Portal:Current events/2020 February 17: Difference between revisions

*[[Syrian civil war]], [[Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020)]]

**[[President of Syria|Syrian President]] [[Bashar al-Assad]] gives a televised speech on the [[Syrian Armed Forces|military]] offensives in north-western Syria, saying the offensives in [[Aleppo Governorate]] and [[Idlib Governorate]] will continue regardless of [[Turkey]]'s threats while adding that the recent [[Syrian Army]] victories are a prelude to the opposition's "final defeat, sooner or later". [https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/victory-in-aleppo-does-not-mean-end-of-syrian-war-assad/ (''Al Masdar News'')] [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-assad/syrias-assad-says-his-forces-gains-are-prelude-to-rebels-final-defeat-idUSKBN20B1MM (Reuters)]

*[[February 2020 Quetta bombing]]

**At least 10 people are killed by a [[suicide bomb]]er on a motorcycle in [[Quetta]], [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]], [[Pakistan]]. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-blast/suicide-blast-kills-10-in-pakistan-city-of-quetta-idUSKBN20B1B5 (Reuters)]

*[[General Motors]] pulls out of [[left-hand traffic|right-hand drive markets]], ending the [[Holden]] brand in [[Australia]]. [https://www.9news.com.au/national/holden-axed-from-australia-in-2020-ending-72-years-of-car-making/29ba88b5-3061-4839-921d-b2fea77dcd21 (9 News)]

*The [[Aleppo International Airport]] in [[Aleppo]], [[Syria]], opens to the public for the first time since 2013. Syrian Transport Minister [[Ali Hammoud]] says regular commercial flights will begin within days, starting with [[Cairo]], [[Egypt]]. [https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-security/syrian-forces-consolidate-control-of-aleppo-air-strikes-under-way-idUKKBN20B0X3 (Reuters)] [https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syria-to-reopen-aleppo-international-airport-for-first-time-in-9-years/ (''Al Masdar News'')]

*[[Storm Dennis]]

**The lower reaches of many rivers, including the [[River Severn|Severn]] at [[Shrewsbury]], continue to rise as a result of excess runoff from upstream. The [[River Wye]] in [[Hereford]] has now reached its highest level in recorded history. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51526879 (BBC News)]

*At least 20 people, mostly women and children, are killed in a [[human stampede|stampede]] during a rush to collect aid supplies upon the opening of the gates to an aid facility in [[Diffa]], south-eastern [[Niger]]. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51537144 (BBC News)]

;Law and crime

*[[Sagamihara stabbings]]

**Prosecutors in [[Japan]] announce they are officially seeking the [[capital punishment in Japan|death penalty]] against [[Sagamihara stabbings#Suspect|Satoshi Uematsu]] for stabbing 19 [[disability in Japan|disabled]] people to death in 2016. [https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/care-home-murder-trial-court-satoshi-uematsu-death-penalty-12441848 (CNA)]

*[[Terrorism in Germany]]

**Investigations into a [[Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present)|far-right organization]] whose members were arrested in [[Germany]] three days earlier reveal a plot, inspired by the [[Christchurch mosque shootings]] in March 2019, to carry out simultaneous, large-scale attacks on mosques across the country during prayers. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/17/germanys-muslims-call-for-protection-after-far-right-terror-plot-arrests (''The Guardian'')]

;Politics and elections

*[[Andrew Sabisky]], an advisor to [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|UK Prime Minister]] [[Boris Johnson]], resigns after the resurfacing of [[Racism in the United Kingdom|racist]], [[Sexism|sexist]], and pro-[[eugenics]] comments, allegedly attributed to him. [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-51538493 (BBC News)]

;Sports

*[[2020 Daytona 500]]

**Denny Hamlin wins his second consecutive Daytona 500, and his third overall, becoming the first driver to win the race consecutively since [[Sterling Marlin]] did so between 1994 and 1995. [[Ryan Newman (racing driver)|Ryan Newman]] is hospitalized with serious but non-life threatening injuries after an airborne crash coming to the finish. [https://www.wesh.com/article/daytona-500-ryan-newman-crash/30972164 (WESH)]