February 19, 2016 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Second Libyan Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL
- United States Air Force warplanes carry out airstrikes on ISIL in western Libya, near the Tunisian border, reportedly killing at least 38 people. (BBC)
- Boko Haram insurgency
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- Three Palestinian assailants are shot dead in separate attacks on Israeli security forces in Jerusalem and the West Bank. (Channel NewsAsia)
- Syrian Civil War
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) take control of Al-Shaddadah and a nearby oilfield in Syria's north-east Al-Hasakah Governorate following heavy clashes with ISIL militants. (The Independent)
- Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, foresees to supply surface-to-air missiles to the "moderate opposition", so changing the power balance "like they did in Afghanistan". (Der Spiegel)
Arts and culture
- American author Harper Lee dies at the age of 89. (BBC)
- Italian author and philosopher Umberto Eco dies at the age of 84. (BBC)
Business and economy
- Yahoo Inc. says that it has created a committee of independent directors that will explore strategic alternatives, notably the sale of its core internet business. (Reuters)
- William C. Dudley is reappointed as the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for another five years. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- 2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season
- Cyclone Winston heads towards Fiji at Category 5 strength. It is expected to make landfall on Saturday. (ABC News)
Health
- Zika virus outbreak
- The first case of the Zika virus has been diagnosed in South Africa. (Times Live)
- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission orders manufacturers of self-balancing scooters (hoverboards) to ensure their products meet safety standards or face recall, or seizure at ports. CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye tells NBC News no hoverboard currently on the market meets these standards. (NBC News)
International relations
- New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says his country is willing to accept some asylum seekers from the Middle East and Asia, currently in detention camps on impoverished Pacific island nations. Presently, 267 refugees in Australia for medical treatment, some accompanied by a relative, are set to be returned to Nauru’s detention camp. Australia is hesitant about the offer, concerned that it could encourage people smugglers. (AP via The Washington Post)
- European migrant crisis
- United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
- European Union leaders unanimously agree on reforms aimed at keeping the United Kingdom in the 28-nation bloc before the country's scheduled 23 June 2016 referendum on continuing EU membership. (Reuters) (USA Today)
- Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, announces she will resign in July when her appointment ends. (BBC)
Law and crime
- The United States Department of Justice files a motion to compel Apple Inc. to comply with a court order to help the FBI hack a phone used by an attacker in the 2015 San Bernardino attack. (CNBC)
- John McAfee, creator of the anti-virus software McAfee, Inc. and former CEO, offers to unlock an iPhone that belonged to San Bernardino attacker Syed Farook for the FBI for free after Apple Inc. refused to comply with a court order asking it to unlock the device. McAfee said "It will take us three weeks," with access to a super-computer in an article published by the Business Insider. (Business Insider) (BBC)
Politics and elections
- Ugandan general election, 2016
- Opposition leader Kizza Besigye is arrested again just before a planned press conference. Police raid Besigye's Forum for Democratic Change party headquarters and fire tear gas at the FDC supporters. Partial results from the electoral commission show a lead for incumbent president Yoweri Museveni. (BBC)
- Kosovo opposition lawmakers twice disrupt today's session of parliament by tossing tear gas into the chamber to protest recent changes giving the country's Serb minority greater powers, and demanding the government’s resignation and snap elections. (Arab News) (AFP via GlobalPost)
- According to Indian Police, at least one person is killed and up to 20 people injured during, what became violent, protests by the Jat agricultural community in Rohtak, India, for a 10 percent increase in the number of their caste quota (affirmative action). (AP via The Washington Post)
- United States congressional elections, 2016
- Following the United States Supreme Court's denial of North Carolina's request to use the current district map, the state's legislature meets the deadline for a court-ordered reapportionment of its congressional voting districts. Congressional primaries are rescheduled to June 7, 2016, from March 15. (Reuters) (Chicago Tribune)