January 31, 2016 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Boko Haram insurgency
- 2016 Dalori attack
- At least 100 people are killed and hundreds others injured in an attack by Boko Haram militants on Dalori Village 4 kilometers from Maiduguri, Nigeria. (Sahara Reporters)
- 2016 Dalori attack
- Syrian Civil War
- 2016 Sayyidah Zaynab bombings
- At least 60 people are killed and 110 wounded in a twin-suicide bomb attack in the town of Sayyidah Zaynab, Rif Dimashq Governorate, near Syria's holiest Shi'ite shrine, the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claim responsibility for the attack. (NBC News) (The Jerusalem Post)
- 2016 Sayyidah Zaynab bombings
- Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- Yemen's top salafist cleric, Samahan Abdel-Aziz, is found dead, with signs of torture, in Sheikh Othman, Aden Governorate, after being abducted by gunmen outside his mosque after delivering a sermon against Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. (AP)
Disasters and accidents
- 2015–16 Australian region cyclone season
- Tropical Cyclone Stan makes landfall on the Western Australian coast east of Pardoo. (ABC News Australia)
- Seven people are killed after a truck collides with a train near Cairo, Egypt. (Business Standard)
- At least 21 people are killed and 16 injured in a multi-car pile-up on a road near the city of Beni Suef, Egypt. (Omaha)
- A huge fire at a factory in Moscow's eastern Sokolniki District, kills at least 12 people. Police suspect arson may be involved. (RT)
International relations
- North Korea and weapons of mass destruction, Japan–North Korea relations
- Japan deploys two MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile interceptor systems in Tokyo in preparation for any North Korean ballistic missiles potentially heading for the city. The deployment comes amid concerns of an imminent North Korean missile launch following the detection of "increased activity" at a North Korean missile facility. (RT)
Sport
- 2016 Australian Open
- In tennis, defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia defeats second seed Andy Murray of the United Kingdom in the men's singles in straight sets. It is Djokovic's third straight Grand Slam title. (ABC News Australia) (BBC)