Portal:Current events/2020 February 2
February 2, 2020 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2020 Streatham stabbing
- Three people are injured after a man attacked people with a machete in Streatham High Road, London, United Kingdom. The attacker is shot dead by police. The incident is declared as terrorism-related. (BBC News)
- Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020), Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War
- More than 200 Turkish Armed Forces vehicles cross the Syria–Turkey border into rebel-held Idlib Governorate in an effort to halt the Syrian Army advance on the city of Saraqib. (The Washington Post) (Al Masdar News)
- Sinai insurgency
- Islamist militants bomb a gas pipeline between Egypt and Israel in the northern Sinai Peninsula. (Ynet news)
Arts and culture
- Groundhog Day
- Punxsutawney Phil doesn't cast a shadow and predicts an early spring. (Fox News)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
- The first coronavirus death outside China is reported in the Philippines. The victim was a Chinese tourist, also infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae and influenza B, who recently arrived in the country. (CNN Philippines)
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
- New Zealand closes its borders to all foreign visitors from China and bolsters screenings at its airports in response to the pandemic. The travel ban will be in place for at least fourteen days. (The Guardian)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
International relations
- Iran–Saudi Arabia relations
- According to Iranian Foreign Ministry, Saudi Arabia has blocked Iran from an Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Jeddah after Saudi authorities refuse to issue visas to Iranian officials. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- A female attacker stabs four people in Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium in different locations. The victims were injured, two of whom in critical conditions. The suspect is shot and wounded by Belgian police. (The Brussels Times)
Politics and elections
- Japan sends a destroyer to the Gulf of Oman amid heightening tensions in the region. The government says it is prepared to authorize the use of force to protect Japanese interests if needed. (Reuters)
Sports
- 2019 NFL season
- In American football, the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers 31–20 to win Super Bowl LIV, the team's first Super Bowl win since 1970. (ESPN)