January 30, 2020 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020)
- Warplanes backed by the Syrian Government strike Ariha, Idlib Governorate, killing at least ten people. (ABC News)
- Armed men kill at least six Mayangna Indians and kidnap another ten in the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, Nicaragua. (BBC News)
Business and economy
- Arvind Krishna is appointed chief executive officer of IBM, taking over from Ginni Rometty. (Wall Street Journal)
Disasters and accidents
- Massive floods in Madagascar kill 31 people and displace 16,000 others. (The Weather Channel)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- The World Health Organization declares a "global emergency", a rare designation that helps the international agency mobilize financial and political support to contain the pandemic. (CNBC)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
- More than 6,000 passengers are barred from disembarking a cruise ship docked at Civitavecchia, Lazio, Italy, after authorities expressed concern that two Chinese passengers have the coronavirus. (The Guardian)
- Two cases of novel coronavirus are confirmed in Italy after two Chinese tourists are recovered in Rome. (Il Messaggero)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Mainland China
- COVID-19 pandemic in Tibet
- Tibet reports its first case. (India Today)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Tibet
Law and crime
- The Virginia, Nevada, and Illinois state attorneys general file a lawsuit to get the Equal Rights Amendment added to the Constitution of the United States. (CNN)
- Japanese prosecutors issue arrest warrants against a former United States special operations forces soldier and two others for allegedly helping Carlos Ghosn to escape from Japan. Another arrest warrant was issued against Ghosn himself. (Reuters)
- The U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports that in August it discovered a 1,313 m (4,308 ft) smuggling tunnel running from Tijuana to San Diego, making it the longest tunnel of its type along the Mexico–United States border. It was possibly used by the Sinaloa Cartel. (BBC News)
- Catholic Cardinal Philippe Barbarin is acquitted by an appellate court of having covered up allegations of child sexual abuse by a former priest. (Reuters)