Portal:Current events/2017 January 31

January 31, 2017 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian opposition agrees to surrender their remaining villages in the stretch between the Wadi Barada area and the Lebanon-Syria border, as well as the Rankous borderange for transportation of at least 250 rebel fighters to their stronghold in the Idlib Governorate. (Al Masdar News)

Arts and culture

agrees to ban the full-face veil (burqa and niqāb) in public spaces, part of a larger deal struck by the center-left Social Democratic Party and the center-right Austrian People's Party to avoid the collapse of the ruling coalition government. (BBC) (The Christian Science Monitor)

Business and economics

Consultancy PwC says that global banks with business both in London and on the European continent must plan for a hard Brexit that entails a break with many of the benefits of the Euro system, and a short transition period. (Reuters)

International relations

Enlargement of the African Union
- Morocco rejoins the African Union after a 33-year absence, despite opposition from several member states over the political status of Western Sahara. (Al Jazeera)
White House National Trade Council director Peter Navarro says Germany exploits other countries with a "grossly undervalued" euro. German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejects the allegation. (Bloomberg) (CNBC)

Law and crime

Susan Kiefel is sworn in as the first female Chief Justice of Australia. (Radio National)
Alan Turing law
- The United Kingdom posthumously pardons around 49,000 gay and bisexual men found guilty of decades-old sodomy laws in England and Wales. Those still living can apply for a statutory pardon. (BBC)
The Kremlin arrests four people, Kaspersky Lab's Ruslan Stoyanov, and three officials in the Federal Security Service (FSB previously KGB) Center for Information Security, reportedly on treason charges for passing information to America's CIA. (New York Daily News) (The Washington Times) (The New York Times) (AP)
2008 Mumbai attacks
- Pakistan detains Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the suspected mastermind of the 2008 attacks in the Indian city. Saeed, co-founder of the active terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, is being held under house arrest in Lahore in Pakistan's Punjab Province. Four other men are also under house arrest in the area. (CNN) (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

Presidency of Donald Trump
- Cabinet of Donald Trump
  - The U.S. Senate confirms former U.S. labor secretary and deputy transportation secretary Elaine Chao as Secretary of Transportation. Chao is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. (The Washington Post)
- Supreme Court of the United States
  - President Donald Trump has nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. Neil Gorsuch is the youngest nominee to the court in 25 years. (CNN)
- Executive Order 13769
  - The State Department memorandum about concerns with this travel ban is submitted to acting Secretary of State Tom Shannon through the federal government's Dissent Channel. This protest memo had between 900-1,000 signatures. Department officials said these signatures are far more than any dissent cable in recent years, adding more diplomats want to add their names to it. (The New York Times) (Reuters and AFP-JIJI via The Japan Times) (Voice of America)
2017 Romanian protests
- Despite massive protests in recent days, Romania's government adopts an emergency ordinance to decriminalize some graft offences. (Reuters)