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Artist’s impression of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system

Astronomers announce that the star TRAPPIST-1 hosts seven exoplanets (artist's impression pictured), some orbiting in its habitable zone.
South Sudan and the United Nations declare a famine in parts of the country.
A suicide bombing at a shrine in Sehwan, Pakistan, kills at least 83 people and injures more than 250 others.
The Indian Space Research Organisation's PSLV-C37 mission launches a record 104 satellites at once.
Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is killed in Malaysia.

February 23, 2017 (Thursday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan
- At least six people are killed in a bomb blast in the Pakistani city of Lahore. (BBC)
Battle of Mosul (2016–17)
- Iraqi Police forces enter the Mosul International Airport and capture the runway from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. (Associated Press)

Disasters and accidents

2016–17 UK and Ireland windstorm season
- The Met Office issues travel warnings for parts of Wales, Scotland and England as Storm Doris, described as a “weather bomb”, brings gales, heavy rain and snow to the United Kingdom. (The Guardian)

Arts and culture

American-born panda Bao Bao arrives in China. (The Washington Post)

February 22, 2017 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War, Raqqa offensive
- U.S.-backed SDF forces on two fronts meet up northeast of Raqqa, encircling a pocket of villages still held by ISIS. (Rudaw)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- A Houthi missile attack on a Yemeni military camp near the port city of Mocha kills Major General Ahmed Saif al-Yafei, Yemen's deputy chief of staff, and several others. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Amnesty International releases a report criticizing the rise of populist leaders such as Donald Trump of the United States, Viktor Orbán of Hungary, Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey. (The Washington Post)
Headscarf controversy in Turkey
- The Turkish government lifts the ban prohibiting female army officers from wearing a Muslim headscarf. The military is the last Turkish institution to end the ban. (BBC)

International relations

2017 Mexico–United States diplomatic crisis
- Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray Caso rejects and condemns the United States's new plan on deporting undocumented immigrants, stating that Mexico cannot "accept unilateral decisions imposed by one government on another." (BBC)

Law and crime

South Africa's North Gauteng High Court rules the government's decision last October to withdraw from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was unconstitutional, and instructs the government to revoke its notice of withdrawal. (AP), (NPR)
Former Chief Executive of Hong Kong Donald Tsang is sentenced to 20 months in prison for corruption, becoming the highest officeholder in Hong Kong's history to be convicted. (BBC)

Politics and elections

The Trump administration revokes Obama-era rules on transgender rights, namely the bathroom bill. (BBC) (CNN)
French presidential election, 2017
- François Bayrou drops out in an effort to boost Emmanuel Macron. (The Guardian )

Science and technology

NASA and the European Southern Observatory announce the discovery of four new Earth-like planets in the Goldilocks zone of the star TRAPPIST-1, in addition to the three discovered there last year. (The Atlantic), (NBC News)

Sports

Eastern Sports Club's manager Chan Yuen-ting becomes the first woman to coach a male football club in a top-flight continental competition with managing team against Guangzhou Evergrande in the AFC Champions League. (Sky Sports)
2024 Summer Olympics
- Budapest withdraws its bid, leaving Paris and Los Angeles as the two candidate cities for hosting the 2024 competition. (Reuters)

February 21, 2017 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan
- Multiple suicide bombers kill at least six people near a district court in Charsadda. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

British journalist Milo Yiannopoulos resigns from his post as technology editor at Breitbart news, after controversy around his statements regarding underage sex. (BBC)

Business and economy

Verizon Communications agrees to buy the core business at Yahoo Inc. for $4.48 billion. Completion of this July 2016 deal had been delayed because of two data breaches Yahoo disclosed last year. (Reuters)
Restaurant Brands International
- The parent company of Burger King announces plans to purchase Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, operator of the Popeyes chicken restaurant chain in a US$1.8 billion deal. (USA Today)

Disasters and accidents

2017 Essendon Airport Beechcraft King Air crash
- A charter plane crashes into a Direct Factory Outlets shopping centre in Melbourne, Australia, shortly after taking off from Essendon Airport, killing the five people on board. (ABC News Australia)
Flooding occurs across parts of Indonesia, including the capital Jakarta, due to torrential downpours over the last few days. Thousands of homes have been flooded and schools were forced to close. However, there are no reports of injuries yet. (Al Jazeera)

Health

More than 4.9 million people in South Sudan are in need of aid due to a famine. (CNN)

International relations

France–Lebanon relations
- French National Front presidential candidate Marine Le Pen leaves before her scheduled meeting in Beirut with Lebanon's top Sunni Muslim religious leader, Grand Mufti Abdellatif Deryan, following her refusal to accept the offered headscarf to cover her hair. Le Pen's aides had been informed earlier about the traditional, religious need for a headscarf for this meeting. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

2017 Rinkeby riots
- After Swedish police arrest a suspect on drug-related charges, rioting occurs in Rinkeby, a suburb of the Swedish capital Stockholm. (AP via CNBC)
An Austrian court grants a United States request to extradite Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash. U.S. officials accuse Firtash of being involved in a scandal where he allegedly paid US$18.5 million in bribes for a permit to mine titanium in India, something Firtash denies. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Hebron shooting incident
- Following last month's manslaughter conviction, Israeli soldier Elor Azaria is sentenced to 18 months in prison by a military court for, during a violent incident, his deadly shooting of the wounded, unarmed, prone Palestinian Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, who had stabbed a soldier last March in Hebron. (CBS News)
United States immigration ban
- The Trump administration releases a new memo that sets the policy for the deportation of undocumented migrants accused of any crime. (NBC News)

Politics and elections

Azerbaijani First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, who is widely considered to be in line to succeed her husband, is named vice president. (BNO News)
Nagorno-Karabakh constitutional referendum, 2017
- In a referendum held yesterday in the breakaway state of Nagorno-Karabakh (a region long claimed by both Azerbaijan and Armenia), 87.6% of voters approve changing the country's governance system from semi-presidential to full presidential, therefore abolishing the position of prime minister. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Ecuadorian general election, 2017
- A runoff presidential election, between former vice-president Lenín Moreno and former bank president Guillermo Lasso, is scheduled for Sunday, April 2 since no candidate gained at least 40 percent of the vote in Sunday's poll. With 95.3 percent of votes counted, Moreno received 39.21 percent of valid votes and Lasso had 28.34 percent. (Reuters)

Science and technology

Several new species of tiny frogs are discovered in India. (CBS News)

February 20, 2017 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Gunmen attack a Vietnamese vessel near Tawi-Tawi, Philippines, killing at least one sailor and abducting seven others, according to the Philippine Coast Guard. Abu Sayyaf militants are suspected of being behind the attack. (Reuters)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- At least 11 people, all belonging to the same family, are killed in a grenade attack on their home in Laghman Province, according to provincial officials. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- A motorcade carrying prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord, is attacked by unidentified gunmen in Tripoli. There were no injuries reported. (Al Jazeera)
Syrian Civil War
- The ISIL-affiliated Syrian opposition group Jaysh Khaled bin Waleed overwhelms Tahrir al-Sham and Southern Front militants, capturing the towns of Tasil and Saham al-Jawlan, along with two other villages and a hill in Daraa Governorate. (Al Masdar News)(Reuters)

Arts and culture

British journalist Milo Yiannopoulos's invitation to speak at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference is rescinded, and publication of his book Dangerous by Simon & Schuster is cancelled after a video is posted allegedly containing statements of his condoning sexual relations with boys as young as thirteen. (New York Times via MSN)

Business and economy

Seattle-based Amazon.com says it will create 15,000 new full-time jobs across Europe by the end of 2017, increasing its European workforce by approximately 30 percent. (AndroidHeadlines.com) (Euronews)

Disasters and accidents

2017 South Sudan famine
- The World Food Programme (WFP) and other United Nations agencies declare that there is a famine in parts of Unity State, South Sudan, with 100,000 facing starvation and another million on the brink of famine. (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera)
Severe storms, from the weather system that hit Southern California Friday, reach southwest Texas injuring several people and damaging at least 100 homes with one confirmed tornado in San Antonio. Heavy rains continue today with flash floods likely as the storm moves to eastern Texas and southern Louisiana. (USA Today) (Weather Channel)

International relations

Malaysia–North Korea relations
- Malaysia recalls its ambassador from North Korea amid an ongoing dispute over the alleged assassination of Kim Jong-nam by North Korean agents in the country. (BBC)
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the global transfer of weapons between 2012 and 2016 has been higher than any other five-year period since the end of the Cold War, with the Middle East increasing its weapon imports by 212%, second only to India, who accounted for 13% of the world's imports. (The Guardian)
Montenegro–Russia relations
- A Montenegrin prosecutor accuses Russian authorities of being involved in the October 2016 coup plot in order to halt Montenegro's accession to NATO. Russian officials dismiss the allegations as "absurd." (The Guardian)

Law and crime

Antisemitism in the United States
- The Ronald Gardenswartz Jewish Community Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico is evacuated for the second time this year following a bomb threat, after a wave of threats against Jewish institutions in the United States. (Albuquerque Journal)

Politics and elections

Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin dies suddenly in New York City. He would have turned 65 on Tuesday. (Reuters) (New York Daily News)
Formation of Donald Trump's cabinet
- President Donald Trump names United States Army Lt. General H. R. McMaster as National Security Advisor and says that U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who has been the acting NSA, will remain as the NSC's Chief of Staff. (Fox News)

February 19, 2017 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War, Battle of Mosul
- Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have launched an operation to regain control of western Mosul from ISIL militants. The United Nations says humanitarian agencies are setting up in these older sections of the city where, already, food and fuel supplies are dwindling, running water is scarce, and electricity in many neighborhoods is unreliable for the estimated 800,000 civilians. (CNN) (BBC) (UN-OCHA)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- A car bomb explodes in the Wadajir District of Mogadishu, killing at least 20 people and injuring 50 more. (Al Jazeera)
An explosion kills one and injures at least 30 people, mostly police officers preparing for the weekly anti-bullfighting protests in Bogotá, Colombia. Bullfighting resumed last month after a four-year lull, per a Supreme Court order. Responsibility has not been determined. (Reuters) (BBC) (i24news)
War in North-West Pakistan
- An overnight Pakistani counter-terrorism raid kills five members of the banned Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which has claimed responsibility for recent deadly terrorist attacks. Four militants escaped. (AP)

Business and economics

Kraft Heinz drops its bid to buy Unilever for US$143 billion. Unilever rejected the idea last Friday but Kraft Heinz still expressed interest in finding an agreement. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2017 Afghanistan avalanches
- At least 25 people are killed by snowstorms and avalanches in northern Afghanistan as heavy snow continues to hit the country. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

Mongolia's economy
- An agreement is reached between Mongolian government representatives and the International Monetary Fund and other international partners on a three-year, $5.5 billion economic stabilization package. (Reuters) (IMF)

Politics and elections

Ecuadorian general election, 2017
- Voters head to the polls to select the National Assembly and a new president with former vice-president Lenín Moreno facing off against former bank president Guillermo Lasso, and six other opposition candidates. There will be an April 2 runoff unless the leader receives 40 percent of the votes and is at least 10 percentage points ahead of the others. In addition, there's a tax haven referendum. (Reuters)
South Sudanese Civil War
- Two top level officials overseeing South Sudan's military courts resign from their posts, accusing the government of interfering in the court's moves to discipline soldiers accused of rape and murder. The resignations come less than a week after a military general and the Minister of Labour resigned in protest of President Salva Kiir Mayardit's alleged approval of atrocities against civilians not belonging to the Dinka group. (Al Jazeera)
2017 Belarusian protests
- Demonstrations spread to the second city of Belarus—Gomel—where 2,000 march against a 2015 tax law. (Reuters)

Science and technology

SpaceX CRS-10
- SpaceX successfully launches a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, placing a Dragon spacecraft in orbit and recovering the launcher's first stage. The spacecraft will resupply the International Space Station.(NPR)

Sports

2017 Asian Winter Games
- The week-long 2017 Asian Winter Games open at Sapporo Dome in Japan with more than 2,000 athletes from 31 countries, including North Korea, participating. (AP)

February 18, 2017 (Saturday)

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Disasters and accidents

2017 Leuven derailment
- One person is killed and 20 are injured when a passenger train derails near Leuven, Belgium. (Sky News)
A bus traveling to Chile overturns in Argentina's Mendoza Province, killing at least 19 people. (Reuters)

International relations

China–North Korea relations, North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- China's Ministry of Commerce suspends all coal imports from North Korea until the end of 2017, as part of international sanctions against North Korea over its ballistic missile program. (The Washington Post)
War in Donbass
- At the Munich Security Conference, a truce between Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian army, per the Minsk Protocol, takes effect Monday. Pending a permanent political agreement, Russian President Vladimir Putin orders that civil registration documents issued in separatist-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine be temporarily recognized. Ukrainian authorities say this violates provisions in the Minsk agreement. This is the third such agreement because the previous two in 2014 and 2015 were violated. Low-level fighting and artillery fire never fully stopped. (Al Jazeera) (CNN)

Law and crime

According to the United Nations, as many as 96 families have been displaced by criminal gangs who are filling the vacuum left by FARC rebels in Colombia after the latter signed a peace deal with the government last year. (BBC)
Omar Abdel-Rahman, convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, dies in his federal prison cell in Butner, North Carolina. (CNN)

Politics and elections

As many as fifty thousand people gather in Manila for a march organized by the Philippine Catholic Church to protest the Philippine Drug War. (International Business Times), (Fox News)
Adama Barrow is officially sworn in as the Gambia's new President. (BBC)

Science and technology

SpaceX CRS-10
- SpaceX delays the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida due to a technical issue. The Falcon 9 will resupply the International Space Station. (CNBC)

Sports

Iran defeats the United States to take the gold medal in freestyle wrestling's World Cup. (Financial Tribune) (Time) (Flowrestling)

February 17, 2017 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency
- Up to seven suicide bombers blow themselves up after failing in an attempt to attack a camp for displaced people near Maiduguri, Nigeria. (Al Jazeera)
War in North-West Pakistan
- In response to yesterday's bombing at the Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar that killed 88 people, the Pakistan Army claims to have killed more than 100 terrorists and arrested many others. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Mark Zuckerberg publishes a new mission statement for his website, Facebook, including the development of artificial intelligence to identify potential tragic events such as suicides before they occur. (Forbes) (The Guardian)

Business and economics

British-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever rejects a US$143 billion takeover from Kraft Heinz, saying the deal had no financial or strategic merit. Nevertheless, Kraft is still interested in finding agreement; it has until March 17 to make a final bid under UK takeover rules. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Cyclone Dineo kills seven and destroys twenty-thousand homes in Mozambique. (Newsweek)
Severe storms in southern California prompt flash flood warnings over most of southern and central California, toppling trees and power lines, and delaying over 300 flights from Los Angeles International Airport. (ABC)

Health

Authorities in the state of Pennsylvania discover the Seoul virus, a member of the Hantavirus family, in a contained scientific breeding-facility for rats. (CBS)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- Nearly five hundred African migrants swarm the border of Spain from Morocco. (CNN)

Law and crime

Princess Cristina of Spain is acquitted of fraud but her husband is convicted. (The New York Times)

Politics and elections

Leila de Lima, senator and critic of the Philippine Drug War, is charged by Philippines justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II of alleged drug-related crimes. (BBC)
Political appointments of Donald Trump
- With a 52–46 vote, the U.S. Senate confirms Attorney General of Oklahoma Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Breaking with party lines, Republican Susan Collins opposed the nomination, while Democrats Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Manchin supported Pruitt, who has been described as a climate change denier with a history of criticizing the agency he now leads. (CNBC)

Science and technology

Zealandia comes closer to being recognized as a continent. (BBC), (The Guardian)

More February 2017 events...

Ongoing events
Disasters European cold wave UK and Ireland windstorm season Law Philippine Drug War Political European migrant crisis (timeline) Romanian protests South China Sea disputes United States immigration ban More details on ongoing conflicts below Sport 2016–17 Bundesliga 2016–17 La Liga 2016–17 NBA season 2016–17 NHL season 2016–17 PBA season 2016–17 Premier League 2016–17 Serie A 2016–17 EuroLeague 2016–17 EuroLeague Women 2017 Pakistan Super League 2017 Asian Winter Games edit sidebar

Recent deaths
February 2017 22: Ed Garvey 21: Kenneth Arrow 21: Desmond Connell 21: Ion Croitoru 20: Vitaly Churkin 20: Mildred Dresselhaus 20: Steve Hewlett 19: Charismatic 19: Larry Coryell 19: Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe 18: Omar Abdel-Rahman 18: Norma McCorvey 18: Clyde Stubblefield 18: Daniel Vickerman 17: Warren Frost 17: Robert Michel 17: Michael Novak 17: George Steele 16: Dick Bruna 16: Jannis Kounellis 15: Stuart McLean 13: Ricardo Arias Calderón 13: Kim Jong-nam 12: Al Jarreau 12: Sione Lauaki 11: Chavo Guerrero Sr. 10: Mike Ilitch 10: Hal Moore 9: Packy 8: Tara Palmer-Tomkinson 8: Tom Raworth 8: Hans Rosling 7: Svend Asmussen 7: Richard Hatch 7: Alec McCowen 7: Raymond Smullyan 6: Irwin Corey 6: Inge Keller 6: Joost van der Westhuizen 4: Basil Hetzel 4: Bano Qudsia 3: Gordon Aikman 2: Jeff Sauer 1: Desmond Carrington 1: Étienne Tshisekedi January 2017 31: Rob Stewart 31: John Wetton 31: Tokitenkū Yoshiaki 28: Christopher Bland 28: Many Clouds 27: Emmanuelle Riva 26: Mike Connors 26: Barbara Hale 26: Tam Dalyell 25: John Hurt 25: Mary Tyler Moore 24: Butch Trucks edit sidebar

Elections and Referendums
Recent February 5: Liechtenstein, Landtag 8: Somalia, President 12: Germany, President 12: Switzerland, Referendum 12: Turkmenistan, President 19: Ecuador, President, National Assembly, Referendum Upcoming March 2: Northern Ireland, Assembly 7: Micronesia, Congress 15: Netherlands, House of Representatives 20: East Timor, President 26: Bulgaria, Parliament edit sidebar

Trials
Recently concluded Australia: Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara Cambodia: Sam Rainsy China: Wan Qingliang, Ling Jihua, Zhoi Bin, Guo Boxiong Iran: Babak Zanjani Netherlands: Geert Wilders Philippines: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Nur Misuari, Joel Villanueva Romania: Liviu Dragnea, Gheorghe Ștefan, Gabriel Sandu, Dorin Cocoş, Dumitru Nicolae Spain: Lionel Messi United Kingdom: Chris Denning, Adam Johnson, Ched Evans United States: Bob McDonnell, Paul Anthony Ciancia International ICTY: Radovan Karadžić Ongoing China: Bai Enpei, Pan Yiyang, Yang Weize Germany: Beate Zschäpe Indonesia: Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Mary Jane Veloso Pakistan: Waseem Azeem, Mufti Abdul Qawi Philippines: Andal Ampatuan Jr., Leila de Lima, Rodrigo Duterte, Jovito Palparan Romania: Dan Șova, Elena Udrea, Radu Mazăre, Gheorghe Nichita, Marian Vanghelie Russia: Alexei Navalny South Korea: Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil Spain: Gürtel case, Spanish Royal House, Bárcenas affair United States: Etan Patz United Kingdom: Rolf Harris, Barry Bennell International ICC: Laurent Gbagbo ICTY: Ratko Mladić Upcoming China: Wu Changshun Egypt: Mohamed Morsi Estonia: Edgar Savisaar Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi United States: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Bill Cosby edit sidebar

Ongoing conflicts
Africa Algeria and Tunisia Maghreb insurgency ISIL insurgency in Tunisia Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria Boko Haram insurgency Central African Republic Civil war Democratic Republic of the Congo Kivu conflict ADF insurgency Ituri conflict Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Libya Civil war Mali Northern Mali conflict Somalia Civil war South Sudan Ethnic violence (South Sudanese Civil War) Sudan War in Darfur South Kordofan conflict Sudanese nomadic conflicts Americas Mexico Mexican War on Drugs Peru Internal conflict in Peru Asia Afghanistan Afghanistan War China Xinjiang conflict India Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Insurgency in Northeast India India and Pakistan Kashmir conflict Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines Moro conflict Cross border attacks in Sabah Indonesia and Papua New Guinea Papua conflict Myanmar Internal conflict in Myanmar Pakistan War in North-West Pakistan Balochistan conflict Philippines CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion Thailand South Thailand insurgency Europe Armenia and Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Georgia Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Georgian–Ossetian conflict Russia Chechen–Russian conflict North Caucasus insurgency Ukraine War in Donbass Russian military intervention in Ukraine Middle East Egypt Sinai insurgency Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria Arab–Israeli conflict Iran Iran–PJAK conflict Iraq American-led intervention in Iraq Iranian intervention in Iraq Iraq and Syria (map) Military intervention against ISIL Israel and Lebanon Israeli–Lebanese conflict Israel and Palestine Gaza–Israel conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Syria American-led intervention in Syria Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Turkish military intervention in Syria Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon Turkey Turkey–PKK conflict Turkey–ISIL conflict Yemen Yemeni Civil War Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Al-Qaeda insurgency edit sidebar