February 3, 2020 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020), Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War
- Syrian Army shelling kills Turkish military personnel in Idlib Governorate, prompting retaliation by Turkish forces. A pro-opposition war monitor says the Turkish retaliation killed 13 Syrian soldiers, which Syria denies. The Russian Ministry of Defence says Turkey moved troops "inside the de-escalation zone [...] without notifying the Russian side". Turkish President Erdoğan says the Syrian shelling killed five Turkish soldiers and three civilian personnel, with nine others injured, and that the Russians "need to stand aside". (AP News) (SANA) (NPR)
- A gendarme is stabbed and wounded in Metz, Grand Est, France, by a soldier who shouted Islamic extremist slogans and declared that he is an Islamic State member. He was shot and wounded. (Le Figaro)
- Gunmen open fire in an amusement arcade in Uruapan, Mexico, killing at least nine people, including three children. Police say the gunmen were searching for specific targets but then opened fire indiscriminately on customers. (The Guardian)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- The global Cruise Lines International Association bans trips to mainland China and says that it "will deny boarding to any individual, whether guest or crew, who has travelled from or through mainland China within the previous 14 days". (Al Arabiya English)
- Thailand announces the possible discovery of a "cure" for the coronavirus after a confirmed coronavirus patient tested negative for the virus 48 hours after being given an "anti-HIV" drug. (Filipino Times) (Daily Sabah) (IB Times)
- Huoshenshan Hospital, opening after ten days of construction, admits the first patients of the pandemic. (SCMP) (AP)
- HIV/AIDS research
- The United States National Institutes of Health stops its trial of an experimental HIV vaccine (HVTN 702) amidst poor results. The trial involved more than 5,000 people in South Africa. (BBC News)
International relations
- Post-Brexit, United Kingdom–European Union relations
- European Union negotiator Michel Barnier says a future trade deal is possible only if the United Kingdom "abides by EU standards". British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the UK would not be bound by EU rules in any post-Brexit agreement. (NBC News)
- Israel–Uganda relations
- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni says he is "studying" the possibility of opening an embassy in Jerusalem as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promises to open an embassy in Uganda if such a move takes place. (Reuters)
- European migrant crisis
- Greek police on the island of Lesbos fire tear gas to disperse migrants and refugees protesting about conditions in the camps and the slow pace of processing asylum requests. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- List of mass shootings in the United States in 2020
- A mass shooting on a Greyhound bus headed from Los Angeles to San Francisco leaves one dead and five wounded; the motive remains unknown. (CBS News) (NBC News)
- A shooting at a dormitory at Texas A&M University–Commerce, leaves two dead and one wounded. (Politico) (NBC News)
Politics and elections
- Aftermath of the 2019 Malawian general election
- The Constitutional Court of Malawi annuls the result of the country's last general election due to various irregularities. New elections are being scheduled to be held within 150 days. (Aljazeera)
- 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2020 Republican Party presidential primaries
- The first nominating contest in the Democratic Party and Republican Party primaries takes place in the U.S. state of Iowa. Eleven Democratic Party candidates will challenge for 49 delegates, while incumbent President Donald Trump will face two Republican challengers for 40 delegates, regarding the 2020 United States presidential election (BBC News)
- Significant irregularities in the Democratic Party process are reported with an app being blamed for widespread confusion and delayed results. (Vox) (The Washington Examiner)
- Impeachment trial of Donald Trump
- Closing statements are delivered before the United States Senate. (The New York Times)
- Democratic Senator Joe Manchin asks his colleagues to consider censuring Trump, as an alternative to impeachment, for his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate domestic political rivals. Senator Manchin is considered friendly with the White House. (The Washington Post)