBC News)
- Two people are injured after a magnitude 6 earthquake hits Monkayo, Davao de Oro, Philippines. (GMA News Online)
- One person is injured after a magnitude 4.4 earthquake hits Banjar, West Java, Indonesia. (Kompas.com)
- Three people are killed and 32 others are injured after a fire in a hospital in Cairo, Egypt. (AP)
Health and environment
- Western Australian radioactive capsule incident
- A search team from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and WA Fire and Emergency Services announces that they have found the missing caesium-137 capsule around 74 km (46 mi) south of Newman. (ABC News Australia)
- The East Epi submarine volcano in Vanuatu erupts for the first time since 2004, sending ash 90 meters into the air, with a 10 kilometer radius danger zone. (The Washington Post) (RNZ)
Law and crime
- Four people are killed and five others are injured after a mass shooting in KwaMashu, Durban, South Africa. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- 2021–2023 Myanmar civil war
- 2023 Myanmar general election
- Two years after Myanmar's military overthrew the country's democratically-elected government, the State Administration Council extends the country's state of emergency for another six months, thereby postponing the general election initially scheduled for August 1. (AFP via France 24)
- 2023 Myanmar general election
Science and technology
- Long-period comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) makes its closest approach to Earth after reaching its perihelion on January 12. (ABC News)
Sports
- Four years after it originally folded, the Arena Football League announces plans to re-launch in time for a 2024 season. (CBS Sports)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Foreign involvement in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu announces that France will send 12 additional CAESAR self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, and could also train Ukrainian Air Force pilots to operate French fighter jets as part of their latest military support package. (Reuters)
- Foreign involvement in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Disasters and accidents
- Tanda Dam boat disaster
- The death toll from a boat capsize at the Tanda Dam in Kohat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on 29 January increases to 51. (AFP via The Peninsula)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois
- Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker announces that the state will end its COVID-19 emergency proclamation after three years beginning on May 11. (The State Journal-Register)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- The Namibian environment ministry announces that 61 black rhinoceros and 26 white rhinoceros were killed in the country in 2022 as a result of poaching, including 46 in Etosha National Park. (Al Jazeera)
International relations
- Pastoral visits of Pope Francis
- Pope Francis begins his first papal visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He will also visit South Sudan on the same trip. (AFP via RTHK)
Law and crime
- 2022–23 Salvadoran gang crackdown
- The Salvadoran government opens the Terrorism Confinement Center, a prison with a capacity of 40,000, amidst a gang crackdown which has arrested over 62,000 people since March 2022. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- Protests against Emmanuel Macron
- 2023 French pension reform strikes
- A second day of strikes and demonstrations occurs throughout France against the government's pension reform project, which proposes to increase the retirement age to 64. (BFMTV)
- 2023 French pension reform strikes
Sports
- 2022–23 Premier League
- Chelsea F.C. sign Argentinian central midfielder Enzo Fernández from Primeira Liga club Benfica in a £106.8m deal to break the British football transfer fee record. (The Guardian)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- 2023 Peshawar mosque bombing
- At least 100 people are killed and 225 others are injured when a suicide bomber detonates his explosive belt at a mosque in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The mosque is located inside a compound that includes the headquarters of the provincial police force and a counter-terrorism department. (Al Jazeera)
- 2023 Peshawar mosque bombing
- Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
- Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
- Ten police officers, two Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland personnel, and a civilian are killed in a terrorist attack by at least 15 jihadists in Falagountou, Séno, while five other police officers are injured and ten people are missing. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)
- Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
- Syrian civil war
- Fifteen people are injured after a bomb explodes near a bus carrying police officers near Khirbet Ghazaleh, Daraa Governorate, Syria. (AP)
Business and economy
- British sports-fashion retailer JD Sports says that the stored data of 10 million customers "may have been accessed" in a cyberattack, including names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, order details, and the final four digits of debit card numbers. (BBC News)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- The Biden administration announces that the United States will end its COVID-19 emergency proclamation on May 11 after being imposed for three years. (Forbes)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- Aging of China
- The Chinese province of Sichuan announces the abolition of its three-child policy and the restrictions on birth registration for single parents on February 15, citing the country's population decline. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)
International relations
- Foreign relations of Kiribati
- Prime Minister of Fiji Sitiveni Rabuka confirms that Kiribati will rejoin the Pacific Islands Forum after leaving the organization last year due to a dispute. (The Guardian)
- 2022–2023 Peruvian protests
- The Organization of American States passes a resolution asking the government of Dina Boluarte to convene elections soon in an attempt to reduce the level of violence in Peru, which has already killed 65 people. (La Prensa Latina) (Infobae)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- Forces of the Wagner Group say that they have captured the village of Blahodatne, north of Bakhmut. However, Ukraine rejects the claim and says that it repelled the attack. (AFP via The Moscow Times)
- Southern Ukraine campaign
- Russian forces shell the city of Kherson, killing three people, injuring six others, and damaging a hospital, school, and bus station. (Reuters via U.S. News & World Report)
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
- Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
- The governor of Comoé Province reports that 15 corpses, who were among 24 passengers of two minibuses that departed the provincial capital of Banfora when suspected jihadists hijacked the buses in Linguekoro and coerced the passengers to walk to Mangodara, were discovered near Linguekoro. The governor also reports that 15 other passengers had been abducted. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)
- Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
- Syrian civil war
- Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war
- Unidentified warplanes, suspected to be Israeli, strike a convoy of Iranian trucks that entered Syria from Iraq through the Al-Qa'im border crossing. At least six trucks are believed to have been destroyed. There are no immediate reports of casualties. (Times of Israel)
- Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- An 18-year-old Palestinian man is shot dead by a group of Israeli civilians near the settlement of Kedumim, in the occupied West Bank. In a separate incident, a Palestinian civilian home is set on fire by settlers. The occupants were not there at the time of the attack. (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Lasbela bus crash
- At least 41 people are killed and two others are injured when a bus falls off a bridge and catches fire in Lasbela District, Balochistan, Pakistan. (Reuters)
- 2022–23 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
- The death toll from Cyclone Cheneso's landfall in Madagascar has increased to 25, with 21 others still missing. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)
- Tanda Dam incident
- Ten children are killed and eleven other people are injured when a boat capsizes at the Tanda Dam in Kohat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (AFP via Barron's)
- At least 22 people are killed and 21 injured when a bus crashes near Dassa-Zoumé, Collines Department, Benin. (TRT World)
- At least nine people are killed when a container falls from a truck onto a commercial bus in Lagos, Nigeria. (The Guardian Nigeria)
- An avalanche on Mount Norikura in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, kills two people, including American skier Kyle Smaine. (BBC News)
International relations
- Attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran
- Azerbaijan–Iran relations
- Azerbaijan suspends diplomatic activities at its embassy in Tehran after accusing Iran of failing to ensure the security of its embassy staff. The Azerbaijani consulate general in Tabriz continues to operate routinely. (TASS)
- Azerbaijan–Iran relations
Law and crime
- 2023 Gqeberha shooting
- Eight people are killed and three others are injured in a mass shooting at a birthday party in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. (AFP via Hindustan Times)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Liechtenstein constitutional referendum
- Voters in Liechtenstein reject a proposed ban on casinos. The proposal, which Prince Hans-Adam II opposed, was rejected by around 73 percent of voters. (Euronews)
- 2022–23 Tunisian parliamentary election
- Tunisians head to the polls to elect the members of the third Assembly of the Representatives of the People in a run-off. The electoral board reports a voter turnout of 11.3 percent as most opposition parties boycott the election. (AFP via RFI)
- UK prime minister Rishi Sunak dismisses Nadhim Zahawi as chairman of the Conservative Party and minister without portfolio after Sunak's ethics adviser, Laurie Magnus, found that Zahawi had breached the Ministerial Code for failing to disclose a £5 million tax penalty payment to HM Revenue and Customs while serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer under former prime minister Boris Johnson. (BBC News)
Sports
- 2023 Australian Open – Men's singles
- Novak Djokovic defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final, 6–3, 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–5), to win the men's singles tennis title at the 2023 Australian Open in Melbourne, tying him with Rafael Nadal for the most Grand Slams in men's tennis history with 22. (BBC Sport)
- 2023 World Men's Handball Championship
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