Portal:Current events/2017 January 30

January 30, 2017 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Donbass
- The Ukrainian military says seven soldiers have been killed by pro-Russian separatists since Sunday. The separatists report over 5 days of artillery attacks on them by the Ukrainian side. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention
- The Russian Defence Ministry says six Russian bombers hit ISIL positions in Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate. (Reuters)
Insurgency in the North Caucasus
- At least two police officers and three suspected militants are killed during a gunfight in Shali, Chechnya. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Yemeni Civil War
- A suspected U.S. drone strike kills two al-Qaida militants in central Shabwa province, according to Yemeni security and tribal officials. (AP) (CBC News)
- Houthi forces attack a Royal Saudi Navy frigate off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea, killing at least two sailors and wounding three others. (Fox News)
Tens of thousands of people, including politicians and activists, gather for the funeral of Ko Ni, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi's longtime adviser, who was assassinated yesterday as he walked out of the Yangon International Airport. (AP) (Al Jazeera)
Quebec City mosque shooting
- French-Canadian student Alexandre Bissonnette is charged with six counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder in relation to an attack on a mosque in Quebec City. (Reuters/AP via ABC News Australia)

Arts and culture

Miss Universe 2016
- Iris Mittenaere, winner of Miss France 2016, is crowned as the winner of Miss Universe 2016 at a ceremony in the Philippines. (AP)

Business and economics

Walgreens Boots Alliance reduces its offer price for Rite Aid and defers the expected closing date by six months due to concerns about regulatory approval. (The New York Times) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Several avalanches in Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan, caused by heavy snowfall over the weekend, leave at least seven people dead. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

International relations

United Kingdom–United States relations
- A petition, launched Sunday to cancel U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom later this year, tops 1 million signatures, passing the threshold for British Parliament debate. A British government spokesman says the state visit is going ahead as planned. (NBC News)
Iraq–United States relations
- The Iraqi Parliament votes in favour of a reciprocal travel ban on U.S. citizens if U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order barring citizens of Iraq and six other Muslim-majority countries is not reversed. The Iraqi travel ban will not be implemented while tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers and contractors are involved in the fight against ISIL. (AFP via Daily Mail)

Law and crime

Philippine Drug War
- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte suspends the war on drugs so resources can focus on ridding “corrupt” officers from the Philippine National Police. The cause célèbre is the kidnapping and strangulation of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo last October. (The Daily Telegraph)
Operation Car Wash
- Brazilian police arrest EBX Group CEO Eike Batista for allegedly bribing officials in Rio de Janeiro, including former Governor of Rio de Janeiro Sérgio Cabral Filho. (BBC)
2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt
- In Ankara, the Turkish government opens the trial of 270 suspects charged in July's failed coup in Ankara. The defendants include, in absentia, the alleged mastermind Fethullah Gülen, former NATO Chief of Staff Major General Salih Sevil, and other high-ranking military officials. (Yahoo! News)

Politics and elections

Gambian President Adama Barrow removes "Islamic" from the country's official name. The Gambia will now officially be called The Republic of The Gambia. Barrow also vows to reform the National Intelligence Agency, accused by human rights groups of forced disappearances and torture under Yahya Jammeh. (All Africa)
Executive Order 13769
- White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, during the daily press briefing, says State Department officials should follow the President's program or get new jobs . (AP via Law Vegas Review-Journal) (CNN) (The New York Times)
- Sally Yates, the acting Attorney General of the United States, is fired after ordering employees of the United States Department of Justice not to enforce the President's ban due to personal doubts over its legality. Dana J. Boente becomes the new acting attorney general. (BBC)