Lebanese justice minister says he has received an arrest warrant from Interpol against former Chairman of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, who escaped house arrest in Japan and fled to Lebanon days ago. (The Washington Post)
Italy's ruling Five Star Movement expels Senator Gianluigi Paragone from its ranks over disciplinary issues, shrinking the coalition's majority in the Senate to five. (Reuters)
In response to the death of Qasem Soleimani, U.S. President Donald Trump tweets an image of an American flag. He later defends the airstrike, claiming Soleimani "was both hated and feared" in Iran and "should have been taken out many years ago." (The Hill) (NBC News)
U.S. president Donald Trump vows to target 52 sites significant to Iranians and Iranian culture if Iran "strikes any Americans or American assets." (Politico) (Al Jazeera)
Tens of thousands of mourners, among them Iraqi prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, attend a funeral procession in Baghdad, Iraq, for those killed in a United States airstrike—among them Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran's Quds Force and at least five others. The bodies are then brought to Karbala and Najaf, where Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and the other Iraqis killed are to be buried. (CNN International) (Reuters)
Despite trying to enter and vote, self-declared interim president Juan Guaidó is denied entry to the Assembly. Dissident opposition politician Luis Parra is sworn in as National Assembly president after an impromptu vote. Opposition supporters call it a "parliamentary coup"; the United States denounce a "farce". State broadcasters label Parra as the new speaker of parliament. (BBC News) (Reuters)
After the United States kills Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in the 2020 Baghdad International Airport airstrike, Iran's parliament votes to exit the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal with world powers. This comes after the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018. (MSN)
Due to heightened tensions, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe cancels his scheduled trips to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and convenes a National Security Council meeting, likely to discuss Iran's attack on U.S. forces based in Iraq. (The New York Times)
One person is shot dead and three seriously wounded in a shooting near Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Police believe the shooting was targeted. (Reuters)
In a news conference, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it's "too early to draw definitive conclusions" that the downing of the plane was an "act of war". Trudeau also condemns Iran's attack on U.S. bases in Iraq. (National Post)
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries Author and self-help guru Marianne Williamson drops out of the U.S. presidential race. (The New York Times)
Author and self-help guru Marianne Williamson drops out of the U.S. presidential race. (The New York Times)
After U.S. President Donald Trump sends birthday wishes to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea state media says that "although Chairman Kim Jong-un has good personal feelings about President Trump, they are, in the true sense of the word, 'personal'", and that it is not enough to resume denuclearization talks. It further stated that the country would not be led on the basis of Kim's feelings. (Reuters) (BBC News)
North Korea–United States relations After U.S. President Donald Trump sends birthday wishes to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea state media says that "although Chairman Kim Jong-un has good personal feelings about President Trump, they are, in the true sense of the word, 'personal'", and that it is not enough to resume denuclearization talks. It further stated that the country would not be led on the basis of Kim's feelings. (Reuters) (BBC News)
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries New Jersey Senator Cory Booker drops out of the U.S. presidential race. (NBC News)
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker drops out of the U.S. presidential race. (NBC News)
Alejandro Giammattei takes the oath of office as President of Guatemala for the next four years. Also 160 new members of Congress are installed for a new parliamentary period of four years. (Reuters)
Politics of Guatemala Alejandro Giammattei takes the oath of office as President of Guatemala for the next four years. Also 160 new members of Congress are installed for a new parliamentary period of four years. (Reuters)
China–United States trade war In a meeting at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He sign "Phase 1" of a new trade deal in which the U.S. will relax some of the tariffs imposed on Chinese imports while China agreed to buy more American products. Both sides also agree to not impose new tariffs. (NPR)
Aftermath of the Sudanese Revolution The Sudanese Armed Forces says it has quelled a mutiny by soldiers loyal to ousted President Omar al-Bashir in the capital Khartoum. Former Director of the National Intelligence and Security Service Salah Gosh is accused of orchestrating the mutiny, which left two troops dead. His current whereabouts are unknown. (BBC News)
In a meeting at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He sign "Phase 1" of a new trade deal in which the U.S. will relax some of the tariffs imposed on Chinese imports while China agreed to buy more American products. Both sides also agree to not impose new tariffs. (NPR)
The Sudanese Armed Forces says it has quelled a mutiny by soldiers loyal to ousted President Omar al-Bashir in the capital Khartoum. Former Director of the National Intelligence and Security Service Salah Gosh is accused of orchestrating the mutiny, which left two troops dead. His current whereabouts are unknown. (BBC News)
The Virginia House of Delegates votes to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment decades after its deadline passed. As the amendment nonetheless now has enough states for it to be fully adopted, legal scholars are divided on whether this means the Constitution of the United States has been amended. (NPR)
Mikhail Mishustin is appointed as new Prime Minister of Russia. (The New York Times)
At a Friday sermon by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his first in eight years, he defends the Revolutionary Guards’ accidental killing of passengers onboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 and praises Operation Martyr Soleimani for giving a “slap on the face” to the United States. His sermon comes as public anger mounts against the government for their handling of Flight 752. (Al Jazeera)
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 protests At a Friday sermon by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his first in eight years, he defends the Revolutionary Guards’ accidental killing of passengers onboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 and praises Operation Martyr Soleimani for giving a “slap on the face” to the United States. His sermon comes as public anger mounts against the government for their handling of Flight 752. (Al Jazeera)
Icelandic fishing company Samherji announces it will cease operations in Namibia. The company was embroiled in a bribery scandal there that resulted in the resignation of Namibian Fisheries Minister Bernhardt Esau and Justice Minister Sacky Shanghala, as well as the arrest of two employees of South African banking corporation Investec. (Reuters)
The trial against the Mossos d'Esquadra leadership begins in the National Audience for the role of the regional police in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum and the 2017–18 constitutional crisis. Then-Major of the Mossos Josep Lluís Trapero, Pere Soler and Cèsar Puig face 11 years of imprisonment for rebellion, while Teresa Laplana is accused of sedition, facing four years of imprisonment. (The New York Times) (The Oklahoman)
Trial of Catalan police leaders The trial against the Mossos d'Esquadra leadership begins in the National Audience for the role of the regional police in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum and the 2017–18 constitutional crisis. Then-Major of the Mossos Josep Lluís Trapero, Pere Soler and Cèsar Puig face 11 years of imprisonment for rebellion, while Teresa Laplana is accused of sedition, facing four years of imprisonment. (The New York Times) (The Oklahoman)
2019–20 Lebanese protests Lebanon forms a new government with former American University of Beirut professor Hassan Diab as its Prime Minister, ending a three-month deadlock. Protestors subsequently march on Parliament to protest the new government. (Al Jazeera)
Lebanon forms a new government with former American University of Beirut professor Hassan Diab as its Prime Minister, ending a three-month deadlock. Protestors subsequently march on Parliament to protest the new government. (Al Jazeera)
The United Kingdom and United States governments announce they have agreed to protect the wreckage of the RMS Titanic. The agreement, signed by the British government in 2003, has come into effect after being ratified by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. An official also says the UK will work with Canada and France to bring "even more protection" to the wreckage. (BBC News)
The Seattle metropolitan area becomes the first place in the United States to allow vote by smartphone, which they authorized for a board of supervisors election in King County, Washington on February 11. (NPR)
UN special rapporteurs Agnès Callamard and David Kaye demand an investigation into claims made by The Guardian yesterday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman ordered the 2018 hacking of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos's phone. The hack was allegedly done months before the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, who was employed at Bezos's newspaper The Washington Post and was a fierce critic of the Saudi government. The Saudi Foreign Ministry dismisses the allegations as "absurd". (Reuters)
Impeachment trial of Donald Trump The United States Senate hears opening statements in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. (The Washington Post) (The Washington Post via dpaste) (The Washington Post via archive.ph)
The United States Senate hears opening statements in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. (The Washington Post) (The Washington Post via dpaste) (The Washington Post via archive.ph)
2020 Peruvian parliamentary election People in Peru head to the polls to elect the members of the country's congress after its dissolution in September 2019. (BBC News)
2019 Trump–Ukraine scandal An unpublished manuscript of former National Security Advisor John Bolton's book The Room Where It Happened reveals that President Donald Trump told him that unfreezing military aid to Ukraine was conditional on their performing investigations into Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. (The New York Times)
An unpublished manuscript of former National Security Advisor John Bolton's book The Room Where It Happened reveals that President Donald Trump told him that unfreezing military aid to Ukraine was conditional on their performing investigations into Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. (The New York Times)
People in Peru head to the polls to elect the members of the country's congress after its dissolution in September 2019. (BBC News)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Trump peace plan U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveil a peace plan developed by the Trump administration for three years. The plan recognizes Israeli sovereignty over major settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank, as well as the annexation of the Jordan Valley, in exchange for a freeze on new Israeli settlements in certain areas for four years. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismisses the plan as "nonsense", while Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz casts his support for the plan. (Associated Press)
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries Former U.S. Representative John Delaney drops out of the U.S. presidential race. (Los Angeles Times)
Former U.S. Representative John Delaney drops out of the U.S. presidential race. (Los Angeles Times)
President Donald Trump announces a close of travel from China of non U.S. citizens or residents in response to the growing Coronavirus cases in Wuhan. (Trump White House Archives)
The Palestinian National Authority cuts all ties with the United States and Israel, including those relating to security, after rejecting a peace plan presented by U.S. President Donald Trump. (Reuters)
Trump peace plan The Palestinian National Authority cuts all ties with the United States and Israel, including those relating to security, after rejecting a peace plan presented by U.S. President Donald Trump. (Reuters)
The first nominating contest in the Democratic Party and Republican Party primaries takes place in the U.S. state of Iowa. Eleven Democratic Party candidates will challenge for 49 delegates, while incumbent President Donald Trump will face two Republican challengers for 40 delegates, regarding the 2020 United States presidential election (BBC News)
Closing statements are delivered before the United States Senate. (The New York Times)
Impeachment trial of Donald Trump Closing statements are delivered before the United States Senate. (The New York Times) Democratic Senator Joe Manchin asks his colleagues to consider censuring Trump, as an alternative to impeachment, for his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate domestic political rivals. Senator Manchin is considered friendly with the White House. (The Washington Post)
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2020 Republican Party presidential primaries Donald Trump receives overwhelming support in the Iowa Republican caucuses while the results of the Iowa Democratic caucuses are delayed because of problems with the use of a mobile app for reporting. (CNN)
2020 State of the Union Address U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his third State of the Union Address to the 116th United States Congress in the chamber of the House of Representatives. It was Trump's fourth and final speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. (CNN)
Impeachment trial of Donald Trump The United States Senate votes on whether to acquit U.S. President Donald Trump. By a vote of 52–48 almost entirely along party lines, the Republican-majority Senate acquits Trump on the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, and acquits him on the second charge, obstruction of Congress, in a separate 53–47 vote. Utah Senator Mitt Romney casts the sole Republican guilty vote, against party lines, on the first article. (The New York Times)
The United States Senate votes on whether to acquit U.S. President Donald Trump. By a vote of 52–48 almost entirely along party lines, the Republican-majority Senate acquits Trump on the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, and acquits him on the second charge, obstruction of Congress, in a separate 53–47 vote. Utah Senator Mitt Romney casts the sole Republican guilty vote, against party lines, on the first article. (The New York Times)
United States–Venezuela relations Venezuelan security forces move six American Citgo executives from house arrest to El Helicoide prison in Caracas, prompting condemnation from the United States. The move comes shortly after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. (Reuters)
Venezuelan security forces move six American Citgo executives from house arrest to El Helicoide prison in Caracas, prompting condemnation from the United States. The move comes shortly after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. (Reuters)
Yemeni Crisis (2011–present) U.S. President Donald Trump announces that the United States military has killed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader Qasim al-Raymi in a drone strike in Yemen. (BBC News)
Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner declares that the government will not pay back its US$57 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund until the country exits its recession. (Reuters)
President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele breaks into the Legislative Assembly with the Army and occupies the chair of the Speaker to demand the approval of a financial measure which couldn't pass earlier as there was no quorum. In a public release, the Presidency department calls for calm after a "demand of insurrection". The opposition accuses the president and the army of intimidation and a "self-coup". (El País) (BBC News) (The Washington Post) (The New York Times)
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2020 New Hampshire Democratic primary Registered Democrats and independents in the U.S. state of New Hampshire vote in the first official Democratic presidential primary of the election year. It comes after the controversial Iowa caucuses that occurred a week earlier. (CBS News) Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders narrowly defeats former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg to win the primary. (Vox) Entrepreneur Andrew Yang suspends his presidential campaign. (PBS) Colorado Senator Michael Bennet suspends his presidential campaign. (NBC News)
Registered Democrats and independents in the U.S. state of New Hampshire vote in the first official Democratic presidential primary of the election year. It comes after the controversial Iowa caucuses that occurred a week earlier. (CBS News)
Philippines–United States relations The President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte terminates the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States. Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. confirms that the Embassy of the United States, Manila, has been formally notified. The termination will take effect after 180 days. (Reuters) (The Guardian)
The President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte terminates the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States. Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. confirms that the Embassy of the United States, Manila, has been formally notified. The termination will take effect after 180 days. (Reuters) (The Guardian)
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 News)
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)
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 News)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
