New START, the last treaty on limiting strategic nuclear weapons between the United States and Russia, expires.
Source:
swissinfo 
February 5
International relations
February 4
Law and crime
The Woolwich Crown Court finds three out of six members of Palestine Action not guilty of aggravated robbery relating to a raid on a building owned by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems in Bristol, England, United Kingdom, while charges on criminal damage and violent disorder received partial or no verdicts. Five are released on bail.
Source:
BBC News
Ryan Wesley Routh, the man who attempted to assassinate United States president Donald Trump while he was golfing at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 2024, is sentenced to life in prison without the posibility of parole.
Source:
The New York Times
A Hungarian court sentences German activist Maja T. to eight years in prison for participating in assaults on attendees of a far-right rally in Budapest in 2023, following her extradition from Germany despite later objections by Germany's constitutional court.
Source:
AP via ABC News
Armed conflicts and attacks
The Pakistan Armed Forces use drones and helicopters in an attempt to regain control of Nushki from Balochistan Liberation Army insurgents in Balochistan, Pakistan, after attacks across the province killed over 200 people.
Source:
Reuters via MSN
At least 23 Palestinians, including seven women, five children, and a paramedic are killed by Israeli troops, airstrikes, and drone strikes in the Gaza Strip after a Palestinian militant attack injures an Israeli soldier.
Source:
Al Jazeera
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad's Northern Gaza Brigade commander Ali al-Razayneh is killed in an airstrike on the Gaza Strip.
Source:
The Times of Israel
Russian forces strike a market in Druzhkivka, Donetsk Oblast, with cluster munitions, killing at least seven civilians and injuring 15 others.
Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)Russian attacks on civilians in the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)
Source:
Kyiv Post
Politics and elections
Peter Mandelson steps down from the UK House of Lords amid allegations he passed market-sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein.
Source:
RTÉ
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison's longtime chairman Brad S. Karp resigns after emails between him and Jeffrey Epstein are published.
Source:
The New York Times
Business and economy
American newspaper announces that it will lay off about 300 journalists, roughly one-third of its employees, particularly those who cover sports, local news, and world news sections as part of a major restructuring effort.
Source:
BBC News
International relations
Eswatini's high court upholds an agreement with the United States that accepts third-country deportees in exchange for $5.1 million and at least 15 transfers initiated during the presidency of Donald Trump, rejecting claims that the deal requires parliamentary approval or greater disclosure.
Source:
Reuters
Venezuelan businessmen Raúl Gorrín and Alex Saab, both allied with president Nicolás Maduro, are arrested in Caracas during a joint operation with U.S. law enforcement agencies on bribery and money laundering charges, with Saab expected to be extradited to the U.S.
Source:
Reuters
Disasters and accidents
The death toll from severe weather in Japan, including heavy snowfall, rises to 35 with at least 400 others injured, according to the Japanese government.
Source:
Sky News
One person is killed, another is injured and thousands are evacuated during floods caused by Storm Leonardo in Portugal and Spain.
Source:
RTÉ
Nine city government employees are killed when a dump truck, also carrying crude oil, falls into a river in Bayawan, Negros Oriental, Philippines.
Source:
ABS-CBN News
February 3
Politics and elections
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán issues a decree ordering courts to terminate the Budapest city court's lawsuit over the disputed state "solidarity tax".
Source:
Reuters
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.
Source:
Reuters
Armed conflicts and attacks
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.
Source:
Militarnyi
Source:
Reuters
The U.S. military shoots down an Iranian Shahed 139 drone on approach to the aircraft carrier USS with an F-35 fighter jet.
Source:
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.
Source:
CBS News
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.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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.
Source:
Reuters
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.
Source:
AA
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.
Source:
Forbes
International relations
Source:
CNA
Law and crime
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.
Source:
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.
Source:
BBC News
The Metropolitan Police of Greater London, UK, launches an investigation into House of Lords peer Peter Mandelson following allegations of misconduct in public office.
Source:
BBC News
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.
Source:
Al Jazeera
Fourteen migrants are killed after their boat collides with a Hellenic Coast Guard vessel and capsizes off the coast of Chios, Greece.
Source:
Reuters
Three people are killed and dozens are injured after a bus plunges into a gorge in Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Source:
The Indian Express
More than 1,000 houses are destroyed when a massive fire sweeps through an inlet in Tawi-Tawi, Bangsamoro, Philippines.
Source:
AA
February 2
Armed conflicts and attacks
As part of a ceasefire agreement with the Syrian government, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces formally hands over control of Al-Hasakah to government forces.
Syrian conflict (2024–present)SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes (2025–present)2026 northeastern Syria offensive
Source:
Reuters
Israel partially reopens the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which has been closed since May 2024, allowing 150 people to leave Gaza and 50 to enter per day.
Source:
The Guardian
At least five people, including a 3-year-old boy, are killed in Israeli attacks according to the Gaza Health Ministry, including two at the Nuseirat refugee camp and one each in Al-Mawasi, Khan Yunis, and Jabalia. The Israeli military says it targeted "militants operating near the demarcation line".
Source:
Haaretz
Clashes erupt between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and a tribe formerly allied to it in East Darfur. Prior to the fighting, local sources claim that the tribe abducted relatives of a senior RSF commander over allegations of them allegedly collaborating with the Sudanese Armed Forces. At least five fighters have been reportedly killed on both sides, including the said RSF commander and the tribe's leader.
Source:
Sudan Tribune
Business and economy
Japan announces it has begun successfully drilling and retrieving deep-sea sediment containing rare earth minerals near the remote island of Minamitorishima in the Pacific Ocean, as the country seeks to reduce its reliance on China for critical minerals for use in its defense industry and automotive industry.
Source:
Asahi
Disasters and accidents
Five workers are killed when an under construction bridge collapses in Xiangshui County, Jiangsu, China.
Source:
SCMP
Five children are killed and six are injured when a bus collides with a truck in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.
Source:
APA
Three people are killed when a DA40 Diamond Star light aircraft crashes in Orsk, Orenburg Oblast, Russia.
Source:
Aviation Safety Network
More than 50,000 people in Ksar el-Kebir, Larache Province, Morocco, are evacuated as flooding from heavy rain and controlled dam releases caused the Loukkos River to overflow, prompting school suspensions, power cuts, and military rescue operations across nearby areas.
Source:
Reuters
Politics and elections
A South African separatist group, Boervolk of the Orange Free State, files a formal claim in a government gazette seeking land in KwaZulu-Natal, citing historical transactions with Zulu rulers and invoking a United Nations decolonization resolution.
Source:
Reuters
Law and crime
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor leaves Royal Lodge to move to the Sandringham Estate as a result of the controversy about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Source:
BBC
Nigerian police state that at least 80 people abducted from Christian churches in Kaduna State on January 18 return to their homes after fleeing during the abduction, but the Christian Association of Nigeria disputes the figure and says most of the 177 worshippers seized remain missing.
Source:
Reuters
A ban on using mobile phones in classrooms enters into force in Bolivia in an effort to "increase the attention span of students" and "reduce distractions". The ban applies to all public and private schools.
Source:
AP