Armed conflicts and attacks
Syrian Civil War
Saudi Arabia is sending troops and fighter jets to Turkey's Incirlik Air Base ahead of a planned ground invasion of Syria. Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu confirmed the deployment in Adana near the Syria–Turkey border, but said the numbers had not been confirmed. (The Independent)
Turkey says its military shelled Kurdish PYD positions in Azaz, in northern Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports the Menagh Military Airbase and a nearby village, recently captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces group, were also hit. (Reuters)
Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air strikes, capture another rebel-held village near Aleppo, according to a Russian source. In the last two days, the Syrian Army captured positions at the Hama and Raqqa provincial border, and is set to move against the Islamic State in the Raqqa Governorate, according to a Syrian military source. (Reuters) (AP via Observer–Reporter)
Asked to assess the chances of the ceasefire deal succeeding, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says 49 percent while German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says 51 percent (Reuters)
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Several Sangin security force members are killed by Taliban suicide attacks, using captured military Humvee vehicles, in the southern Afghan province of Helmand. (Reuters)
Northern Mali conflict
Ansar Dine, a militant Islamist group linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claims responsibility for yesterday's attack on a United Nations base in Kidal, northern Mali, that killed six UN peacekeepers, all from neighboring Guinea. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
A huge fire engulfs the under-construction Abu Dhabi Plaza in Astana, Kazakhstan. (RT)
A dangerous cold snap hits the northeastern United States with the city of Boston, Massachusetts, to face its coldest Valentine's Day in four decades. (Reuters)
At least three people are killed and more than 50 hospitalized from a 50-plus-car pileup amid strong winds and a whiteout along, the now closed, I-78 near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the U.S. More than 70 people are in a shelter at Jonestown Fire Station. (NBC News) (Philadelphia Inquirer)
The U.S. Geological Survey reports a magnitude 5.1 earthquake strike in Oklahoma, the state's third strongest quake, northwest of Oklahoma City. No damage or injuries are reported. Oklahoma has recently experienced a surge in seismic activity, leading to calls for the governor to make changes to oil- and gas-drilling regulations. (Reuters) (USGS)
2016 Taiwan earthquake
The death toll from the earthquake rises to 113 with four people still in the rubble of the Weiguan Golden Dragon high-rise tower in Tainan. (AP via Philly News)