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The Dáil chamber

Shootings in Hanau, Germany, leave eleven people dead and five others wounded.
The Irish general election concludes with no party holding a majority of seats in Dáil Éireann (chamber pictured).
South Korean film Parasite wins four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Bong Joon-ho.
A mass shooting in Korat, Thailand, leaves thirty people dead and more than fifty others injured.

February 24, 2020 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatens Gaza’s leaders with war if rocket fire continues. (News AU)

Business and economy

2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average is set to drop as much as 800 points as the coronavirus outbreak spreads outside of China. This follows benchmark indexes falling sharply in Europe after steep declines across Asia. (Barrons), (Wall Street Journal)

Health and environment

2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
- 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Iran
  - Armenia has closed its border from Meghri with Iran and suspended all flights from Armenia to Iran for the next two weeks due to increasing cases of coronavirus in Iran. (Prime Minister of Armenia's Facebook page)
- 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Italy
  - Seventy-four more coronavirus cases are confirmed in Italy, bringing the number to 229. Three more virus-related deaths are also confirmed, bringing the death toll to six. (La Repubblica)
- 2020 coronavirus outbreak in South Korea
  - Vietnamese airline Bamboo Airways suspends flights to South Korea starting from February 26th. (CNN)
- Mainland China during the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
  - Pakistan International Airlines suspends flight operations to China until March 15. (Geo News)
  - A 300-bed isolation ward has been set up in Islamabad for Chinese citizens returning to Pakistan after vacations. (ARY News)

International relations

India–United States relations
- U.S. President Donald Trump visits India and meets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss a possible new trade deal. (NPR)(ARY News)

Law and crime

The United States wants WikiLeaks’s creator Julian Assange on espionage charges. (NBC News)
Prime Minister of Lesotho Tom Thabane appears in court and hears the charges against him in a pre-trial hearing. He denies involvement in the murder of his former wife and requests immunity from the higher court. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2020 Dominican Republic municipal elections
- The Organization of American States begins an audit of the suspended elections. (Dominican Today)
Politics of Malaysia
- Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad resigns. (CNN)

February 23, 2020 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Israel kills two members of Islamic Jihad in an aerial attack near Damascus, Syria. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

The Carnival of Aalst in Belgium goes ahead despite UNESCO withdrawing its recognition of the event as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity because of Jewish caricatures. (Reuters) (newsmonkey)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Iran–Turkey earthquake
- An earthquake in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran, kills at least nine people and injures more than a hundred others. (Daily Sabah)

Health and environment

2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
- 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Italy
  - Seventy-six more coronavirus cases are confirmed in Italy, bringing the number of the cases in the country to 155. (La Repubblica)
  - A 68-year-old woman dies of coronavirus in Crema, Italy, bringing the number of deaths in the country to three. (Tgcom24)
- 2020 coronavirus outbreak in South Korea
  - South Korea confirms that 169 more people have contracted the coronavirus in the country, raising the total number to 602. (BBC)
- 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Iran
  - Pakistan has closed its border from Taftan with Iran due to increasing cases of coronavirus in Iran. (Geo News)
  - Turkey has closed its border with Iran and halted incoming flights due to increasing cases of coronavirus in Iran. (Reuters)
  - Afghanistan suspended travel between it and Iran and reported three suspected virus cases in Herat. (TRT World)

Politics and elections

2020 Comorian legislative election
- The second round of the latest election in Comoros takes place. The election is still boycotted by the political opposition. (RFI)
2020 Dominican Republic municipal elections
- Protests begin in New York and Massachusetts in the United States, Paris in France, Toronto in Canada, Madrid, Navarre, and Barcelona in Spain, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and London in England. (Dominican Today)
- Protestors demand the Central Electoral Board resign. (Dominican Today)

February 22, 2020 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Kashmir conflict
- Two Kashmiri civilians alleged to be Lashkar-e-Taiba militants are killed by Indian soldiers at Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir, in a counter-terrorism operation. (DNA India) (ARY News)
Five terrorists are killed in Peshawar, Khyber Paktunkhwa, Pakistan, by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in a heavy exchange of fire during a search operation. (Geo News)

Health and environment

2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
- 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Italy
  - Italy confirms that a 78-year-old man in Padua, Veneto, and a woman in her 70s in Codogno, Lombardy, have died after contracting the virus. They are the first two coronavirus deaths in Italy. (Tgcom24)
  - 58 more coronavirus cases are confirmed in Italy, bringing the number of cases to 79. (Open)
- 2020 coronavirus outbreak in South Korea
  - South Korea confirms that 229 more people have contracted the coronavirus in the country, raising the total number to 433. (BBC)
- 2020 coronavirus outbreak in the United States
  - The United States reports 34 confirmed cases of the illness and expects more. (The New York Times)
- 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Asia
  - The first coronavirus case is confirmed in Iraq. (Anadolu Agency)
  - Samoa bans all cruise ships from visiting the country amid growing efforts to keep the virus away. (RNZ)

France shuts down its first nuclear power reactor, at the Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant. (Deutsche Welle)

Law and crime

Lesotho PM Tom Thabane is granted sick leave until 27 February when he is due to appear in court for the murder of his former wife. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2020 Dominican Republic municipal elections
- The Dominican Republic government wants the Organization of American States to investigate what occurred in the controversial February 16 elections. (Dominican Today)
2020 Togolese presidential election
- Voters in Togo head to the polls to elect the country's president. Incumbent president Faure Gnassingbé, accused of an authoritarian rule, seeks to run for a fourth term which was made possible by a constitutional amendment in 2019. (DW)
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
- Senator Bernie Sanders wins the Nevada Caucus. (CNN)

February 21, 2020 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present), Afghan peace process
- A seven-day "reduction of violence" between United States troops, Afghan troops, and the Taliban is due to start at midnight local time (19:30 UTC). If the partial truce is successful, a US–Taliban agreement on withdrawing American troops would be signed on February 29. (NBC News)
Kashmir conflict
- India and Pakistan have engaged in a military confrontation across the de facto border in Kashmir; Indian and Pakistani forces exchanged fire near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir. One Pakistani soldier died in the exchange of fire. (Hindustan Times)

Health and environment

2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
- Israel and Lebanon report their first cases of 2019-nCoV coronavirus. (Al Jazeera)
- Italy confirms 18 more coronavirus cases in the country, bringing the confirmed cases to twenty-one. All eighteen are Italian citizens. (Corriere della Sera)
- North Korea cancels this year's Pyongyang Marathon due to concerns about coronavirus. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

Prime Minister of Lesotho Tom Thabane fails to appear in court for the murder of his former wife, and his son says he has traveled to South Africa to see a doctor. Police warn that if he does not return, they will issue an arrest warrant. (Reuters) (Independent Online)
The Constitutional Court of Thailand orders the Future Forward Party to be dissolved. (ABC News)
Mexico extradites Rubén Oseguera González, the son of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, to the United States to face drug charges. Cervantes is the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. (ABC News)
Wells Fargo is set to pay $3 billion over their 2016 scandal of creating fake accounts in customers' names. (NBC News)

Politics and elections

2020 Dominican Republic municipal elections
- The major opposition party PRM asked for protection for its presidential security chief. (Dominican Today)
- The Protest in Black continues into the fourth day. (Dominican Today)
- Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez Sánchez launches a plan to sequester the Justice Ministry for partisan purposes. (Dominican Today)

2020 Iranian legislative election
- Parliamentary elections are being held in Iran. The election is criticized for the barring of around 9,000 candidates, thus raising the concerns of an unusual low voter turnout. (DW) (The Guardian)

February 20, 2020 (Thursday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–present), Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War
- Turkish-backed rebels launch an offensive in the Idlib Governorate against government forces. A Russian air strike kills two Turkish soldiers and wounds five others, while Turkey says a retaliatory strike killed 50 Syrian troops. Several tanks and armoured personnel carriers are destroyed near the village of Nayrab. (News AU) (Al Jazeera)
- Turkey formally requests the deployment of Patriot surface-to-air missile systems by its NATO ally United States on the Syria–Turkey border to deter Syrian and Russian air strikes on its troops. (The Telegraph) (Al Masdar News)

Art and culture

An 18th-century Ethiopian ceremonial crown, one of the 20 in existence, is returned to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. It was discovered in the Netherlands in 1998, and was held by Dutch authorities until now so it could be returned when the country was more politically stable. (BBC)

Business and economy

Morgan Stanley purchases electronic trading firm E-Trade for US$13 billion, in the largest banking deal since the 2008 financial crisis. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Wallan derailment
- A XPT train derails in Victoria, Australia, killing two people. (The Guardian)
A 200-car pileup in La Prairie, Quebec, Canada, kills two people and injures 69 others. (News AU)

Health and environment

2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
- South Korea reports its first death from COVID-19. (Sputnik)
- Two Japanese passengers who were on board of the Diamond Princess cruise ship have died from the disease. Both, a man and a woman in their 80s, had underlying health conditions. (BBC)
- Australia extends its ban on travel from China for the fourth week in a row. (The Guardian)

International relations

The Guardian reveals that Australian ambassador to Myanmar Andrea Faulkner met with Commander-in-chief of the Burmese Armed Forces Min Aung Hlaing last month to discuss improving relations between the two nations and possibly training Hlaing's officers in Australia, among others. Human Rights Watch criticized this meeting as enabling Hlaing's genocide against the Rohingya. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

Weeks after the First Lady of Lesotho Maesiah Thabane was arrested and charged with the killing of former First Lady Lipolelo Thabane, it is announced that current Prime Minister of Lesotho Tom Thabane will also be charged with the murder in the upcoming hours. He also announced he will be stepping down at the end of July citing old age. (Reuters)
Criminal charges brought in the Special Counsel investigation (2017–2019)
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentences Roger Stone, long-time adviser and ally to the President of the United States Donald Trump, to 40 months in federal prison for seven charges of obstruction, lying to Congress and witness tampering. (CNN) (BBC)
New Mexican Attorney General Hector Balderas sues Google for allegedly collecting private information of the state's schoolchildren without parental consent. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2020 Dominican Republic municipal elections
- Protests happen in major Dominican Republic cities over the election problems. (Dominican Today)
- Col. Ramón A. Guzmán and Claro telecom technician Manuel Antonio Regalado were arrested for the election sabotage. (Dominican Today)
2020 Brazilian municipal elections
- The Niterói branch of the Socialism and Freedom Party receives an anonymous letter threatening the party's headquarters and militants if they participate in the local elections. The letter also contains antisemitic, anticommunist, and white supremacist messages. (G1)
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit and SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar agree to form a unity government by Saturday, in a major step to end the South Sudanese Civil War. (Al Jazeera)
The California State Legislature unanimously passes a resolution apologizing for the state's role in interning Japanese-Americans during World War II. (The Guardian)
Aftermath of the 2020 Irish general election
- The 33rd Dáil Éireann meets for the election of the Taoiseach (head of government) and Ceann Comhairle (speaker of parliament).
- Seán Ó Fearghaíl of Fianna Fáil is re-elected as Ceann Comhairle. No candidate for Taoiseach attains the 80 votes required to form a government. The Dáil adjourns until March 5. (RTÉ)
- Incumbent Taoiseach Leo Varadkar offers his resignation to President Michael D. Higgins, but will remain as Taoiseach in a caretaker capacity until the formation of a new government. (Sky News)

February 19, 2020 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Hanau shootings
- Nine people are killed and five others injured in two mass shootings at shisha bars in Hanau, Hesse, Germany. The attacker also kills his mother and then himself in their apartment. He expressed far-right views in a letter of confession and video. (The Guardian)
El Salini attack
- Twelve Somali soldiers are killed when a suicide bomber and gunmen storm a military base in Lower Shabelle. The militants briefly capture the base before it is reclaimed. Al-Shabaab claim responsibility. (Reuters)
Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–present), Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calls a Turkish intervention in Syria's Idlib Governorate "imminent" after talks with Russia fail to reach what he describes as their "desired result". Erdoğan threatens to launch an operation in Idlib by the end of the month. Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov calls Turkish involvement in the battle "the worst scenario". The countries support opposing sides in the war. (Al Jazeera)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- Ceasefire talks between the Tobruk-led government and the GNA are suspended as rocket attacks bombard Tripoli. (BBC)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- A convoy carrying Yemeni Defense Minister Mohammed Ali Al-Maqdashi in Ma'rib Governorate strikes a landmine, killing six people. The Defense Minister survives the blast. (Anadolu Agency)

Business and economy

American fast fashion chain Forever 21 is purchased by real estate companies Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners, and brand management firm Authentic Brands Group in a deal to save it from bankruptcy. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Aftermath of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
- Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says that high-ranking Malaysian officials believed pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah deliberately downed the plane. (Fox News)

Health and environment

2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
- The Tokyo Marathon reduces the number of runners from 38,000 to an elite group of 200 due to the rising coronavirus fear. (NOJ)
- Iran reports its first two cases of the virus. Hours later, it was announced both infected people have died. (Times of Israel) (Al Jazerra)
- Hundreds of passengers aboard the Diamond Princess are allowed to disembark the ship. The vessel has been quarantined since docking in Yokohama on 4 February. Criticism mounts against the Japanese government's handling of the quarantine. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Domestic violence in Australia
- A mother and her three children are killed in a car fire in Brisbane, Australia, in a targeted familicide carjacking by former New Zealand Warriors player Rowan Baxter. He was the ex-husband of the woman and father of the children, who committed suicide at the scene. (News.com.au)
China expels three journalists of The Wall Street Journal over an opinion piece called "China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia" that was deemed racist. The government demanded the newspaper apologize, which it declined. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang says the journalists have five days to leave the country and says the article "denigrated" China's efforts to combat the virus. (BBC)
Brazilian Senator Cid Gomes is shot during a clash with striking military police officers in Sobral, Ceará. (AP via Yahoo News)
Corruption in Mexico, Operation Car Wash
- Mexican law enforcement launches a corruption inquiry into former President Enrique Peña Nieto, as part of a larger investigation into bribery and money laundering by former Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya Austin involving Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

The Dominican Republic government fires 139 Foreign Ministry officials. (Dominican Today)
The United Kingdom's Home Secretary Priti Patel announces a reform of the UK's immigration system. The changes includes the end of freedom of movement, a minimum requirement of migrants to speak English, a minimum salary of between £20,480 and £25,600, while priority will be given to skilled workers over non-skilled migrants. The changes are effective from January 1, 2021. (BBC)
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
- A recanvass of the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses show Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg at an effective tie, with a margin of 0.0004 percentage points of state delegate equivalents between the two candidates. The Sanders campaign has requested a recount, which may change the initial outcome of the caucus. (AP)

February 18, 2020 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war
- The UNHCHR Michelle Bachelet says she is "horrified" by the deliberate targeting of civilians in the recent offensive in northwestern Syria and accuses the parties involved. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

An empty sarcophagus is discovered by archeologists while excavating the Roman Forum. It appears to be dedicated to Romulus, the founder of Rome. (Fox News)

Business and economy

The Boy Scouts of America file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as the result of multiple sex abuse lawsuits. (The Wall Street Journal) (Scouting Newsroom)
American retailer Macy's announces it will close 125 stores over the next three years, citing competition from online sellers, including Amazon. (USA Today)
International sanctions during the Venezuelan crisis
- The U.S. State Department adds Russian oil company Rosneft Trading S.A. to its financial blacklist for helping facilitate the sale of Venezuelan oil. (ABC News)

Disasters and accidents

2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
- Chinese state media reports that the director of the central Wuhan Wuchang Hospital has died from the virus. (Reuters)
- Russia says it will temporarily block Chinese citizens beginning on February 20 from entering its territory as authorities look to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus outbreak. (Radio Free Europe)
A fire at a library in Porterville, California leaves one firefighter dead and another missing. (NBC News)

International relations

Russian espionage in the United States
- U.S. federal officials charge Hector Alejandro Cabrera Fuentes, a Mexican citizen, in Miami for allegedly acting on behalf of a Russian agent who recruited him to collect information about the U.S. government and met repeatedly with him in Moscow. (The New York Times) (Politico)

Law and crime

Yukos shareholders v. Russia
- A Dutch appeal court reinstates order for Russia to pay $50 billion over Yukos. (NBC)
A court in Denmark sentences a former public employee to six-and-a-half years in prison for embezzling $17 million in Danish government funds intended for the poor. She will not appeal the sentence, according to her lawyer. (Reuters)
U.S. President Donald Trump grants clemency to former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich for attempting to sell former president Barack Obama's Senate seat in 2008, and pardons former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, junk bond salesman Michael Milken, and former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. for their numerous felonies and frauds. (CNN)
A shooting in Flint, Michigan leaves three people dead. (WJRT-TV)

Politics and elections

2019 Afghan presidential election
- Almost five months after the vote, Afghanistan's electoral institution declares incumbent President Ashraf Ghani as the winner of the election. (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a presidential order sacking senior adviser Vladislav Surkov. Surkov was in charge of the Kremlin's policy on the Ukrainian crisis and its relations with the separatist "people's republics" in the Donbass. (Voice of America)

Science and technology

Archeologists announce an articulated Neanderthal skeleton was unearthed in Shanidar Cave, Iraq, the first discovery of its type in over a decade. They argue the find provided further proof that Neanderthals buried their dead, as it was next to a site where similar bodies were found surrounded by pollen clumps. (BBC)

More February 2020 events...

Time: 14:34 UTC|Day: 24 February