International relations

• China–Poland relations
  • Poland bans all Chinese-made vehicles from entering military sites, citing data security concerns regarding onboard sensors. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Terrorism in Australia
  • Australia issues a temporary exclusion order barring one citizen held in a Syrian detention camp from returning to the country under counter-terrorism legislation, citing the citizen's possible links to Islamic State members. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2028 Philippine presidential election
  • Philippine vice president Sara Duterte announces her candidacy in the next presidential election. (AFP via France 24) (Reuters)
• 2026 Japanese general election
  • Sanae Takaichi is re-appointed Prime Minister of Japan by the House of Representatives after winning the legislative election. (AP)

Science and technology

• Human rights in Gabon
  • Gabon suspends access to social media platforms YouTube and TikTok citing concerns they undermine social cohesion and threaten national security. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Eastern Ukraine campaign, Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
    • Three Sloviansk Thermal Power Plant engineers are killed and another is injured in a Russian drone attack on a vehicle in Mykolaivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (RBC-Ukraine)
  • At least six people are injured and buildings and vehicles are damaged in large-scale Russian strikes on Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. (RBC-Ukraine)
• The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations says a vessel and a skiff exchanged small-arms fire southwest of Aden, Yemen. (The Jerusalem Post)

Business and economy

• 2026 Cuban crisis
  • Canadian mining firm Sherritt International announces that it will suspend operations in Moa, Holguín, Cuba, after planned fuel deliveries were not fulfilled due to the U.S. blockade affecting oil shipments to the island. (AA)

Disasters and accidents

• At least four people are killed and 29 others are injured in a more than 30-vehicle pileup in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. (WLS-TV) (Times Now)
• At least three servicemen are reportedly killed and several others are injured in an explosion at a military commandant's building in Sertolovo, Leningrad Oblast, Russia. (News.Az) (Al Jazeera)
• Six backcountry skiers are rescued and ten others are reported missing in an avalanche on the Donner Pass northwest of Lake Tahoe in California, United States. (KABC-TV)

International relations

• 2026 United States–Iran crisis
  • Iran partially closes the Strait of Hormuz for several hours due to military exercises and warns the United States to avoid a military escalation. (Euronews) (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Killing of Quentin Deranque
  • French police arrest nine people, including an aide to legislator Raphaël Arnault, in connection with the fatal beating of Quentin Deranque during clashes between far-left and far-right groups in Lyon last week. (AFP and Reuters via Al Jazeera)
• Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
  • An Azerbaijani military court sentences former Republic of Artsakh state minister Ruben Vardanyan, who was arrested in 2023 while leaving the region after Azerbaijan regained control, to 20 years in prison for terrorism, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. (Reuters)
• An 18-year-old is arrested after running towards the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., with a loaded shotgun, multiple rounds of ammunition and a tactical vest. (Reuters) (WJLA-TV)

Politics and elections

• Impeachment of José Jerí
  • Peruvian president José Jerí is removed from office by Congress. (Reuters)
• Premiership of Tarique Rahman
  • Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Tarique Rahman is sworn in as the 11th prime minister of Bangladesh following the party's victory in the recent election. (The Guardian)

Science and technology

• Human rights in Gabon, Telecommunications in Gabon
  • Gabon's telecommunications regulator announces the suspension of social media access nationwide until further notice, citing online content that it says contributes to public disorder. (AFP via Yedioth Ahronoth)
• Solar eclipse of February 17, 2026
  • An annular solar eclipse lasting up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds is visible from Antarctica, for the first time since 2014, the Southern Ocean, and the South Indian Ocean, and partially observed in Africa, Argentina, and Chile. (EclipseWise) (AP) (hub.pl)

February 18: First day of Ramadan (2026); Ash Wednesday (Western Christianity, 2026); Tibetan New Year begins (2026)

• 1268 – Northern Crusades: The Battle of Wesenberg (depicted) took place between Novgorodian and Pskovian forces against the Livonian Order and its allies, ending with Russian forces retreating from Danish Estonia.
• 1766 – Enslaved Malagasy captives on the Dutch East India Company slave ship Meermin began a mutiny that led to the ship's destruction on Cape Agulhas in present-day South Africa and the recapture of the instigators.
• 1943 – The core members of the White Rose, an anti-Nazi resistance group, were arrested by the Gestapo.
• 1946 – President Harry S. Truman signed the Rescission Act, annulling benefits payable to Filipino troops who fought for the U.S. during World .
• 2001 – American FBI agent Robert Hanssen was arrested for having spied for the KGB and GRU over a 22-year period.