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Bong Joon-ho

The Irish general election concludes with no party holding a majority of seats in Dáil Éireann.
South Korean film Parasite wins four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Bong Joon-ho (pictured).
A mass shooting in Korat, Thailand, leaves 30 people dead and more than 50 others injured.
Two avalanches near the Turkish town of Bahçesaray kill at least 41 people.

February 17, 2020 (Monday)

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February 16, 2020 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

South Sudanese Civil War
- SPLM-IO leader and former Vice President Riek Machar rejects a peace proposal by President Salva Kiir Mayardit. While Machar welcomes the provision to reduce the number of states from 32 to 10, he opposes the creation of three administrative areas. (Al Jazeera)
Syrian civil war
- Backed by Russian airstrikes, Syrian forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad take control of most of Aleppo Province. (Reuters)

Business and economy

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri rules that chemical companies Bayer and BASF are accountable for the adverse effects of their Dicamba-based herbicides on American farmlands, and awards the plaintiff, a peach farmer, US$265 million in damages. Bayer announces it will appeal. (Reuters)
A German court orders Tesla, Inc. to temporarily halt construction of its gigafactory in Grünheide, Bradenburg due to the threat it poses to the local wildlife and water supplies. (BBC)

Law and crime

Azerbaijani police detain three opposition party leaders and more than 100 activists for attempting to protest the results of last week's parliamentary election. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2020 Paris municipal election
- French Health Minister Agnès Buzyn announces she will run for the Parisian mayoral position on the La République En Marche! ticket, after the party's original candidate Benjamin Griveaux withdrew yesterday due to a sexting scandal. (Reuters)
2020 North Macedonian parliamentary election
- The Assembly of North Macedonia votes 108–12 to dissolve itself after accession talks with the European Union stalled last month, and sets the parliamentary election date for April 12.

February 15, 2020 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- The Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of airstrikes that killed 30 people, including civilians, in Al Jawf Governorate. The Houthis say women and children were among those killed in the strike, which was said to be a retaliation for the downing of a coalition plane the previous day. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
- The first death from the disease inside Europe occurs in France. He was an 80-year-old Chinese tourist who had arrived in Paris with symptoms of the illness on January 16. (BBC)
Storm Dennis
- The British Army is deployed to help with rescue efforts as the bomb cyclone kills two people. (UPI)

International relations

Australia–United Kingdom relations
- Several senior Australian MPs cancel a planned trip to the United Kingdom next month due to the latter allowing Huawei to help build its national 5G network. Australia had banned the Chinese telecom from participating in their network due to security concerns. (BBC)
India–Turkey relations
- Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar tells Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to "not interfere in India's internal affairs" after he and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan issued a joint declaration yesterday condemning the lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

2020 Labour Party leadership election
- Shadow First Secretary of State Emily Thornberry is eliminated from the UK Labour leadership race after falling two nominations short of advancing to the next round. (BBC)

February 14, 2020 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (November 2019–present)
- A Syrian Air Force helicopter is shot down by a surface-to-air missile over the Aleppo countryside, killing both pilots. It is the second Syrian helicopter to be shot down this week by Turkish-backed forces. (Middle East Eye) (Xinhuanet)
Remains of 6,032 people are found with thousands of bullets in six mass graves in Karuzi Province, Burundi, the largest find yet of an excavation project into atrocities of the Burundian Civil War. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Nepalese Sherpas condemn the Nepalese government's plan to use the army to clear rubbish from the top of Mount Everest and five other Himalayan peaks, saying only experienced Sherpas can reach those places. An army spokesman says the army will be able to reach all those summits. (BBC)

Business and economy

Facebook and Instagram amend their advertising policies so that politicians are allowed to use influencers to promote their campaigns, in response to U.S. presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg using them to advertise his candidacy without being subjected to both sites' regulations on political ads. (Politico) (The Guardian)
Twenty-one U.S. states reject a US$18 billion settlement offer by pharmaceutical manufacturers, such as McKesson Corporation and Johnson & Johnson, for their role in the opioid crisis. (Al Jazeera)
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration allows U.S. airlines to resume flight paths over much of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, after suspending it last month due to escalating military tensions with Iran. (Reuters)

Health and environment

2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
- The first case of coronavirus infection in the African continent is reported in Egypt. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

Belarus–Russia relations
- Belarus threatens to take oil from the Druzhba pipeline which carries Russian oil to central Europe across its territory, if Russia does not supply it with the required volumes of crude oil. Russian oil supplies to Belarus have not been agreed for 2020 and shipments have dwindled to 500,000 tonnes, down from a planned 2 million tonnes. (Reuters)
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says Moscow hinted at an energy supply deal in exchange for Belarus merging with Russia, which caused talks to collapse. (Reuters) (The New York Times)
Sri Lanka–United States relations
- The U.S. State Department sanctions Sri Lankan Army Commander Shavendra Silva for alleged human rights violations during the final phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War. (Reuters)
Kosovo–Serbia relations
- Kosovar President Hashim Thaçi and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić agree to connect the capitals of their respective countries by rail and roads, in a deal brokered by the United States. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

A court in Istanbul, Turkey, acquits novelist Aslı Erdoğan of charges of terrorist group membership and "undermining national unity". She was one of several staff members of the pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem accused of having ties to Kurdish militants. (Reuters)
Twelve men are arrested in Germany for attempting to start a far-right organization aimed at carrying out attacks against politicians, asylum seekers, and Muslims. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

2019–20 Algerian protests
- Thousands of Algerians march in the capital of Algiers as the first anniversary of the protests nears, repeating their calls for overhauling the political system and ending corruption. (Reuters)
Indigenous land claims in Canada
- Canadian National suspends operations of its railroad network in eastern Canada, and Via Rail cancels most passenger inter-city rail service in Canada, in response to a blockade by First Nations activists, in support of the Unistʼotʼen Camp in Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nation territory in British Columbia protesting the Coastal GasLink Pipeline project. (CBC News)

Sports

Manchester City F.C. is banned from European club competition, among which the UEFA Champions League, for two seasons, and is fined €30 million, for deliberately inflating the value of their sponsorship deals to get around the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations. The club says it will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. (BBC)

February 13, 2020 (Thursday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says that the U.S. and the Taliban have negotiated a proposal for a seven-day reduction of violence in Afghanistan. (Reuters)
Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian Civil War
- The Israeli Air Force launches an air raid on Iranian targets in the Syrian capital Damascus. Syrian state media says the Air Defense Force intercepted several missiles. (The Jerusalem Post)
Around two dozen heavily armed men dressed in military fatigues storm a court building in El Progreso, north-western Honduras, freeing Alexander Mendoza, a senior leader of the MS-13 gang and killing four police officers. Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández offers a $80,000 reward for information leading to Mendoza's recapture. (BBC)

Arts and culture

45th César Awards
- The entire board of France's César Awards resigns following controversy over the Academy giving Roman Polanski's An Officer and a Spy 12 award nominations, the most out of any film this year. (BBC)

Business and economy

American newspaper publisher McClatchy, whose assets include the Miami Herald and The Sacramento Bee, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (The Hill)
Canadian airplane manufacturer Bombardier sells its remaining stake in the A220 model, previously called the C-Series, to France's Airbus, effectively closing its commercial aviation line of business. (CBC)
Cannabis in the United Kingdom
- The Food Standards Agency gives producers of Cannabidiol-related products until March 2021 to register their goods, or they will be pulled from the market. (BBC)

Health and environment

2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
- Chinese officials report 15,152 new confirmed cases of the 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease (COVID-19) and 254 new deaths in mainland China, the largest single day increase since the outbreak began. However, the number of confirmed cases now also includes the number of clinically diagnosed patients in Hubei province. (CNBC)
- Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reports the country's first death related to the COVID-19 outbreak, a woman in her 80s. (The Japan Times)

International relations

Sudan–United States relations
- As part of government efforts to remove the country from a list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, Sudan agrees to compensate the families of sailors killed in an al-Qaeda attack against the USS Cole. (Reuters)
United States–Venezuela relations
- Venezuelan Foreign Affairs minister Jorge Arreaza announces that his government, led by Nicolás Maduro, will take the U.S. to the International Criminal Court for alleged "crimes against humanity". (Washington Post)

Law and crime

The Indonesian government declares that all nationals who join ISIL automatically lose their citizenship, and refuses to repatriate fighters captured in Syria. (The Jakarta Post)

Politics and elections

2020 British cabinet reshuffle
- Amid a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid resigns as the United Kingdom's Chancellor of the Exchequer after reportedly refusing to sack his adviser team. Javid is replaced by Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rishi Sunak, who becomes the first Hindu to hold the senior position. (Sky News) (The Yorkshire Post)
- The Attorney General for England and Wales Geoffrey Cox is sacked by Johnson. (The Independent)
- Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith, Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom and Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers all leave the government. (BBC)
The U.S. Senate votes 55–45 to pass a measure requiring President Donald Trump to win approval from Congress before taking further military actions against Iran. (Al Jazeera)

February 12, 2020 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- United States Armed Forces open fire and kill a Syrian after a group of government supporters attempted to block a U.S. convoy in protest at a checkpoint near Qamishli, Al-Hasakah Governorate. (MSN) (BBC)

Arts and culture

Pope Francis rules against ordaining married men as priests, a possible measure to counter the shortage of Catholic priests. He also ruled against allowing women to be ordained as deacons. (BBC)
The Ministry of Culture of Colombia designates the Spanish galleon San José as an asset of cultural interest, thus protecting it from commercial exploitation. (RCN)

Business and economy

Climate change mitigation
- BP CEO Bernard Looney announces the oil company will aim for zero carbon emissions by 2050. (Reuters)
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights publishes a list of 112 companies linked to activities related to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
- The United States Postal Service suspends time guarantees for all shipments to China and Hong Kong. (South China Morning Post)
- Tonga refuses entry to four cruise ships due to health warnings following the global coronavirus outbreak. (RNZ)
- The GSM Association decides to cancel this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, amid coronavirus concerns. The event would have been held between February 24 and 27. This is the first time that the mobile communications trade show has been cancelled. (CNBC)
- MS Westerdam, with more than two thousand people on board, is finally granted permission to disembark in Cambodia after several countries deny it permission. (USA Today)

Law and crime

Nissan begins a US$90 million lawsuit against its former chairman Carlos Ghosn. (The Guardian)
More than half of Malta's traffic police officers, including its chief, are arrested for overtime fraud and misuse of public resources. (Reuters)
Trial of Maesiah Thabane
- Lesotho begins a murder investigation of First Lady Maesiah Thabane for the murder of former first lady Lipolelo Thabane and ex-wife of Prime Minister Tom Thabane. (CNN)
The U.S. Department of Education launches an investigation into Harvard and Yale for allegedly accepting billions of dollars in undisclosed gifts from numerous foreign governments, including those from Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia. (BBC)

Politics and elections

2020 U.S. Democratic Party presidential primaries
- Former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick suspends his presidential campaign. (ABC News)
- Iowa Democratic Party chairman Troy Price resigns for his handling of this year's Iowa caucuses. (CNN)
The Italian Senate allows former Minister of the Interior and current senator Matteo Salvini to be tried in a criminal case for illegally detaining migrants last summer. (BBC)

Science and technology

Brazilian scientists announce the discovery of a new amoebic "Yaravirus" in Lake Pampulha. The strain was found to be significantly smaller than any known amoebic virus, and 90% of its genome appears to be genes that have never been seen before in any life-form. (The Independent) (bioRxiv) (Science magazine)
WhatsApp hits two billion users, becoming the second largest social media platform in terms of userbase behind Facebook. (Reuters)

February 11, 2020 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (November 2019–present)
- The Syrian Army and allied militia groups secure the entire length of the strategic M5 Motorway, connecting Damascus and Aleppo, for the first time since 2012. (Reuters)
- A Syrian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter is shot down by Turkish-backed rebel forces near the village of Nayrab in Idlib Governorate, killing both pilots. (Haaretz)
2020 Kabul bombing
- A suicide bombing in Afghanistan's capital Kabul kills six people and injures twelve others. (The Guardian)
2020 Iranian attack on U.S. forces in Iraq
- The Pentagon confirms that the number of U.S. troops who suffered traumatic brain injuries from the Iranian attacks in January is higher than previously stated, now being at 109. (DW)
2019–20 Lebanese protests
- Lebanese protesters attempt to block a confidence vote, and 400 people are injured. The Lebanese Cabinet wins the vote. (MSN) (NBC)

Arts and culture

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
- Siba, a standard Poodle, wins Best in Show Award. (Fox News) (ESPN) (The Guardian)

Business and economy

New York v. Deutsche Telekom
- Victor Marrero, a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, approves the $26 billion USD merger of T-Mobile US and Sprint Corporation. (NBC)
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson approves the High Speed 2 railway project, after many delays and the project going billions of pounds overbudget. (The Guardian)
Softbank, the Japanese venture capital giant, announced fourth quarter results. They were dismal, due especially to Softbank's losses on its Vision Fund. (Reuters).

Disasters and accidents

2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
- The death toll of the coronavirus outbreak in China has surpassed 1,000. Hubei province reported 103 deaths in a single day, the highest single-day toll of the outbreak. (DW)
Storm Ciara kills six people in Europe. (MSN)
A boat carrying Rohingya refugees capsizes in the Bay of Bengal while trying to reach Malaysia. Fifteen are confirmed dead and dozens are missing, a Bangladesh Coast Guard official says. (Reuters)