February 17, 2025

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War against the Islamic State
  • Islamic State insurgency in Puntland, American military intervention in Somalia
    • In a coordinated operation, the United States and United Arab Emirates launch joint airstrikes targeting IS–Somalia militants in Bari Region, Puntland, Somalia. (Garowe Online) (Garowe Online) (Garowe Online)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • 2024 Kharkiv offensive
    • Russia says its forces have captured the village of Fyholivka in Kharkiv Oblast. (Reuters)
• 2024 Israel–Lebanon ceasefire agreement, Israel–Hamas war
  • Mohammad Shahin, a senior Hamas commander, is assassinated in an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle in Sidon, Lebanon. (Anadolu Anjasi)

Disasters and accidents

• 2025 Kerdasa building collapse
  • Ten people are killed and eight others are injured when a three-story residential building in Cairo, Egypt, collapses. (Washington Post) (Voice of America)
• Delta Air Lines Flight 4819
  • At least 8 people are injured when Delta Air Lines Flight 4819, a Mitsubishi Bombardier CRJ-900LR, crashes after catching fire and flipping over at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. (CityNews)

International relations

• Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Weimar+
  • European leaders gather in France for a summit on Ukraine after the U.S. administration announced the opening of peace talks with Russia on ending the Ukrainian war without European participation. (CNN)
  • Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says that Europe has no role in any peace negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine saying “I don’t know what they would be doing at the negotiating table. If they are going to ‘beg for’ some cunning ideas about freezing the conflict - while…they really mean continuing the war - then why invite them [Europeans] there?”. (BBC News)

Law and crime

• Syrian security forces arrest three former Assad regime officers responsible for the Tadamon massacre, which occurred in south Damascus in 2013. (The New Arab)
• Singaporean Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh is convicted of two counts of lying under oath to the Committee of Privileges and is fined S$7,000 per count, but is not disqualified as a member of parliament. (CNA)

Politics and elections

• Protests against Donald Trump
  • Protests against the second presidency of Donald Trump
    • Demonstrations take place at state capitols around the United States, including at Union Square in Washington, D.C., as part of the 50501 movement to protest against the second administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, and Project 2025. (NPR) (USA Today)
• 2025 Indonesian student protests
  • Student groups and the Civil Social Coalition party launch a protest in several cities in Indonesia against the government. (Tempo)