Portal:Current events/2025 February 4

February 4, 2025 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Gaza war
  - 2025 Gaza war ceasefire, Israel–United States relations
    - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. President Donald Trump amidst a second phase of negotiations for the ceasefire on the Gaza Strip. (NPR)
    - U.S. President Donald Trump announces a plan where the U.S. would seek "long-term ownership" of Gaza, and that the U.S. military would be in charge of Gaza's redevelopment into “The Riviera of the Middle East” for "the world's people." Trump also says Palestinians will have no choice but to leave the territory. (Reuters) (The Guardian) (AP)
  - Israeli incursions in the West Bank during the Gaza war
    - Two Israeli soldiers are killed and eight others are injured in a shooting at the Taysir checkpoint by an unknown gunman. (DW)
War against the Islamic State
- War in Somalia
  - Islamic State insurgency in Puntland
    - Puntland Security Forces battle ISIL militants near Dharin, killing at least 40 fighters and injuring others. They claim to have captured the village of Dharin in Togga Jecel of Bari Region, Puntland. (The Somali Digest) (Garowe Online)
  - Jubaland crisis
    - Jubaland forces have regained control of Bardhere District in the Gedo region after withdrawal of federal forces was reportedly linked to the disbandment of units stationed at headquarters for several months. South Somalia (Hiiraan Online)
Russo-Ukrainian War
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
  - Russian attacks on civilians in the Russo-Ukrainian War
    - A Russian missile strikes a residential building in Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, killing four people and injuring twenty others. (Ukrainska Pravda)
  - Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    - Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says in a interview with British journalist Piers Morgan that he is ready for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin if it is a setup to end the war. (Kyiv Independent)
Sudanese civil war
- Battle of Khartoum
  - Engineers in Khartoum are attacked by the Rapid Support Forces while assessing damage on a water plant in Khartoum North. (Sudan Tribune)
  - Six people are killed and 38 others are injured after an attack perpetrated by the RSF hits a hospital in Khartoum. (Anadolu Ajansi)
  - The Sudanese Armed Forces take Al-Kamlin as they advance towards Khartoum. (Sudan Tribune)
Mexican drug war
- A series of shootouts and encounters are reported in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, after the arrest of the regional leader of the Cártel del Noreste and leader of an armed wing in the state. The United States Consulate in Mexico issues an alert for its citizens to not go out on the streets, and the Nuevo Laredo International Airport suspends activities due to the violence. (UNO TV)
- A riot within the Tabasco Social Reinsertion Center in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico, leaves seven inmates dead. This is the second riot in less than two months at the prison. (El Universal)
Spillover of the Ethiopian civil war
- Djiboutian armed forces execute a drone strike near the Ethiopian border, killing eight members of what the government described as a "terrorist group" involved in "hostile actions". The attack also injured an unknown number of civilians. (Hiiraan Online) (VOA)

Arts and culture

49th Imam of Nizari Isma'ilism Aga Khan IV dies at the age of 88. His son Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini will be succeeded as Aga Khan V. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

2025 Potomac River mid-air collision
- The remains of all 67 people who were killed in a collision between a PSA Airlines CRJ700 and a United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk are recovered from the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., United States. (AP)
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243
- An Azerbaijani government source reports that the Azerbaijan Airlines E190 plane was shot down by Russia's Pantsir missile system. (Reuters)

International relations

Moldova–European Union relations
- 2025 Moldovan energy crisis
  - The European Union and Moldova sign an energy deal that will integrate Moldova into the bloc's energy grid after Russia halted gas supplies over an alleged US$709 million unpaid bill. The European Commission says Moldova will receive €250 million ($258 million) this year to help its citizens afford rising energy bills as part of the agreement. (AP)
Second Trump tariffs
- China–United States trade war
  - The United States implements a 10% across-the-board tariff on Chinese products and eliminates the de minimis exemption for exports from China. In response, China imposes retaliatory tariffs on energy products, agricultural equipment, and automobiles from the United States, effective February 10, and export controls on critical minerals. It also adds U.S. companies PVH Corp. and Illumina Inc to its unreliable entities list and launches a probe into U.S. technology company Google for alleged anti-trust violations. (The Guardian)
Iran–United States relations
- U.S. President Donald Trump signs a presidential memorandum reimposing a policy of maximum pressure against Iran. (Reuters)

Law and crime

2025 Risbergska school shooting
- Eleven people are killed and six injured in a mass shooting at the Risbergska School, a municipal adult education centre, in Örebro, Sweden. (BBC News) (SVT) (The Guardian)
2025 New Albany, Ohio shooting
- Two people are killed and five others are injured after a mass shooting at a warehouse in New Albany, Ohio, United States. (ABC News)
Colombian President Gustavo Petro calls for the worldwide legalization of cocaine for recreational use, saying the drug is "no worse than whisky" and that it was only illegal because it is produced in Latin America. (The Times of India)

Politics and elections

Second cabinet of Donald Trump
- The United States Senate confirms Pam Bondi as Attorney General, making her the third female to run the U.S. Justice Department. (NPR)
The U.S. State Department orders the closure of all overseas missions of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and recalls thousands of USAID staff to the United States ahead of the agency's shutdown. (Reuters)