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Worldwide current events
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Alan Turing

Under the Alan Turing law (namesake pictured), more than 49,000 men in England and Wales are pardoned for breaching historical legislation that outlawed homosexual acts.
Morocco is admitted to the African Union despite an ongoing dispute over Western Sahara.
A gunman kills six people and injures eight others in a mass shooting at a mosque in Quebec City, Canada.
The Winter X Games conclude with the United States winning seven gold medals.
A cold wave affects North India.

February 5, 2017 (Sunday)

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February 4, 2017 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Donbass
- A rebel commander is killed by a bomb in eastern Ukraine while three Ukrainian Army soldiers are killed in fighting. At least 33 people have been killed in fighting over the past week. (AP via News Limited)

International relations

Australia–United States relations
- Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says Australia will honor the agreement to accept refugees from Central America even though the U.S. has postponed interviews with asylum seekers in a camp at the Pacific island of Nauru. (Reuters) (The Washington Examiner)

Politics and elections

2017 Romanian protests
- Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu announces that his government will scrap its proposed decree of decriminalizing some graft offenses on Sunday. (Reuters)
The United Nations drop sanctions on Gulbuddin Hekmatyar after his Hezb-e Islami faction and the Afghan government reached a deal in September. Hekmatyar is granted immunity in exchange for his abandoning violence and supporting the Constitution of Afghanistan. (BBC News)

February 3, 2017 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- According to Afghan Police, eight of their forces have been killed by the Taliban at a checkpoint in Faryab Province. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Syrian Civil War, American-led intervention in Syria
- At least 47 ISIL militants have been killed by Turkish and U.S.-led bombing raids by fighter jets on the town of al-Bab in the last 24 hours, with the Turkish Armed Forces attacking 135 other ISIL targets in northern Syria. (Al Jazeera)
- Activists say U.S.-led coalition aircraft has destroyed the main pipeline supplying the de facto ISIL capital Al-Raqqah with water. (The New York Times)
2016–17 Rohingya persecution in Myanmar
- The United Nations Human Rights Council releases a report detailing mass atrocities by the military and police forces against Myanmar's Rohingya minority, including gang-rapes, mass killings, and possible ethnic cleansing, which could amount to crimes against humanity. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
- According to Tohoku Electric Power, radiations levels within one of the reactors of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011, are at its highest level since experiencing a meltdown, with a reading of 530 sieverts an hour. (The Guardian)
The United Nations and various humanitarian groups call on the international community to help prevent a possible famine in Somalia as rising food prices and drought have left over six million people at risk of starvation. (The Guardian)

International relations

Iran–United States relations
- The United States Department of the Treasury announces new sanctions against Iran in response to the latter's recent ballistic missile test. Thirteen people and twelve entities with ties to Iran have been affected. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
- In retaliation for the recent travel ban, Iran bars the United States' athletes from the 2017 Wrestling World Cup - Men's freestyle tournament to be held in Kermanshah. (The Washington Post)
Peru–Venezuela relations
- Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's government creates a temporary visa for thousands of Venezuelans whose country is mired in a deep economic crisis. Visa holders will be able to study, work, and receive health services in Peru for a year. "This is part of our migratory policy that aims to build bridges not walls", says Interior Minister Carlos Basombrio. (Reuters)
Per the Afghan government's request, the United Nations drops sanctions against Hezb-e Islami party leader and former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. This potentially sets up his return to Afghanistan, which is part of the country's peace deal with its second largest militant group, signed in September 2016. (Reuters)(BBC)

Law and crime

The High Court of Australia rules that Rod Culleton was ineligible for election as a candidate for Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party in Western Australia in the Federal election and is ineligible to serve in the Senate of Australia. (Canberra Times)
2017 Paris machete attack
- A French Army soldier shoots and wounds a man armed with a knife who was trying to enter an underground shopping area near the Louvre in Paris. The museum was evacuated. (BBC)
U.S. immigration suspension
- United States federal judge James Robart temporarily blocks the so-called travel ban nationwide pending a legal challenge by the government. (Reuters) (NBC News)
  - The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency tells U.S. airlines that they should board travelers who had been blocked by the executive order addressed in Judge Robart's ruling. (Global News) (The New York Times) (The Guardian)
  - The justice department says it will not file for an emergency stay on Friday night. (The Guardian) (Reuters)
- A lawyer for the Justice Department, in a federal court in Virginia, says 100,000 visas have been revoked this week. A State Department spokesperson says the actual number is fewer than 60,000. (NBC News)
- Former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik says he was detained at Dulles Airport earlier this week because he had visited Iran in 2014. A Lutheran minister, Mr. Bondevik was in Washington for meetings associated with the National Prayer Breakfast. (The Nordic Page) (The New York Times)
Political appointments of Donald Trump
- West Point graduate, billionaire businessman, and philanthropist Vincent Viola withdraws his name from consideration as Secretary of the Army because of Defense Department rules concerning his family businesses. (Reuters) (Military Times) (Reuters)

February 2, 2017 (Thursday)

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International relations

Georgia–European Union relations
- The European Parliament unanimously approves visa-free regime in the Schengen zone for Georgia. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Russia–United States relations
- The United States Department of the Treasury eases some sanctions on the Federal Security Service (FSB), allowing for limited transactions with the intelligence agency. The sanctions were put in place last year by Barack Obama over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. (Reuters)
Australia–United States relations
- Citing unnamed U.S. officials, The Washington Post reports that U.S. President Donald Trump berated Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Trump claimed it was the "the worst call by far" and criticized a refugee settlement deal organised between the Turnbull Government and the Obama administration in late 2016. (The Washington Post)
- White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says the U.S. is still planning on carrying through with the refugee resettlement deal. (Bloomberg Politics)
Israel–United States relations, Israeli–Palestinian peace process
- The White House cautions Israel that building new settlements or expanding existing settlements in the West Bank, "... may not be helpful in achieving (peace)." (NBC News) (BBC)

Law and crime

Former HBOS manager Lynden Scourfield and other bankers and consultants are found guilty of corruption and abuse of power in stealing £245 million from the bank and small businesses in a loans scam, which was spent on personal luxuries. Scourfield was sentenced to 11 years in prison. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

Colombian peace process
- The National Liberation Army releases former congressman Odin Sanchez, who had been held hostage by the rebel group since April 2016, paving the way for peace talks to begin between the rebels and the Colombian government next week in Ecuador. (BBC)

February 1, 2017 (Wednesday)

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Armed attacks and conflicts

Four alleged extremists planning terror attacks in Azerbaijan are killed in a shootout with the country's security forces; one suspect is arrested. The State Security Service says the group was connected to an unspecified religious extremist group abroad. (Reuters) (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Business and economy

European Union roaming regulations
- Negotiators reach a preliminary deal on capping mobile phone intercarrier (wholesale) tariffs. Roaming charges on voice and data calls for consumers within the EU are expected to be terminated on June 15, 2017. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

According to a report released by Malegapuru William Makgoba, 94 mentally ill patients in South Africa died from starvation, dehydration and diarrhea between March and December 2016 because of a "reckless" government attempt to save money by transferring the patients from a specialized institution to care centres with "invalid licenses". (BBC)

International relations

Iranian Minister of Defence Hossein Dehghan confirms Iran tested a new missile, claiming that the test did not violate the 2015 nuclear deal nor UN resolution 2231. (Reuters) (PressTV)
Israel announces it will build an entirely new settlement in the West Bank for the first time in about twenty years. Many in the international community believe that such settlements are illegal but Israel disputes that. The settlement program is illegal under international law. (CNN)
The United Kingdom's House of Commons backs the Brexit bill by 498 votes to 114. (The Washington Post)

Law and crime

Israeli security forces begin evicting people from the illegal Amona, Mateh Binyamin, outpost built on private Palestinian-owned land near Ramallah in the central West Bank. The Supreme Court ordered residents to leave the area last year. (CNN)
A jury finds in favor of video game publisher ZeniMax Media after the trial of its copyright lawsuit against Oculus and Facebook, regarding virtual reality coding. (Reuters).
Police cancel a scheduled appearance of right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos on UC Berkeley due to hundreds of violent protesters on campus. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Politics and elections

Formation of Donald Trump's cabinet
- The United States Senate, in a 56–43 vote, confirms Rex Tillerson's nomination as United States Secretary of State. (The Independent)

January 31, 2017 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian opposition agrees to surrender their remaining villages in the stretch between the Wadi Barada area and the Lebanon-Syria border, as well as the Rankous border-crossing in the Qalamoun Mountains, in exchange for transportation of at least 250 rebel fighters to their stronghold in the Idlib Governorate. (Al Masdar News)

Arts and culture

Austria agrees to ban the full-face veil (burqa and niqāb) in public spaces, part of a larger deal struck by the center-left Social Democratic Party and the center-right Austrian People's Party to avoid the collapse of the ruling coalition government. (BBC) (The Christian Science Monitor)

Business and economics

Consultancy PwC says that global banks with business both in London and on the European continent must plan for a hard Brexit that entails a break with many of the benefits of the Euro system, and a short transition period. (Reuters)

International relations

Enlargement of the African Union
- Morocco rejoins the African Union after a 33-year absence, despite opposition from several member states over the political status of Western Sahara. (Al Jazeera)
White House National Trade Council director Peter Navarro says Germany exploits other countries with a "grossly undervalued" euro. German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejects the allegation. (Bloomberg) (CNBC)

Law and crime

Susan Kiefel is sworn in as the first female Chief Justice of Australia. (Radio National)
Alan Turing law
- The United Kingdom posthumously pardons around 49,000 gay and bisexual men found guilty of decades-old sodomy laws in England and Wales. Those still living can apply for a statutory pardon. (BBC)
The Kremlin arrests four people, Kaspersky Lab's Ruslan Stoyanov, and three officials in the Federal Security Service (FSB previously KGB) Center for Information Security, reportedly on treason charges for passing information to America's CIA. (New York Daily News), (The Washington Times), (The New York Times Jan 25), (AP)
2008 Mumbai attacks
- Pakistan detains Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the suspected mastermind of the 2008 attacks in the Indian city. Saeed, co-founder of the active terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, is being held under house arrest in Lahore in Pakistan's Punjab Province. Four other men are also under house arrest in the area. (CNN) (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

Cabinet of Donald Trump
- The U.S. Senate confirms former U.S. labor secretary and deputy transportation secretary Elaine Chao as Secretary of Transportation. Chao is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. (The Washington Post)
Supreme Court of the United States
- President Donald Trump has nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. Neil Gorsuch is the youngest nominee to the court in 25 years. (CNN)
Executive Order 13769
- The State Department memorandum about concerns with this travel ban is submitted to acting Secretary of State Tom Shannon through the federal government's Dissent Channel. This protest memo had between 900-1,000 signatures. Department officials said these signatures are far more than any dissent cable in recent years, adding more diplomats want to add their names to it. (The New York Times) (Reuters and AFP-JIJI via The Japan Times) (Voice of America)
2017 Romanian protests
- Despite massive protests in recent days, Romania's government adopts an emergency ordinance to decriminalize some graft offences.(Reuters)

January 30, 2017 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Donbass
- The Ukrainian military says seven soldiers have been killed by pro-Russian separatists since Sunday. The separatists report over 5 days of artillery attacks on them by the Ukrainian side. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention
- The Russian Defence Ministry says six Russian bombers hit ISIL positions in Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate. (Reuters)
Insurgency in the North Caucasus
- At least two police officers and three suspected militants are killed during a gunfight in Shali, Chechnya. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Yemeni Civil War
- A suspected U.S. drone strike kills two al-Qaida militants in central Shabwa province, according to Yemeni security and tribal officials. (AP) (CBC News)
- Houthi forces attack a Royal Saudi Navy frigate off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea, killing at least two sailors and wounding three others. (Fox News)
Tens of thousands of people, including politicians and activists, gather for the funeral of Ko Ni, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi's longtime adviser, who was assassinated yesterday as he walked out of the Yangon International Airport. (AP) (Al Jazeera)
Quebec City mosque shooting
- French-Canadian student Alexandre Bissonnette is charged with six counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder in relation to an attack on a mosque in Quebec City. (Reuters/AP via ABC News Australia)

Arts and culture

Miss Universe 2016
- Iris Mittenaere, winner of Miss France 2016, is crowned as the winner of Miss Universe 2016 at a ceremony in the Philippines. (AP)

Business and economics

Walgreens Boots Alliance reduces its offer price for Rite Aid and defers the expected closing date by six months due to concerns about regulatory approval. (The New York Times) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Several avalanches in Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan, caused by heavy snowfall over the weekend, leave at least seven people dead. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

International relations

United Kingdom–United States relations
- A petition, launched Sunday to cancel U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom later this year, tops 1 million signatures, passing the threshold for British Parliament debate. A British government spokesman says the state visit is going ahead as planned. (NBC News)
Iraq–United States relations
- The Iraqi Parliament votes in favour of a reciprocal travel ban on U.S. citizens if U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order barring citizens of Iraq and six other Muslim-majority countries is not reversed. The Iraqi travel ban will not be implemented while tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers and contractors are involved in the fight against ISIL. (AFP via Daily Mail)

Law and crime

Philippine Drug War
- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte suspends the war on drugs so resources can focus on ridding “corrupt” officers from the Philippine National Police. The cause célèbre is the kidnapping and strangulation of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo last October. (The Daily Telegraph)
Operation Car Wash
- Brazilian police arrest EBX Group CEO Eike Batista for allegedly bribing officials in Rio de Janeiro, including former Governor of Rio de Janeiro Sérgio Cabral Filho. (BBC)
2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt
- In Ankara, the Turkish government opens the trial of 270 suspects charged in July's failed coup in Ankara. The defendants include, in absentia, the alleged mastermind Fethullah Gülen, former NATO Chief of Staff Major General Salih Sevil, and other high-ranking military officials. (Yahoo! News)

Politics and elections

Gambian President Adama Barrow removes "Islamic" from the country's official name. The Gambia will now officially be called The Republic of The Gambia. Barrow also vows to reform the National Intelligence Agency, accused by human rights groups of forced disappearances and torture under Yahya Jammeh. (All Africa) (Al Jazeera)
Executive Order 13769
- White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, during the daily press briefing, says State Department officials should follow the President's program or get new jobs . (AP via Law Vegas Review-Journal) (CNN) (The New York Times)
- Sally Yates, the acting Attorney General of the United States, is fired after ordering employees of the United States Department of Justice not to enforce the President's ban due to personal doubts over its legality. Dana J. Boente becomes the new acting attorney general. (BBC)

More January 2017 events...

Ongoing events
Disasters European cold wave UK and Ireland windstorm season Political European migrant crisis (timeline) Romanian protests South China Sea disputes More details on ongoing conflicts below Sport 2017 Africa Cup of Nations 2016–17 Bundesliga 2016–17 La Liga 2016–17 NBA season 2016–17 NHL season 2016–17 PBA season 2016–17 Premier League 2016–17 Serie A Super Bowl LI 2016–17 EuroLeague 2016–17 EuroLeague Women edit sidebar

Recent deaths
February 2017 3: Gordon Aikman 2: Jeff Sauer 1: Desmond Carrington 1: Étienne Tshisekedi January 2017 31: Rob Stewart 31: John Wetton 31: Tokitenkū Yoshiaki 28: Christopher Bland 28: Many Clouds 27: Emmanuelle Riva 26: Mike Connors 26: Barbara Hale 26: Tam Dalyell 25: John Hurt 25: Mary Tyler Moore 24: Butch Trucks 23: Gorden Kaye 23: Douglas Reeman 22: Jaki Liebezeit 22: Naqsh Lyallpuri 22: Masaya Nakamura 22: Andy Marte 22: Yordano Ventura 20: Harry J. Middleton 20: Emma Tennant 19: Miguel Ferrer 18: Rachael Heyhoe Flint 18: Roberta Peters 17: Peter Abrahams 17: Colo 16: Eugene Cernan 16: William Onyeabor 15: Eddie Long 15: Jimmy Snuka 14: Zhou Youguang 13: Antony Armstrong-Jones 13: Magic Alex 12: William Peter Blatty 12: Anthony King 12: Graham Taylor 10: Roman Herzog 10: Clare Hollingworth 10: Oliver Smithies 9: Michael Chamberlain 8: Pioneer Cabin Tree 8: Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 8: Peter Sarstedt 7: Nat Hentoff 7: Mário Soares 6: Ricardo Piglia 6: Om Puri 6: Tilikum 5: Jill Saward 4: Georges Prêtre 4: Milt Schmidt 2: John Berger 2: Albert Brewer 1: Tony Atkinson 1: Derek Parfit edit sidebar

Ongoing conflicts
Africa Algeria and Tunisia Maghreb insurgency ISIL insurgency in Tunisia Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria Boko Haram insurgency Central African Republic Civil war Democratic Republic of the Congo Kivu conflict ADF insurgency Ituri conflict Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Libya Civil war Mali Northern Mali conflict Somalia Civil war South Sudan Ethnic violence (South Sudanese Civil War) Sudan War in Darfur South Kordofan conflict Sudanese nomadic conflicts Americas Mexico Mexican War on Drugs Peru Internal conflict in Peru Asia Afghanistan Afghanistan War China Xinjiang conflict India Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Insurgency in Northeast India India and Pakistan Kashmir conflict Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines Moro conflict Cross border attacks in Sabah Indonesia and Papua New Guinea Papua conflict Myanmar Internal conflict in Myanmar Pakistan War in North-West Pakistan Balochistan conflict Philippines CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion Thailand South Thailand insurgency Europe Armenia and Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Georgia Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Georgian–Ossetian conflict Russia Chechen–Russian conflict North Caucasus insurgency Ukraine War in Donbass Russian military intervention in Ukraine Middle East Egypt Sinai insurgency Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria Arab–Israeli conflict Iran Iran–PJAK conflict Iraq American-led intervention in Iraq Iranian intervention in Iraq Iraq and Syria (map) Military intervention against ISIL Israel and Lebanon Israeli–Lebanese conflict Israel and Palestine Gaza–Israel conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Syria American-led intervention in Syria Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Turkish military intervention in Syria Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon Turkey Turkey–PKK conflict Turkey–ISIL conflict Yemen Yemeni Civil War Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Al-Qaeda insurgency edit sidebar

Elections and Referendums
Upcoming February 5: Liechtenstein, Landtag 12: Turkmenistan, President 19: Ecuador, President and Parliament, Referendum edit sidebar

Trials
Recently concluded Australia: Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara Cambodia: Sam Rainsy China: Wan Qingliang, Ling Jihua, Zhoi Bin, Guo Boxiong Iran: Babak Zanjani Netherlands: Geert Wilders Philippines: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Nur Misuari, Joel Villanueva Romania: Liviu Dragnea, Gheorghe Ștefan, Gabriel Sandu, Dorin Cocoş, Dumitru Nicolae Spain: Lionel Messi United Kingdom: Chris Denning, Adam Johnson, Ched Evans United States: Bob McDonnell, Paul Anthony Ciancia International ICTY: Radovan Karadžić Ongoing China: Bai Enpei, Pan Yiyang, Yang Weize Germany: Beate Zschäpe Indonesia: Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Mary Jane Veloso Pakistan: Waseem Azeem, Mufti Abdul Qawi Philippines: Andal Ampatuan, Jr., Leila de Lima, Rodrigo Duterte, Jovito Palparan Romania: Dan Șova, Elena Udrea, Radu Mazăre, Gheorghe Nichita, Marian Vanghelie Russia: Alexei Navalny South Korea: Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil Spain: Gürtel case, Spanish Royal House, Bárcenas affair United States: Etan Patz United Kingdom: Rolf Harris, Barry Bennell International ICC: Laurent Gbagbo ICTY: Ratko Mladić Upcoming China: Wu Changshun Egypt: Mohamed Morsi Estonia: Edgar Savisaar Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi United States: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Bill Cosby edit sidebar