February 1, 2023 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Russian Iskander-K ballistic missile destroys an apartment complex in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, killing at least three people and injuring 20 others, according to local officials. (Reuters)
- Attacks on civilians in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Kivu conflict
- M23 offensive
- M23 insurgents capture the town of Kitshanga in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, after days of heavy fighting. The DRC army confirms the withdrawal of its troops from the town, saying that it was a "tactical move to protect civilians". (Al Jazeera)
- M23 offensive
- Syrian civil war
- Northwestern Syria clashes
- Eight soldiers are killed near Kafr Rumah in Idlib Governorate by Tahrir al-Sham militants. (AFP via Barron's)
- Northwestern Syria clashes
- 2018–2023 Haitian crisis
- Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness says that his government is willing to send troops to Haiti as part of a "multinational security assistance deployment". (Reuters)
Business and economy
- Lebanese liquidity crisis
- The central bank of Lebanon devalues the Lebanese pound by 90% amid an ongoing financial crisis. (Reuters)
- 2021–present United Kingdom cost of living crisis
- More than 500,000 workers across multiple public sectors go on strike in the United Kingdom, forcing thousands of schools to close and many services to be delayed or cancelled, amid disputes over pay and working conditions. It is the largest industrial action in the UK since 2010. (CNBC)
- 2021–2023 inflation surge
- U.S. payment service provider PayPal announces that it will cut around 2,000 jobs, about 7% of its workforce, citing the "challenging macro-economic environment". (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- January 31 – February 2, 2023 ice storm
- Eight people are killed by a winter storm in Texas, United States. (NBC News)
- Two people are injured after a magnitude 6 earthquake hits Monkayo, Davao de Oro, Philippines. (GMA News Online)
- One person is injured after a magnitude 4.4 earthquake hits Banjar, West Java, Indonesia. (Kompas.com)
- Three people are killed and 32 others are injured after a fire in a hospital in Cairo, Egypt. (AP)
Health and environment
- Western Australian radioactive capsule incident
- A search team from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and WA Fire and Emergency Services announces that they have found the missing caesium-137 capsule around 74 km (46 mi) south of Newman. (ABC News Australia)
- The East Epi submarine volcano in Vanuatu erupts for the first time since 2004, sending ash 90 meters into the air, with a 10 kilometer radius danger zone. (The Washington Post) (RNZ)
Law and crime
- Four people are killed and five others are injured after a mass shooting in KwaMashu, Durban, South Africa. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- 2021–2023 Myanmar civil war
- 2023 Myanmar general election
- Two years after Myanmar's military overthrew the country's democratically-elected government, the State Administration Council extends the country's state of emergency for another six months, thereby postponing the general election initially scheduled for August 1. (AFP via France 24)
- 2023 Myanmar general election
Science and technology
- Long-period comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) makes its closest approach to Earth after reaching its perihelion on January 12. (ABC News)