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Worldwide current events · Sports events

Topics in the news

Boyhood wins three awards, including Best Film, at the British Academy Film Awards.
Gauguin's work When Will You Marry? (pictured) sells for $300m (£197m), the highest known price ever paid for any painting.
At least 40 people are killed when TransAsia Airways Flight 235 crashes shortly after takeoff from Taipei Songshan Airport, Taiwan.
In American football, the New England Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks to win the Super Bowl.
The Australian Open tennis tournament concludes with Serena Williams winning the women's singles and Novak Djokovic winning the men's singles.
Sergio Mattarella is elected President of Italy.
In association football, the AFC Asian Cup concludes with host nation Australia defeating South Korea in the final.

Recent deaths: Dean Smith – Charlie Sifford – Richard von Weizsäcker

February 9, 2015 (Monday)

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February 8, 2015 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Three people are hospitalized with gunshot wounds after a 17-year-old male opened fire on a man at the Monroeville Mall in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, striking his intended target as well as two bystanders. (AP via News24)
Clashes between Egyptian police and fans of Zamalek SC with claims of over 20 deaths in Cairo, according to Egyptian state media. (BBC)], (AP)

Arts and culture

57th Annual Grammy Awards
- The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences members will present the Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. (News Limited)
68th British Academy Film Awards
- The British Academy of Film and Television Arts members will present the British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Opera House in London. (BBC)
- Boyhood wins Best Film with Richard Linklater winning the Best Director award. (The Guardian)

Science and technology

SpaceX planned a weather observation satellite, Deep Space Climate Observatory, at 6:10 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Florida for the US Air Force/NASA/NOAA), then make a second attempt to land a Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket on a floating platform called the autonomous spaceport drone ship, following the January 10 failure during the SpaceX CRS-5 mission. The Falcon 9 launch was scrapped. (AP)

February 7, 2015 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea test fires a new "ultra-precision" intelligent anti-ship missile which is to be deployed across its navy. (AFP via France 24)
War in Donbass
- The leaders of France, Germany and Russia agree to work on a peace plan to be put to the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko on Sunday. (BBC)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- Bombings in Baghdad kill at least 37 people hours before the city's curfew was due to end. ISIL claims responsibility. (AP via Los Angeles Times), (AP via KSL)
Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
- Nigeria postpones its general election for six weeks to allow its armed forces to control parts of the country currently controlled by Boko Haram. (Irish Times)

Arts and culture

NBC Nightly News anchorman Brian Williams begins a temporary hiatus from broadcasting after he was caught lying about having been onboard an underfire helicopter which crashed during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. (AP)

Business and economy

The management of Twentieth Century Fox considers granting permission to a group of investors, including some hedge funds, seeking to amend the company's charter and turn their type of voting shares of stock into non-voting shares, a conversion that might raise that type of shares' market price and that also would further concentrate control in the hands of Rupert Murdoch and his family. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

TransAsia cancels dozens of flights to retrain its pilots following the February 4 crash of TransAsia Airways Flight 235 which killed at least 43 people. (AFP via Daily Mail)

Law and Crime

A gunman shoots six people, killing four, including several children, in Douglasville, Georgia, ending with the gunman commiting suicide. (AP via FOX News)

Politics and elections

Queensland Liberal National Party voters elect Lawrence Springborg as their leader with John-Paul Langbroek as deputy leader. (ABC News Australia)
Slovak same-sex marriage referendum
- Although greater than 90% vote in favor of the referendum, Slovak election officials deem the result invalid due to a low 21% voter turnout, far short of the 50% or greater turnout required for the results to be legally binding. (The Slovak Spectator)

February 6, 2015 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- ISIL claims that the American female hostage Kayla Jean Mueller has been killed by Jordanian airstrikes at the outskirts of Raqqa, Syria. The White House says that they have no proof of her death. (AP) (AP via Twitter) (CNN), (BBC)
Boko Haram
- Boko Haram attacks two towns in Niger but is repulsed by the Niger Army with assistance from the Chad Air Force. (AP via St Louis Post Dispatch), (Nigerian Guardian)

Business and economy

German engineering firm Siemens announces plans to axe 7,800 jobs, 3000 of which are in Germany. (AFP via France24)

Disasters and accidents

Ecuador declares a state of emergency in the Galápagos Islands after a ship, The Floreana, carrying hazardous materials ran aground January 28. (Daily Mail)

Law and crime

Mexican police find at least 61 bodies in an abandoned crematorium in Acapulco. (BBC)
The Supreme Court of Canada strikes down a ban on assisted suicide meaning doctors can now assist mentally competent patients with severe and incurable conditions to die. (The Independent)

Politics and elections

The Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott faces a possible leadership vote when the Parliament of Australia resumes sitting after backbencher Luke Simpkins announces that he will move a motion calling for a leadership spill. (Reuters)
Xanana Gusmão resigns as the Prime Minister of East Timor ahead of an expected government restructure next week. (AP)
Houthi insurgency in Yemen
- Houthi rebels take control in Yemen and dissolve the parliament. (Al-Arabiyah)

February 5, 2015 (Thursday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- The United Arab Emirates suspends air strikes against the Islamic State after a video of a Jordanian air force pilot being burned alive is published online. The suspension involves concerns over a lack of coalition search and rescue capabilities in Syria to recover downed pilots. (NBC News)
- State news agency SANA claims that insurgent group Jaysh al-Islam has conducted a rocket attack on Damascus with at least eight people injured. (Reuters Trust)

Arts and culture

A Paul Gauguin painting, Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry?), sells to a Qatari buyer for close to $300 million. (The New York Times)

Business and economy

American pharmaceutical company Pfizer announces plans to acquire Hospira at a cost of $17 billion. (Street Insider)
American electronics retailer RadioShack files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (Reuters via CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

A China shopping mall fire started by a nine-year-old boy at the city of Huizhou in Guangdong province kills at least 17 people. (BBC)

Law and crime

Eddie Ray Routh goes on trial for the alleged murder of American Sniper Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield in the Texas town of Stephenville. (CBC)
The jury at Southwark Crown Court convicts British 70s glam rock star Gary Glitter on child sexual abuse charges with the prospect of life imprisonment. (The Telegraph)

Politics and elections

Tunisia gets a unity government led by Habib Essid and consisting of ministers from the big-tent secular party Nidaa Tounes, the two liberal parties UPL and Afek Tounes, and the moderate Islamist Ennahda as well as independents; 166 of the 217 legislators in the Assembly of the Representatives of the People approves of it. (Deutsche Welle) (Al Jazeera)

February 4, 2015 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflict and attacks

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- Jordan executes convicted Iraqi terrorists Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad al-Karbouli in response to the execution by ISIL of Jordanian Air Force lieutenant Muath Al-Kasasbeh. (USA Today)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- Gunmen storm Libya's al-Mabrook oil field. (Reuters)
War in Donbass
- A shell hits a hospital in the rebel-held city of Donetsk killing at least three people with many injured. (BBC)
Boko Haram
- Boko Haram militants reportedly raid the Cameroonian town of Fotokol in Cameroon's Far North Region with scores of people killed. (Voice of America), (CNN)
- The Chad Army claims to have killed 200 militants and lost nine soldiers in fighting in northern Nigeria. (BBC)
Anthem Inc. discloses that criminal hackers have broken into its servers and potentially stolen over 80 million records that contain personally identifiable information from its servers. According to Anthem, the data breach extends into multiple brands Anthem uses to market its healthcare plans, including, Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Amerigroup, Caremore, Unicare, Healthlink, and DeCare. Anthem says the medical information and financial data was not compromised. (NBC News),(AP)

Business and the economy

Under investigation for corruption, Mao Xiaofeng resigns as the President of Minsheng Banking Corporation. China's Communist Party anti-graft agency links him and disgraced Chinese official Ling Jihua. (SCMP)

Disasters and accidents

TransAsia Airways Flight 235
- A TransAsia Airways ATR 72 turboprop aircraft with 58 people on board en route from the Taiwanese capital Taipei to Kinmen, Taiwan crashes into the Keelung River near Taipei just after liftoff killing at least 31 people with several injures and missing. (Bloomberg), (Fox News), (BBC)
100 km/h winds spark a scrub fire near the Christchurch suburb of Hornby in New Zealand destroying two homes with several others damaged. (Stuff)

Law and crime

A Manhattan federal court convicts Ross Ulbricht, aka "Dread Pirate Roberts", the owner of the Silk Road Deep Web illicit products website, on seven charges including trafficking and money laundering in the United States. (AP)

Politics and elections

2015 Mamasapano clash
- The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines says that it will not join growing calls for the impeachment and resignation of Philippines President Benigno Aquino III following the January 25 botched police operation. (UCA News)
Fiji will adopt a replacement for its flag which it says is a symbol of colonialism. (BBC)

February 3, 2015 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

In the town of Chuddogram in eastern Bangladesh, anti-government protesters firebomb a bus full of sleeping passengers, leaving seven people dead. (AFP via ABC News)
Egyptian Army soldiers fire warning shots at the Gaza Strip after an explosion occurs on the Gaza side of the border near a convoy. (Reuters)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant posts pictures of Jordanian Air Force pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh being burnt alive which Jordan believes are a month old. (BBC)

Arts and culture

American author Harper Lee announced plans to publish her second book, a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, that was completed in the 1950s but misplaced. July 14, 2015 will be the release date for Go Set a Watchman. (The Telegraph) (ABC News)

Disasters and accidents

2014–15 Australian bushfire season
- The Department of Fire and Emergency Services orders the evacuation of residents of the Western Australia town of Northcliffe as a bushfire approaches. (Perth Now)
An explosion at the Galleria 220 shopping center in the Perth suburb of Morley kills at least one person and injures nine others. (News Limited)
2014–15 North American winter
- Ten people die in Cook County, Illinois while shoveling snow. (Chicago Tribune)
A collision between a commuter train and a passenger vehicle kills six in Valhalla, New York. (AP via MSN), (CBS Local)

International relations

The Iranian parliament passes a new bill that requires the Rouhani administration to cancel the Geneva interim agreement on the Iranian nuclear program in case of new US sanctions, as a response to a similar action by the Congress. (Icana)

Law and crime

Standard & Poor's reaches settlements totaling $1.5 billion with the U.S. Justice Department and several U.S. states for inflating ratings on subprime mortgage bonds in the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis. (Bloomberg)
The investigator into the death of Argentinian prosecutor Alberto Nisman states that Nisman had drafted a request that President Cristina Fernandez be arrested for allegedly attempting to derail his investigation of the 1994 AMIA bombing that killed 85 people. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

John Baird resigns as the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs. (Daily Mail)

More February 2015 events...

Ongoing events
Economic Eurozone crisis Financial crisis in Russia Health Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa Political Syrian and Iraqi civil wars Military intervention against ISIL War in Afghanistan Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and Cameroon More details on ongoing conflicts below Sports January 17 – February 8: CAN Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea edit sidebar

Recent deaths
February 2015 8: Mario Vázquez Raña 7: Billy Casper 7: Robert Gavron, Baron Gavron 7: Joe B. Mauldin 7: Dean Smith 7: John C. Whitehead 6: André Brink 6: Alan Nunnelee 5: K. N. Choksy 5: Henri Coppens 5: Stay Gold 5: Anne Moody 4: Ziad Khalaf Raja al-Karbouly 4: Sajida al-Rishawi 4: Norman Yemm 3: Frank Borghi 3: Martin Gilbert 3: Mary Healy 3: Hay List 3: Charlie Sifford 2: Dave Bergman 2: The Jacka 2: Stewart Stern 1: Aldo Ciccolini 1: Udo Lattek 1: Ann Mara 1: Molade Okoya-Thomas 1: Monty Oum January 31: Kenji Goto 31: Lizabeth Scott 31: Richard von Weizsäcker 30: Don Covay 30: Carl Djerassi 30: Geraldine McEwan 30: Zhelyu Zhelev 29: Bernice Gordon 29: Colleen McCullough 29: Rod McKuen 29: Kel Nagle 29: Alexander Vraciu 29: Israel Yinon 28: Mala Aravindan 28: Yves Chauvin 28: Jaswant Singh Rajput 27: Wilfred Agbonavbare 27: Rocky Bridges 27: Warren Hill 27: David Landau 27: Joseph Rotman 27: Charles Hard Townes 26: R. K. Laxman 26: Lee Spick 26: Marwan 26: Tom Uren 25: Richard McBrien 25: Bill Monbouquette 25: Demis Roussos 26: Milt Schoon 24: Toller Cranston 24: Joe Franklin 24: Arafat Rahman 23: Abdullah of Saudi Arabia 23: Ernie Banks 23: Pedro Lemebel 22: Wendell H. Ford 21: Marcus Borg 21: Leon Brittan 20: Edgar Froese 20: Anatol Hrytskievich 20: Waldemar Kmentt 20: Rose Marie McCoy 20: Hitoshi Saito 19: Justin Capra 19: Anne Kirkbride 19: Reies Tijerina 19: Peter Wallenberg 18: Paul O'Grady 18: Dallas Taylor 18: Tony Verna 17: Joseph Brannigan 17: Faten Hamama 17: Don Harron 17: Rebecca D. Lockhart 17: Greg Plitt 16: Yao Beina 16: Stuart Loory 16: Ray Lumpp 15: Ervin Drake 15: Kim Fowley 15: Ethel Lang 15: Ray Nagel 15: Chikao Ōtsuka 15: Bob Wilson edit sidebar

Ongoing conflicts
Africa Algeria, Tunisia and Niger Maghreb insurgency Central African Republic Civil war Democratic Republic of Congo Kivu conflict ADF insurgency Katanga insurgency Ituri conflict Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Eritrea and Ethiopia Second Afar insurgency Ethiopia Ogaden insurgency OLF insurgency Libya Civil war Mali Northern Mali conflict Nigeria and Cameroon Boko Haram Conflict in the Niger Delta Somalia Civil war South Sudan South Sudanese Civil War Sudan War in Darfur South Kordofan conflict Sudanese nomadic conflicts Americas Colombian conflict Internal conflict in Peru Mexican War on Drugs Asia Afghanistan War Taliban insurgency China Xinjiang conflict India Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Insurgency in Northeast India India and Pakistan Kashmir conflict Pakistan War in North-West Pakistan Balochistan conflict Philippines Communist insurgency Moro insurgency Southeast Asia Internal conflict in Burma Papua conflict South Thailand insurgency Europe Chechen-Russian conflict North Caucasus insurgency War in Ingushetia Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Ukraine War in Donbass Middle East Arab–Israeli conflict Gaza–Israel conflict Israeli–Lebanese conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Egypt Sinai insurgency Iran Iran–PJAK conflict Iraqi civil war American-led intervention in Iraq Syrian Civil War American-led intervention in Syria Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon Turkey Turkey-PKK conflict Yemen Al-Qaeda insurgency South Yemen insurgency edit sidebar

Elections
Recent: January–February 8: Sri Lanka, President 11: Croatia, President (2nd round) 20: Zambia, President 25: Comoros, Assembly of the Union (1st round) 25: Greece, Parliament 28: Lebanon, President (18th round) 29–31: Italy, President (1st–4th rounds) 7: Slovakia, Referendum Upcoming: February–March 18: Lebanon, President (19th round) 22: Comoros, Assembly of the Union (2nd round) 28: Lesotho, National Assembly 1: Estonia, Parliament 1: Tajikistan, Assembly of Representatives edit sidebar

Trials
Recently concluded Australia: Brett Peter Cowan, Craig Thomson, Robert Hughes Brazil: Mensalão scandal Canada: Michael Thomas Rafferty, Luka Magnotta China: Liu Tienan, Li Daqiu, Bo Xilai Croatia: Ivo Sanader Egypt: Hosni Mubarak, Peter Greste Germany: Bernie Ecclestone, Uli Hoeness, Christian Wulff, Breno Borges Iran: Mohammad Reza Rahimi Israel: Hussam Qawasmeh Italy: Silvio Berlusconi Jordan: Abu Qatada Malaysia: Anwar Ibrahim Russia: Leonid Khabarov, Vladimir Kvachkov, Pussy Riot South Africa: Shrien Dewani, Oscar Pistorius, Chris Mahlangu Turkey: Kenan Evren, Tahsin Şahinkaya United Kingdom: Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, Ali Dizaei, Antoni Imiela, Brian Regan, Donna Air, Ched Evans, Clayton McDonald, Titus Bramble, Dan Penteado, John Terry, Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed, Asil Nadir, Justin Lee Collins, Kweku Adoboli, Tony McCluskie, Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, Chris Huhne, Nicola Edgington, Vicky Pryce, Derek Rose, Mick Philpott, Mairead Philpott, Paul Mosley, Kevin Liverpool, Junior Bradshaw, Aggro Santos, Stuart Hazell, Mark Bridger, Andrew Lancel, Dale Cregan, Ray Wilkins, Michael Le Vell, Liam Adams, R v Grillo and Grillo, Ian Watkins, William Roache, Dave Lee Travis, Nicholas Jacobs, Nigel Evans, Max Clifford, Stuart Hall, Dappy, Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, Rolf Harris, Tulisa Contostavlos, Chris Denning, Ray Teret United States: Abu Hamza al-Masri, Michael Grimm, Bob McDonnell, Vilma Bautista, George Huguely, Allen Stanford, Roger Clemens, Jerry Sandusky, Jared Lee Loughner, Lauryn Hill, Kermit Gosnell, George Zimmerman, Chelsea Manning, Ariel Castro, Whitey Bulger, Robert Bales, Nidal Malik Hasan, Crystal Mangum International ECCC: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan ICC: Germain Katanga, Thomas Lubanga ICTY: Momčilo Perišić, Mladen Markač, Ante Gotovina SCFSL: Charles Taylor Ongoing Egypt: Mohamed Morsi Germany: Beate Zschäpe Iran: Babak Zanjani Philippines: Andal Ampatuan, Jr., Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Janet Lim-Napoles, Jovito Palparan Russia: Alexei Navalny South Korea: MV Sewol crew members United Kingdom: Eddy Shah, Koo Stark, Gary Glitter, Fred Talbot United States: Jodi Arias International ICTY: Radovan Karadžić, Ratko Mladic Upcoming Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Spain: Lionel Messi United Kingdom: Dane Bowers, Andy Coulson United States: Paul Anthony Ciancia, Javaris Crittenton, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Dylan Quick, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, James Eagan Holmes, Aaron Hernandez, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Anas al-Libi, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Rick Perry International ICC: Laurent Gbagbo edit sidebar

Events by month

2014: January; February; March; April; May; June; July; August; September; October; November; December

2013: January; February; March; April; May; June; July; August; September; October; November; December

2012: January; February; March; April; May; June; July; August; September; October; November; December

2011: January; February; March; April; May; June; July; August; September; October; November; December

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