Portal:Current events/2012 February 1

Current events of February 1, 2012 (2012-02-01) (Wednesday)

Armed conflict and attacks

• The Times of London reports that a secret NATO report claims that the Taliban, backed by Pakistan, is set to regain control over Afghanistan after international forces withdraw from the country. (Reuters)
• The Xinhua news agency reports that 25 Chinese workers held captive in the Sinai region of Egypt have been released. (CNN)
• The official China Daily claims that recent violence in Sichuan was provoked by Tibetan separatists. (AP via ABC News America)
• Pakistan Air Force jets bomb militant positions in the Orakzai and Kurram Agency areas near the border with Afghanistan with claims that 31 alleged insurgents were killed. (AP via Washington Post)

Business and economy

• Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Hong Kong ban poultry imports from the Australian state of Victoria while Japan bans imports from the whole of Australia following a bird flu outbreak. (ABC News Australia)

Law and crime

• England national football team and Chelsea captain John Terry faces charges at the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London that he racially abused Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand during a match in October . (Reuters via Yahoo News Australia)