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Worldwide current events
Sports events

Topics in the news

Julian Edelman

Bruce McArthur pleads guilty to eight serial killings in Toronto, Canada, and is sentenced to life in prison.
In American football, the New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl (MVP Julian Edelman pictured).
Both the United States and Russia suspend the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
In association football, the AFC Asian Cup concludes with Qatar defeating Japan in the final.

February 8, 2019 (Friday)

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February 10, 2019 (Sunday)

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Law and crime

Sexual abuse scandal in Southern Baptist churches, Religious abuse, Baptists in the United States
- An investigation by Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News found that since 1998, about 380 Southern Baptist church clerics, laypersons, and volunteers have faced credible accusations of sexual abuse and that of those, roughly 220 were convicted of sex crimes or received plea deals, in cases involving more than 700 victims. Many accusers were young men and women, who allegedly experienced everything from molestation to rape and impregnation at the hands of church members. (Houston Chronicle) (Houston Chronicle₂) (San Antonio Express-News)
- President of the Southern Baptist Convention J. D. Greear condemns the sexual abuse committed by the clergy, laypersons, and volunteers and calls it "pure evil". (The Washington Post)
Three people are killed in Gandhinagar, India, by a serial killer. The alleged killer, who is later identified as a eunuch, remains at large. (Ahmedabad Mirror)

Politics and elections

2020 United States presidential election, 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
- Amy Klobuchar 2020 presidential campaign
  - United States Senator Amy Klobuchar announces her intention to run for President of the United States in the 2020 United States presidential election. (NBC News)
Demographics of Hungary, Opposition to immigration
- Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announces new tax and loan benefits for families as part of his government’s efforts to increase the birth rate in Hungary. The new measures include the expansion of a loan program for families with at least two children and waiving personal income tax for women raising at least four children. Orbán is one of the most outspoken critics of immigration to Europe from the Middle East and Asia. (France 24) (Reuters)

February 9, 2019 (Saturday)

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Disasters and accidents

2019 Piper PA-46 Malibu crash
- The family of pilot David Ibbotson launch a GoFundMe campaign to locate and recover his body, raising thousands of pounds within hours. Footballer Emiliano Sala's body was recently found in the wreckage and recovered two weeks after the plane first went missing. (BBC)
2018–19 North American winter
- Cities in the Seattle metropolitan area receive 10 inches (25 cm) of snow, the most in 70 years. (CBS News)

Politics and elections

2020 United States presidential election, 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
- Elizabeth Warren 2020 presidential campaign
  - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren announces her intention to run for President of the United States in the 2020 United States presidential election. (CNN)
2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis
- Venezuela's interim President Juan Guaidó says he will not rule out seeking the help of the United States military to remove Nicolás Maduro from power. (AFP via France 24)
- Venezuelan authorities claim that a U.S.-owned air freight company delivered a crate of assault weapons to the international airport in Valencia to be used in "terrorist actions" against the Maduro government. The air charter business involved, 21 Air, denies the charges. (Chicago Tribune)

Sports

2019 AAF season
- The Alliance of American Football kickoffs the inaugural first season. (CBS Sports)

February 8, 2019 (Friday)

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Disasters and accidents

2018–19 North American winter
- Washington Governor Jay Inslee declares a state of emergency as a winter storm that could bring up to 8 inches (20 cm) of snow begins to affect the state. (NBC News)
A fire at Flamengo sports club's youth training camp in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, leaves ten people dead and three injured. (CNN)
A train collision near Barcelona, Spain, leaves one dead and 100 injured. (The Washington Post)

Law and crime

2010–2017 Toronto serial homicides
- Bruce McArthur is sentenced to life imprisonment for eight murders in Toronto, making him the oldest known sexually motivated serial killer in Canadian history. (CBC News) (Toronto Star)

Politics and elections

2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis, Crisis in Venezuela, United States–Venezuela relations
- A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, reveals that the United States government is holding direct communications with members of Venezuela's military urging them to abandon Nicolás Maduro. (Reuters)
Accession of Macedonia to NATO
- In a 153–140 vote, the Parliament of Greece ratifies the NATO accession protocol for North Macedonia. (RFE/RL)
Spanish constitutional crisis
- The Spanish government announces that it is breaking off dialogue with the government of Catalonia, escalating the regional crisis. (Reuters)
2019 Thai general election
- Thai Princess Ubolratana conveyed a message of thanks to Thais on Saturday morning after King Vajiralongkorn issued a royal announcement late on Friday night saying political involvement by a senior royal is inappropriate.(Bangkok Post)

February 7, 2019 (Thursday)

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Business and economy

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos publishes an online essay accusing American Media, Inc. owner David Pecker of "extortion and blackmail." (The New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

Six people are killed by a gas explosion in an abandoned coal mine in Middelburg, South Africa. (BBC)

2019 Piper PA-46 Malibu crash
- The lone body found in the Piper PA-46 Malibu that disappeared two weeks ago is confirmed to be that of missing footballer Emiliano Sala. The pilot remains missing, presumed dead. (Mirror)

Politics and elections

France–Italy relations
- France withdraws its ambassador to Italy, for the first time since the Second World War, amid an ongoing verbal row and Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio’s decision to meet with members of the French yellow vest movement. (Reuters)
Me Too movement
- Californian professor Vanessa Tyson accuses Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Justin Fairfax of having sexually assaulted her in 2004. (CNBC)

Science and research

NASA scientists report the MarCO satellites, two CubeSats in deep space, have lost contact with Planet Earth. (CNN)

February 6, 2019 (Wednesday)

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Disasters and accidents

2018 Anchorage earthquake
- Two aftershocks strike Anchorage, Alaska, the first a magnitude 4.1, and the second a magnitude 3.7, occurring 23 minutes later. (Anchorage Daily News)
Heavy rain hits Rio de Janeiro, leaving three people dead and two missing. (G1)
Fourteen people were killed and fourteen others are injured when an eight-story apartment building collapsed in Istanbul, Turkey. (BBC)

Health and environment

2019 Philippines measles outbreak
- The Philippines Department of Health declares a measles outbreak attributed to the drop in trust in vaccines due to the Dengvaxia controversy. (The Philippine Star)

International relations

Accession of Macedonia to NATO
- In Brussels, an accession protocol for joining NATO is signed between Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, and Nikola Dimitrov, foreign minister of the Republic of Macedonia. (The Washington Post)
2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis, Colombia–Venezuela relations
- The Venezuelan National Guard blocks off a bridge on the Colombia–Venezuela border with a tanker truck. The Venezuelan opposition had been planning to use the bridge to bring humanitarian aid into the country, while President Nicolás Maduro has rejected foreign aid, saying "we're not a nation of beggars". (BBC) (Daily Star)

Law and crime

Game law
- In a landmark decision, the Constitutional Court of Colombia rules to ban recreational hunting, citing environmental protection concerns. (El Tiempo)

Politics and elections

2019 Guatemalan general election
- The Attorney General filed a request to withdraw immunity to the presidential candidate of National Unity of Hope, former First Lady Sandra Torres, for alleged crimes of illicit electoral financing. Torres said it was a political persecution of the former Attorney General and presidential candidate Thelma Aldana. (The Washington Post)

February 5, 2019 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- The United Kingdom Minister for Security, Ben Wallace, says he has reason to believe British photojournalist John Cantlie is still alive and is being held hostage by surviving Islamic State militants. (BBC)
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- The Taliban kill over 40 people in three separate attacks while Afghan-Taliban peace talks are taking place in Moscow. 12 others were injured. (Al Jazeera)
- Two Afghan journalists are killed by gunmen in an attack on a radio station in Taloqan, Takhar province. (Reuters)
Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
- A Burkinabé military operation reportedly kills 146 jihadists after the Al-Qaeda-linked militants killed 14 people in other attacks. (News24)
Central African Republic Civil War (2012–present)
- The Government of the Central African Republic sign a peace deal with 14 rebel groups. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

Several homes have been damaged in an uncontrolled bushfire near the New Zealand city of Nelson. (Stuff)

International relations

2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis
- Eleven Lima Group member states support a declaration recognizing Juan Guaidó as interim President of Venezuela, while three members of the Lima Group, Guyana, Mexico and Saint Lucia, did not back the declaration. (BBC)
- Portuguese bank Novo Banco blocks the transfer of $1.2 billion of Venezuelan government financial assets to Uruguay. The move was requested by the Nicolás Maduro government. (Reuters)

Law and crime

February 2019 Paris fire
- A fire in an apartment block in Paris, France, kills ten and leaves over 30 wounded. The incident is being treated as possible arson. A woman was arrested on suspicion of setting the fire. (BBC) (The Guardian)
Pope Francis makes a public statement acknowledging that some priests and bishops in the Catholic Church have been sexually abusing nuns. (CBS-6)

Politics and elections

2019 State of the Union Address, Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign
- U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his second State of the Union Address to the 116th United States Congress in the chamber of the House of Representatives. (The Washington Post)
- A fundraising effort by Trump's 2020 campaign on the days leading to the address and on the day of the address raised $2.4 million from 76,000 donors. His campaign displayed names of donors on a live streaming broadcast of the event on Donald Trump's Facebook page. This is comparable to fundraising for Trump's 2020 campaign that occurred during the 2018 address that similarly included the display of names of donors on a streaming broadcast online. (Washington Examiner)
2019 North Korea–United States Vietnam Summit, North Korea–United States relations
- During the State of the Union speech, President Trump announced he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Vietnam on February 27 and 28. (USA Today)
Nationwide protests organised by the French Confédération Générale du Travail union attract over 18,000 people in Paris, including many supporters of the Yellow vest movement. (France24) (Daily Mail)