Current events: 2025-02-19

[Wikipedia Current Events]

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
  • Insurgency in Chad
    • The Chad National Army announces the end of its four-month Operation Haskanite, an offensive in the Lake Chad area against Boko Haram, and that 297 terrorists and 27 soldiers have been killed. (The Hindu)
• Islamic State insurgency in Puntland
  • Puntland counter-terrorism operations
    • Puntland police capture several IS–Somalia militants accused of involvement in extortion and bombings in Bosaso, the capital of the Bari Region, amid ongoing military operations in the Cal Miskaad mountains. (Garowe Online)
• Kivu conflict
  • M23 campaign
    • Following a meeting between Chadian president Mahamat Déby and a diplomatic envoy of Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo formally requests military support from Chad in their ongoing conflict against the M23 rebel movement. (Anadolou Agency)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
    • At least one person is killed and 14 others are injured in Russian missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, including a large drone attack on energy infrastructure in Odesa that leaves 160,000 residents without heating and electricity. (The Kyiv Independent)

Disasters and accidents

• Two light aircraft, a Lancair 360 MK II and a Cessna 172S, collide midair at Marana Regional Airport near Tucson, Arizona, United States, killing 2 people. (NBC News)

International relations

• Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Ukraine–United States relations
    • Amid deteriorating relations between both countries, U.S. President Donald Trump says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a "dictator" and says he has done "terrible job" while warning "he is not going to have a country left" soon. (BBC News)
  • Russia–United States relations
    • Russian President Vladimir Putin praises the high-level talks with the U.S. in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a "first step" towards restoring full diplomatic ties with the United States. (The Moscow Times)
• Belgium–Rwanda relations
  • Rwanda suspends a humanitarian aid pact with Belgium after Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot criticized Rwanda's military support for the M23 rebel movement in Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Euro Weekly News)

Law and crime

• Former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro is formally charged with leading the 2022 Brazilian coup plot. (Reuters)
• Denmark announces 50 billion kroner for defence spending over the next two years, citing an increased threat from Russia, bringing the country's total defence spending to the highest in more than half a century. (BBC News)

Science and technology

• Polish police secures several tanks from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that crashed in the country after its reentry into the atmosphere during the night. (BBC) (TVN24) Sports
• Chinese Shandong Taishan F.C. withdraw from Asian champions league hours before their game against South Korean Ulsan HD. (South China Morning Post)

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