Portal:Current events/2014 February 11

February 11, 2014 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S withdraw):
- Sixteen Iraqi soldiers are killed by militants in an attack on military outposts protecting an oil pipeline in northern Iraq. (Reuters)
War in North-West Pakistan:
- At least 11 people are killed after a grenade is thrown into a movie theatre in the city of Peshawar. (Voice of America)

Disasters and accidents

2013–14 Australian bushfire season:
- Bushfires continue to burn in the state of Victoria with at least 34 houses lost. (Herald-Sun)
2013-14 United Kingdom floods:
- The British Geological Society warns that 1.6 million properties in England and Wales are at risk from groundwater flooding with flood risks likely to be high until at least May. (Sky News)
- Thousands of properties in South East England are at risk of flooding as the River Thames continues to rise with hundreds of properties in Berkshire and Surrey already flooded. (Sky News)
A military transport plane has crashed in a mountainous area of Oum El Bouaghi Province in eastern Algeria, killing 77 people. (Reuters) (BBC News)

International relations

The first governmental meetings occur between the People's Republic of China (China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) after a 65-year hiatus. (AFP via Google News)
Under pressure to extract natural gas reserves, talks occur over the Cyprus dispute. (AFP via Google News)
Talks between North Korea and the United States occur, with North and South Korea scheduled to start high-level talks tomorrow. (CNN)
The second round of the Geneva II discussion occurs. (AFP via Google News)
Talks between Cuba and the EU occur on restoring ties. (BBC News)
The Arleigh Burke-class missile destroyer USS Donald Cook of the U.S. Navy arrives at a Spanish base in Rota to begin deployment with the U.S. 6th Fleet. (Stars and Stripes)

Politics and elections

The Republican Party-controlled U.S. House of Representatives votes to raise the government's borrowing limit for the next year, without attaching conditions, and sends the measure to the Senate for approval. (CNN)
Kevin Faulconer is elected as Mayor of San Diego, California. (New York Times)

Sport

2014 Winter Olympics:
- The International Olympic Committee lifts the suspension of the Indian Olympic Association effective immediately. Indian athletes are now able to compete at the 2014 Winter Olympics under their nation's flag. (BBC News)