Portal:Current events/2020 February 29
February 29, 2020 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), Afghan peace process
- American and Afghan Taliban leaders will meet at the Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel in Doha, Qatar, ahead of a signing ceremony to bring an end to the 18-year war in Afghanistan, which is now the longest war in U.S. history. Taliban deputy leader Sirajuddin Haqqani says "everyone is tired of war, it has exhausted everyone", while the longest-serving NATO Commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, describes the situation as a "stalemate". (Al Jazeera)
- The U.S. and the Taliban sign a deal. (Reuters)
- Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020)
- A Turkish soldier is killed and six more are wounded by Syrian government artillery shelling near Taftanaz. (SOHR)
- Turkish bombing overnight kills 48 Syrian government troops and 14 members of the Lebanese Hezbollah, and also destroys 13 military vehicles. According to local sources, among the killed were 11 officers including a general, a brigadier general, and a colonel. (Haber 7) (SOHR)
- Turkey says it has destroyed a chemical warfare facility at a scientific research center in As-Safira, south of Aleppo with surface-to-surface missiles. Syrian Government said Turkish statement regarding the chemical warfare facility was not true. (SOHR) (Al-Masdar News)
- Turkey releases footage of targeting Syrian equipment including a Pantsir-S1. (The Drive)
- Turkish media said that drone and missile strikes targeted Syrian Kuweires and Abu al-Duhur military airbases in Aleppo Governorate, saying a hangar was destroyed. (STAR)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- The United Arab Emirates suspends all extracurricular school activities and orders nurseries closed until further notice as measures to prevent the spreading of the virus. (Al Arabiya English)
- An elderly woman traveling from Spain becomes the first case of coronavirus in Ecuador. (Reuters)
- The first case of COVID-19 is confirmed in Ireland, Qatar and Luxembourg. (RTE.ie) (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
- A 78-year-old man evacuated from the Diamond Princess becomes the first death from coronavirus in Australia. (The Guardian)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- The first death from coronavirus in the United States is confirmed after a man dies in a hospital in the Seattle area. (The New York Times) (AP News)
- The U.S. announces new travel restrictions to Iran and increased warnings against traveling to South Korea and Italy. (NBC News)
International relations
- Eighty migrants cross to Aegean Islands Lesbos and Samos overnight after Turkey opens its border with Greece. (Hürriyet)
- Turkish President Recep Erdoğan says 18,000 refugees have crossed into Europe as of this morning and that 25,000–30,000 more may cross today. Erdoğan reiterates that Turkey cannot handle another refugee wave from Syria and that it will keep its borders open. (TRT Haber)
Politics and elections
- 2020 Slovak parliamentary election
- Voters in Slovakia head to the polls to elect the members of the country's National Council. (DW)
- 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2020 South Carolina Democratic primary
- Former Vice President Joe Biden wins the South Carolina primary. (NPR)
- Businessman Tom Steyer suspends his presidential campaign, after coming in a distant third. (NBC News) (The New York Times)