Portal:Current events/2018 February 13
February 13, 2018 (Tuesday)
Disasters and accidents
- United Airlines Flight 1175 traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco lands safely at Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii, after the pilots call for an emergency landing because of a loss of the engine cowling. (CBS12)
- An overnight fire destroys parts of Haiti's historic Marché en Fer (Iron Market) in Port‑au‑Prince. It is unclear what started the fire. (VOA)
Law and crime
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- In closed-door proceedings at an Israeli military court in Ofer Prison, near Ramallah, 17-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi is indicted on 12 counts of assault and incitement. She is ordered held until the end of the trial, which is adjourned until next month. (PRI) (VOA)
- United Kingdom football sexual abuse scandal
- Former association football coach Barry Bennell is convicted of 36 counts of indecent assault against youth footballers in the 1980s and 1990s, following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court. (BBC)
- Corruption in Israel
- Israeli police recommend indicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with charges of corruption and bribery. Netanyahu calls the accusations "baseless". (NBC News)
- Corruption in Guatemala
- Former President Alvaro Colom and his entire government cabinet were arrested for their alleged participation in a new corruption case investigated by CICIG and the MP. They were sent to preventive detention at the Mariscal Zavala Military Center. (Deutsche Welle)
Politics and elections
- Politics of South Africa
- South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) formally requests that President Jacob Zuma step down after he refused to resign. (BBC)
- Politics of the Netherlands
- Halbe Zijlstra offers his resignation as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Minister Sigrid Kaag takes over the portfolio ad interim. (NOS) (The Washington Post) (De Telegraaf)
- Politics of Germany
- Martin Schulz resigns as leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) with immediate effect. The mayor of Hamburg Olaf Scholz will serve as interim leader until a new leader is elected. (BBC)
- Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
- Russia wants YouTube and Instagram to remove videos posted by Alexey Navalny, a prominent opposition figure, describing his investigation into Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire, with bribing Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko and offering information about the 2016 U.S. election he had received from Paul Manafort. (ABC News)
Science and technology
- Supersonic transport
- A new plane that would fly from London to New York City in three hours has just received crucial funding. The aircraft, officially named Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) and dubbed the "Son of Concorde", was proposed by NASA and has just been given the go-ahead by US officials. QueSST could make its maiden voyage in 2021 if all goes according to plan. If so, it will halve the current travel time between London and New York City. (Metro)
- Antimicrobial peptides
- Scientists announce the discovery of malacidins, a new class of antibacterial chemicals. (BBC)