Portal:Current events/2022 February 20

February 20, 2022 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis
  - Belarus–Russia relations
    - Military exercises between Belarusian and Russian forces in Belarus are extended amid tensions with Ukraine. Around 30,000 Russian troops are currently stationed in Belarus, according to NATO. (Reuters)
    - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says a decision by Russia and Belarus to extend military drills is Moscow following its "playbook" for an invasion of Ukraine. (New York Post)
  - France–Russia relations
    - Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron announce that they will work toward a ceasefire agreement in order to avert war with Ukraine. (Firstpost)
  - Russia–United States relations
    - Biden has agreed "in principle" to meet with Putin in French-brokered summit talks as long as Russia does not invade Ukraine, the White House says. (CNN)
  - The United States says it has intelligence indicating orders have been sent to Russian military commanders to proceed with an incursion on Ukraine. (NBC News)
  - U.S. President Joe Biden holds a National Security Council meeting on the ongoing crisis. (Barron's)
  - Following the meeting, Biden abruptly cancels plans to go to his home in Delaware for the Presidents' Day holiday. It is a rare occurrence for a U.S. president's travel plans to change in this manner, especially when the plans involve the president leaving Washington, D.C. (CNBC)
  - Biden speaks with Macron on diplomacy with and deterrence efforts against Russia, after Macron and Putin agreed to work towards a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine. (Asian News International)
  - Satellite imagery shows a shift in Russia's military deployment around Ukraine, with several units or troops deployed outside of bases or training grounds and some positioned along tree lines, according to an analysis by Maxar Technologies, who released the imagery. (CNA)
- War in Donbas
  - The Luhansk People's Republic says that two civilians have been killed by Ukrainian military shelling in the village of Pionerskoye, near the Russia–Ukraine border. Five buildings were also destroyed. (TASS)
Australia–China relations
- Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton reveals that a Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy destroyer fired at a Royal Australian Air Force Boeing P-8 Poseidon over the exclusive economic zone of Australia with a military-grade laser weapon as the ship transited through the Arafura Sea last week. (Sky News Australia)
Seven children are killed and five more are injured during a Nigerian Air Force airstrike in the Maradi region of Niger. The army reported that the airstrike was the result of "a mistake on the border". (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

Suisse secrets
- Leaked data from Credit Suisse exposes the identities of over 30,000 of the bank's clients whose anonymous numbered Swiss bank accounts, which collectively held over $100 billion, had allowed them to keep their identities secret. Its clients included heads of state (such as king Abdullah II of Jordan), human rights abusers, drug traffickers, intelligence officials, and individuals under sanctions or involved in financial crimes such as tax evasion or corruption, among others. The secret data from Switzerland's second largest bank was leaked about 1 year ago to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and was analyzed by the non-profit Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and 46 other news organizations, including The New York Times, Le Monde and The Guardian. (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) (AP) (The Guardian) (The New York Times)
The controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam begins producing electricity, with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed attending the inauguration of the dam. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Italy
      - The Italian Health ministry recommends that severely immunocompromised people should receive a fourth dose of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine at least 120 days after receiving their previous booster. (U.S. News & World Report)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - Queen Elizabeth II tests positive for COVID-19 with "mild cold-like symptoms". (BBC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in California
    - COVID-19 pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area
      - The Point Bonita Lighthouse, a lighthouse located at the Marin Headlands near Sausalito, reopens to visitors for the first time after two years of closure due to the pandemic. (CBS News)

International relations

Cross-Strait relations
- Taiwan announces that its army will conduct live military drills next month which will simulate an invasion attempt of its islets of Dongyin and Kinmen, and its coast guard will conduct similar drills near Pratas Island, amid rising tensions between Taiwan and China. (South China Morning Post)
Nepal–United States relations, Millennium Challenge Corporation's Nepal Compact
- Hundreds of protestors gather outside the Nepalese parliament in Kathmandu in order to protest a United States grant from the Millennium Challenge Corporation for infrastructure projects, stating the deal undermines Nepal's sovereignty. Several protesters are injured following clashes with police. (BBC News)

Sports

2022 Winter Olympics
- The closing ceremony for the Winter Olympics is held in Beijing. (NPR)
2022 NASCAR Cup Series
- Rookie Austin Cindric wins the 64th running of the Daytona 500, becoming the ninth driver to score his first career Cup Series victory in the event. (Fox Sports)
Juwan Howard, head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team, strikes Joe Krabbenhoft, assistant coach of the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team, in an altercation following a 76–61 loss to the Badgers. Howard says Greg Gard, the Badgers' head coach, touched him in the handshake line, and that he was also upset that Gard had called a timeout with 20 seconds left in the game, which Gard had done to avoid a 10-second violation. (Sports Illustrated)