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)
Disasters and accidents
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. (AAP via Philly News)
A huge fire engulfs the under construction Abu Dhabi Plaza in Astana, Kazakhstan. (RT)
International relations
Cold War II
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, speaking at the 52nd Munich Security Conference in Germany, says tensions between Russia and NATO have sent the world spiralling into a "new Cold War", blaming U.S. and European leaders for the souring of relations with Russia. He also rejected accusations that Russian warplanes have bombed civilians in Syria, saying it is "just not true". (Sky News)
February 12, 2016 (Friday) edit history watch
Armed conflicts and attacks
Northern Mali conflict
An attack by suspected Islamist militants on a MINUSMA base in the town of Kidal, northern Mali, kills at least five United Nations peacekeepers and injures 30 others. (AFP via Al Arabiya) (Reuters)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
A Libyan Air Force MiG-23 is shot down over the city of Benghazi as it conducted airstrikes on Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries positions in the coastal city. A Tobruk-based military source said the pilot survived having parachuted to safety, but his whereabouts were not immediately clear. (AFP via Yahoo News)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
At least five policemen are killed in an attack on a police station in Aden. (Daily Times)
Business and economy
Evgeny Lebedev, the owner of the British national newspaper, The Independent, announces that as of March 2016, the 29-year-old paper will only publish online with print editions coming to an end. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
2016 Taiwan earthquake
The death toll from the earthquake rises to 94 with 550 people injured, and at least 30 more missing and believed buried in the apartment complex rubble in Tainan. (CNN)
International relations
Syrian Civil War
John Kerry, the United States Secretary of State, says that a meeting of 17 ministers in Munich has agreed to a ceasefire within a week and delivery of humanitarian assistance beginning immediately. (Reuters via ABC News)
East–West Schism
Pope Francis meets with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in Havana, Cuba. It is the first time that the heads of the Roman Catholic Church and Russian Orthodox Church have ever met. (CNN)
North Korea–South Korea relations, North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
The discontinuance of electricity and water into the Kaesong area impacts area residents who lose their steady supply of water. The public received about 60 percent of the 17,000 tons of water South Korea pumped north each day. (AP via Fox News)
China has announced it will back a United Nations resolution to make North Korea "pay the necessary price" for the recent rocket launch. (Reuters)
The United States deploys an additional Patriot missile battery to South Korea in response to North Korea's recent rocket launch. (The Japan Times)
Law and crime
Pakistan arrests 97 people allegedly involved in terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who were allegedly plotting a variety of attacks including a plan to get Daniel Pearl's killer out of prison. (Reuters via Channel News Asia)
Two people are killed on the campus of Independence High School in Glendale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The campus is on lockdown, but there is no active shooter situation any longer. (The Arizona Republic)
Politics and elections
Stuart Robert, Australia's Minister for Veterans' Affairs and for Human Services, resigns for breaching ministerial standards during his 2014 business trip to China while Assistant Minister for Defence. (AP)
South Sudanese Civil War
Salva Kiir, the President of South Sudan, appoints rebel leader Riek Machar as Vice President in a bid to end a two year civil war. (Bloomberg)
2016 United States presidential election
Jim Gilmore suspends his campaign for the Republican Party nomination. (The Guardian)