February 4, 2020 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020), Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says Turkey will not allow Syria's military to gain more ground in the rebel-held Idlib Governorate, as the Syrian Army captures several more villages near the city of Saraqib. Turkish officials say intermittent clashes between Turkish and Syrian troops have continued since Monday. (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- A magnitude 5.0 earthquake hits 20 kilometers south of Guánica, Puerto Rico. (CNN) (National Earthquake Center)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in China
- COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying reports the death toll has surpassed 400 with over 20,000 people infected, and requests the United States "not to overreact". (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
- The second coronavirus death outside mainland China is reported in Hong Kong. The victim was a 34-year-old Hongkonger who had recently travelled to Wuhan, the center of the pandemic. The Hospital Authority said the victim suffered from "preexisting health conditions", but did not give details. (Los Angeles Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
- COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships
- COVID-19 pandemic on Diamond Princess
- The Diamond Princess cruise ship is quarantined and tested for coronavirus cases as it is docked in Yokohama, Japan. Passengers and crew are now required to stay on board until at least Tuesday night. Between 3,500 and 3,700 passengers are tested. (CNN)
- COVID-19 pandemic on Diamond Princess
- COVID-19 pandemic in China
Law and crime
- Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune pardons more than 3,000 prisoners serving sentences of less than six months imprisonment as he seeks to win support after months of political turmoil. (Reuters)
- First Lady of Lesotho, Maesiah Thabane, is arrested and charged in connection to the 2017 murder of Lipolelo Thabane, ex-wife of current Prime Minister Tom Thabane. (The Guardian)
- Gunmen kill 9 people, including 3 children, in a video arcade in Uruapan, Mexico. (ABC News)
Politics and elections
- 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2020 Republican Party presidential primaries
- Donald Trump receives overwhelming support in the Iowa Republican caucuses while the results of the Iowa Democratic caucuses are delayed because of problems with the use of a mobile app for reporting. (CNN)
- 2020 State of the Union Address
- U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his third State of the Union Address to the 116th United States Congress in the chamber of the House of Representatives. It was Trump's fourth and final speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. (CNN)