Portal:Current events/2020 February 6
February 6, 2020 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Two Palestinians are killed and seven others are wounded by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank. In a separate incident, twelve Israeli soldiers are injured in a car-ramming attack by a Palestinian in Jerusalem, while a police officer was shot and wounded in another attack in the city. Airstrikes in the Gaza Strip also occurred. (BBC News)
- Syrian civil war, Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian Civil War
- Israeli warplanes fire missiles near Damascus, Syria. A pro-opposition war monitor says army positions and Iran-backed militias are targeted, killing 12 fighters. Syria says eight fighters are wounded and Israel intends to "save the armed terrorist organisations which have been collapsing in Idlib and western Aleppo Governorate in front of the strikes of the Syrian Army". (BBC News)
- The Syrian Army's Tiger Forces with Russian air support enters and takes control of the city of Saraqib, and the nearby town of Sarmin, after rebel forces withdrew from the area. (The Washington Post) (Anadolu Agency)
- An Australian and two Chinese citizens, one of whom was a tourist, are stabbed and injured by ISIL sympathisers in Hulhumalé, Maldives. The attackers are arrested. (The Guardian)
- Brexit Day bomb plot
- The PSNI announce they foiled a plot, allegedly by the dissident republican CIRA, to detonate a truck bomb in the United Kingdom on the day Brexit occurred. (BBC News)
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- A U.S. civil contractor is kidnapped by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan's Khost Province. A Taliban leader who declined to be named tells Reuters they had kidnapped an American in Khost but did not provide further details. (Reuters)
- Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
- U.S. President Donald Trump announces that the United States military has killed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader Qasim al-Raymi in a drone strike in Yemen. (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- Winter Storm Kade
- Several tornadoes are reported across the southern United States as Winter Storm Kade continues to cross the country, with more than 200 reports of damaging winds across Mississippi, Alabama and North Carolina. (Weather.com)
- Heavy rainfall causes severe flooding in southern states, particularly western South Carolina and western Virginia, where several flash flood emergencies have been declared. (Weather.com)
- Livraga derailment
- A train crash in Livraga, Lombardy, Italy, kills 2 people and injures all the other 31 on board. (The Independent)
International relations
- United States–Venezuela relations
- Venezuelan security forces move six American Citgo executives from house arrest to El Helicoide prison in Caracas, prompting condemnation from the United States. The move comes shortly after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune pardons a further 6,000 prisoners after doing the same to another 3,000 two days ago. The mass pardons this week follow an offer of dialogue with the protesters, the release of detainees arrested at demonstrations, the formation of a committee to amend the constitution and meetings with opposition figures. (Reuters)
- A man is charged with raping a five-year-old girl inside of the United States embassy in New Delhi. The high-security mansion in the Indian capital is one of the most secure in Delhi, with multiple layers of manned and electronic security. (The Guardian)
Politics and elections
- Minister-President of the central German state of Thuringia, Thomas Kemmerich, resigns under national pressure after his controversial election to the position with the help of the far-right party Alternative for Germany. (BBC News)
Science and technology
- Christina Koch returns to Earth from the International Space Station after a continuous 328 days in space, longer than any woman in history. (CNN via MSN)