Portal:Current events/2026 February 3

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Kyiv strikes, Kharkiv strikes
    • Following a brief moratorium on strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Russian forces launch strikes involving drones and cruise missiles, including Zircon missiles across Ukraine. The strikes target Kyiv, Kharkiv, among other regions. (The Independent) (Militarnyi)
  • Zaporizhzhia strikes
    • Two civilians are killed and eight others are wounded in a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia. (Reuters)
• Middle Eastern crisis
  • 2026 United States military buildup in the Middle East
    • The U.S. military shoots down an Iranian Shahed 139 drone on approach to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln with an F-35 fighter jet. (Reuters)
    • Several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy gunboats attempt to stop and seize a U.S. tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. The tanker ignored the demands to stop and continued on its journey towards the Arabian Sea under escort of a United States Navy warship. (CBS News)
• Libyan crisis
  • Assassination of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi
    • Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi and presidential candidate, is assassinated outside his home in Zintan, Libya. Four gunmen reportedly fled the scene after the shooting. (Al Arabiya)
• Nigerian bandit conflict
  • 2026 Kwara State attacks
    • Armed bandits kill at least 170 people in the village of Woro in Kwara State, Nigeria, forcing residents to flee into surrounding areas with several missing. (Reuters)
• Sudanese civil war
  • Eight civilians are killed, including five children, and 11 others are injured in a drone strike by the Rapid Support Forces on a health center in Kadugli, South Kordofan, Sudan. (AA)
• Somali Civil War, Somalia–Turkey relations
  • Satellite images show Turkey has recently deployed at least three F-16 fighter jets to Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, to support Somali military operations against al-Shabaab and other militant groups. (Forbes)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 16 people are killed, including four children, and multiple others are injured when a bus returning from a religious festival veers off the road and overturns on a highway in São José da Tapera, Alagoas, Brazil. (Al Jazeera)
• Fourteen migrants are killed after their boat collides with a Hellenic Coast Guard vessel and capsizes off the coast of Chios, Greece. (Reuters)
• Three people are killed and dozens are injured after a bus plunges into a gorge in Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh, India. (The Indian Express)
• More than 1,000 houses are destroyed when a massive fire sweeps through an inlet in Tawi-Tawi, Bangsamoro, Philippines. (AA)

International relations

• Greenland crisis
  • Denmark–United States relations
    • Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey announces that Massachusetts has signed a economic deal with Denmark amidst ongoing tensions between the United States and Greenland. (Taunton Daily Gazette)
• Myanmar–Russia relations
  • Myanmar and Russia sign a five-year military cooperation pact, which will last until 2030. (CNA)

Law and crime

• Criticism of Twitter
  • Europol, the public prosecutor office in Paris, France, and a cybercrime investigation unit search the Paris office of Twitter in relation to allegations about biased algorithms distorting the operation of a data processing system, denial of crimes against humanity, sexually explicit deepfakes and child sexual abuse material. (France 24)
  • The United Kingdom's Ofcom announces that it is continuing its investigation of Twitter-owned chatbot Grok, and that the Information Commissioner's Office has opened its own investigation. (BBC News)
• Epstein files, Relationship of Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein
  • The Metropolitan Police of Greater London, UK, launches an investigation into House of Lords peer Peter Mandelson following allegations of misconduct in public office. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

• Hungary under the Orbán regime
  • Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán issues a decree ordering courts to terminate the Budapest city court's lawsuit over the disputed state "solidarity tax". (Reuters)
• Myanmar civil war
  • Myanmar's military junta announces the creation of a five-member Union Consultative Council with authority over security and legislative matters, allowing Min Aung Hlaing to assume the presidency while retaining control of the armed forces. (Reuters)