February 5, 2011 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2011 Egyptian protests:
- Anti-Mubarak forces continue their nationwide protests for a twelfth day, remaining in Cairo's Tahrir Square. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian) (Sky News)
- The media reports that President Mubarak's son Gamal resigns as head of the National Democratic Party bureau. Secretary Safwat el-Sharif and the six-member Steering Committee of the General Secretariat also resign. (USA Today), (The New York Times) (Sky News)
- Protesters form a human chain in Tahrir Square to prevent tanks from entering the area. (CNN) (Al Jazeera)
- International response to the 2011 Egyptian protests:
- President of Israel Shimon Peres, speaking at a European Friends of Israel (EFI) conference in Jerusalem, defends Mubarak, calling him a "peacemaker" whose "contribution to peace would never be forgotten". (Los Angeles Times) (Ynetnews)
- U.S. TV coverage of the uprising in Egypt is criticised for being both pessimistic and superficial and for its focus on what events mean for the U.S. and its regional allies. (Al Jazeera)
- France halts sales of arms and riot equipment to Egypt. (France 24)
- 2010–2011 Tunisian uprising: Tunisian police shoot dead two people and injure another 17 during a protest in the city of El Kef. (BBC), (France24)
- Cambodian–Thai border stand-off: A Thai soldier is shot dead and four wounded in clashes with Cambodian troops in a disputed border area. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
- At least 20 people are killed in a shootout among the military in Malakal, Southern Sudan. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
Arts and culture
- Pope Benedict XVI ordains five new bishops, including a Chinese prelate from Hong Kong despite attempts by China's official church to ordain bishops without his approval. (AP via Google News)
- Comedian Steve Coogan criticises the presenters of BBC television series Top Gear in relation to their recent insulting of Mexicans. He also criticies the BBC's "pitiful" and "mealy-mouthed" apology after it offended Mexicans. (The Guardian)
- Inception and The Social Network win top prizes at the Writers Guild of America awards. (Los Angeles Times)
Disasters
- Cold weather persists in northern Mexico in the aftermath of the January 31–February 2, 2011 North American winter storm with power shortages. (AP via Sun-Sentinel) (BBC)
- An explosion at the Uricani Coal Mine in southwestern Romania kills five people. (AFP via France 24)
- Six firefighters die and two are injured fighting a fire in China's Zhejiang Province. (China)
International relations
- UK prime minister David Cameron uses an important speech at a security conference in Munich to say "state multiculturalism" has failed, adding that the UK needs a stronger national identity and promising to promote Western values. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
- The Daily Telegraph publishes WikiLeaks cables stating that the United States provided Russia with the United Kingdom's serial numbers of every Trident missile, which are manufactured and maintained in the U.S. and supplied to Britain, in return for the Russians signing the New START treaty. (The Telegraph)
- Former President of the United States George W. Bush cancels a planned appearance in Switzerland; Human Rights Watch link the cancellation to growing pressure for Bush to be arrested over his approval of waterboarding torture, saying Bush is "avoiding handcuffs". (Deutsche Welle) (Radio New Zealand) (Reuters)
Politics
- The largest anti-government demonstration in years occurs in Belgrade, with thousands of disenchanted Serbs travelling to the parliament building from across the country to call for early elections there. An opposition party leader at the event compares it to the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. (BBC) (Deutsche Welle) (Reuters)
- Thousands of Italians attend a rally to demand the resignation of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi over a sex scandal. (Sky News)
Sports
- The ICC bans Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir for five years for match-fixing. (BBC Sport) (Al Jazeera)
- Richard Dent, Marshall Faulk, Ed Sabol, Deion Sanders, Chris Hanburger, Les Richter and Shannon Sharpe are elected to the United States Pro Football Hall of Fame. (USA Today), (Washington Post)
- English Premier League news: (AP via MSNBC)
- A new Premier League scoring record is set with 41 goals scored in 8 matches.
- League leaders Manchester United are stunned 2–1 by last-place Wolverhampton Wanderers, ending United's 29-match unbeaten streak in Premiership play.
- Second-place Arsenal become the first team since the establishment of the Premier League in 1992 to blow a 4–0 lead, as Newcastle United storm back to draw 4–4.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers set a new record for consecutive losses in a single National Basketball Association season in the United States. (ESPN)