January 26, 2020 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- Afghan forces launch ground and air operations against the Taliban, killing 51 of them in nine provinces of the country. Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense say that the military conducted thirteen ground offensives and twelve airstrikes. In the northern province of Balkh, local officials say that three women and four children were killed. (Reuters)
- Syrian Civil War, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020)
- Syrian government forces retake several cities in the Idlib Province area, amid a push from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to recapture the last rebel strongholds. (Reuters)
- Mali War
- Nineteen Malian soldiers are killed in an attack on an army camp. No group has claimed responsibility. (France24)
- 2019–2021 Iraqi protests
- Amid further heavy clashes in Baghdad rockets hit the United States embassy injuring at least one. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
Arts and culture
- 62nd Annual Grammy Awards
- Billie Eilish sweeps the major categories winning Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best New Artist. (Los Angeles Times)
Disasters and accidents
- 2020 Brazilian floods and mudslides
- At least 39 people are dead in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo after heavy rains hit the country's southeast region. (VEJA)
- 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash
- Retired NBA player Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna Bryant, baseball coach John Altobelli, and six other people are killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, U.S. (ABC News)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Mainland China
- A leading group on the prevention and control of the outbreak is established, led by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. The leading group decides to extend the Spring Festival holiday to contain the outbreak. (Xinhua News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Mainland China
Politics and elections
- 2020 Peruvian parliamentary election
- People in Peru head to the polls to elect the members of the country's congress after its dissolution in September 2019. (BBC News)
- Trump–Ukraine scandal
- An unpublished manuscript of former National Security Advisor John Bolton's book The Room Where It Happened reveals that President Donald Trump told him that unfreezing military aid to Ukraine was conditional on their performing investigations into Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. (The New York Times)