Portal:Current events
Topics in the news

Earthquake damage in Diyarbakır
- An earthquake (damage pictured) strikes Turkey and Syria, killing over 7,000 people and injuring more than 30,000 others.
- Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf dies at the age of 79.
- A Chinese balloon suspected of surveillance and espionage is shot down after overflying Canada and the United States.
- Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) 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.
Law and crime
- 2023 Brazilian Congress attack
- The Brazilian Congress. (Reuters)
- The
- Crime in Japan
- Two of four Japanese gang leaders based in the Philippines are deported on suspicion of ordering around 2,300 cases of robberies and phone fraud activities worth ¥3.5 billion (US$26.4 million) in Japan. (AFP via The Manila Times)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Solomon Islands protests
- Police use no-confidence vote. Suidani was one of the strongest critics of the government's approach to China. (The Guardian)
- Police use
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Five Israeli soldiers and subsequent gunbattle at a refugee camp near Jericho, in the West Bank. (BBC News)
- Five
- Somali Civil War
- Puntland–Somaliland dispute
- At least 34 people are killed and 40 others are injured during clashes between
- Puntland–Somaliland dispute
Arts and culture
- Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church announces that the church will begin using the Revised Julian calendar on September 1, following a decision by the Synod of Bishops. (UGCC)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake
- At least 5,434 people are killed in Turkey and more than 1,509 others are killed in Syria as a magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Gaziantep Province, Turkey. (AFP via RFI)
- A second earthquake of magnitude 7.5 occurs in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, nine hours after the first earthquake. (Bloomberg)
- 2023 Coulson Aviation crash
- A Boeing 737-300 firefighting tanker crashes in Fitzgerald River National Park in Western Australia. Both pilots survive. (7 News)
- A
Law and crime
- Hong Kong national security law
- The trial of 47 pro-democracy activists begins, two years after their arrest. It is the largest trial yet held under the Hong Kong national security law. (DW)
Science and technology
- Censorship of Wikipedia, Internet censorship in Pakistan
- Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif orders the ban on Wikipedia to be lifted, three days after the website was banned for alleged anti-Muslim and blasphemous content. (ProPakistani)
Arts and culture
- 65th Annual Grammy Awards
- American singer Beyoncé sets a Grammy Awards record for the most wins, surpassing Hungarian conductor Georg Solti. (NPR)
Disasters and accidents
- Eight people in Austria and two others in Switzerland are killed by a series of avalanches. (BBC News)
- At least eight people are killed and 42 others are injured when a
Health and environment
- South Africa reports imported cases of cholera in two sisters who travelled to Malawi. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- 2022–2023 Peruvian protests
- The government extends the state of emergency in the Apurímac, Arequipa, Cuzco, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Puno, and Tacna departments until April 7. (AFP via VOA)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Cypriot presidential election
- Cypriots head to the polls to elect their new President. (AFP via France 24)
- A runoff is called for 12 February between Nikos Christodoulides and Andreas Mavroyiannis. (The Guardian)
- 2023 Ecuadorian constitutional referendum
- constitutional reform. (Infobae)
- 2023 Monegasque general election
- Parliament. (Euronews)
- People's Deputy of Ukraine Davyd Arakhamia announces that military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov will replace Oleksii Reznikov as Minister of Defense following a corruption scandal. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2023 China balloon incident
- The east coast of the United States, and suspends arrivals at Myrtle Beach International Airport, Charleston International Airport, and Wilmington International Airport after President Joe Biden orders the high-altitude balloon to be shot down over the Atlantic Ocean. (Euro Weekly News)
- The high-altitude balloon is shot down by a United States Air Force F-22 Raptor over the Atlantic Ocean at 2:39 PM EST. An operation to collect the remnants of the balloon in U.S. territorial waters is currently underway. It is the first time that an aircraft has been shot down in the United States since World War II. (AP) (CNN)
- The
Disasters and accidents
- At least 16 people are killed and 66 others are injured in a multiple-vehicle collision along a highway in Changsha, Hunan, China. (AFP via The Straits Times)
- Nine sailors are missing after their capsizes off the coast of Sinan County, South Jeolla Province, South Korea. President Yoon Suk-yeol has deployed the coast guard to conduct an air-sea rescue for the missing people. (AFP via Oman Daily Observer)
- Two people are killed and three others are injured by an avalanche in Raghistan District, Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan. (5DariyaNews)
Health and environment
- February 2023 North American cold wave
- Mount Washington in New Hampshire, United States, records the lowest wind chill temperature in the country at −108 °F (−78 °C). (AFP via Manila Bulletin)
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
- 2023 Chile wildfires
- wildfires that have killed at least 23 people and burned up to 8,000 hectares and also declares a catastrophe in the Biobío region amid a summer heat wave. (Reuters)
- Three people are killed and several others are injured when a bus overturns near Murska Sobota, Prekmurje, 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)
International relations
- 2023 China balloon incident
- China–United States relations
- The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postpones his official visit to Beijing, initially scheduled for February 5, in response to the incident. (The Independent) (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera)
- The high altitude balloon has been discovered flying over Latin America. (NBC News)
- The
- 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 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 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)
- The
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
- 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)
Science and technology
- perihelion on January 12. (ABC News)
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