Portal:Current events/2016 February 3

Current events of February 3, 2016 (2016-02-03) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
  • Three Palestinian terrorists launch a shooting and stabbing attack near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, killing one policewomen and seriously injuring another, and lightly injuring a civilian, before being shot and killed by other security forces at the scene. (The Times of Israel)
  • Two Hamas militants die after a tunnel they were digging from the Gaza Strip into Israel collapses. (AP via LBC)
• Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
  • Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, says that Russia's bombing campaign will continue until terrorist organisations like ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra are defeated; the the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee has voiced outrage at an ongoing government offensive backed by Russian air power and called for a halt to air strikes against civilians, among other demands. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Business and economy

• China's state owned ChemChina offers to buy Swiss pesticide and seed manufacturer Syngenta for $43 billion. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• A Daallo Airlines operated commercial plane, bound for Djibouti, makes an emergency landing at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, following an unexplained explosion that left a gaping hole in its fuselage. Despite reports a person fell out of the hole, Daallo Airlines says all 60 people on board have been accounted for. (BBC)

International relations

• North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
  • Japan puts its military on alert to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatens it following an announcement by North Korea of a planned "Earth observation launch". (Reuters)
  • South Korea warns North Korea of "searing consequences" if it doesn't abandon plans to launch a long-range rocket that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibits the country from engaging in any ballistic activities. (Fox News)

Law and crime

• John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, wanted for murder since 1974, is officially declared dead so that his son can inherit the title. (BBC)

Politics and elections

• United States presidential election, 2016
  • Kentucky Senator Rand Paul suspends his campaign for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. (Vox) (Politico)
  • Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum withdraws from the race. (Washington Post)
• Irish general election, 2016
  • Voters in Ireland will go to the polls on February 26 after the President dissolves the current Dail or parliament. (AAP via News Limited), (BBC)