600Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Pope Gregory the
Great declared "God bless you" to be the correct response to a
sneeze. It was once thought that sneezing was an omen of death,
since many dying people fell into sneezing fits.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_bless_you)
923Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Abu Dja'far
Mohammed Djarir al-Tabari (83), Islamic historian, died.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1075Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Ordericus Vitalis,
French monk, historian, poet, was born.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1270Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In the Karusa Ice
war in Estonia, Lithuanian forces defeated the Livonian Knights of
the Cross.
   (LHC, 2/16/03)
1497Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Philipp
Melanchthon, German Protestant reformer (Augsburgse Confessie), was
born.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1519Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Gaspard de
Coligny, Huguenot leader, French admiral, was born.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1559Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Pope Paul IV
called for the overthrow of sovereigns supporting heresy.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1568Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A sentence of the
Holy Office condemned all the inhabitants of the Netherlands to
death as heretics. From this universal doom only a few persons,
especially named, were acquitted.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighty_Years%27_War)
1620Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Frederick William,
founder of Brandenburg-Prussia, was born.
   (HN, 2/16/98)
1641Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, English king
Charles I accepted the Triennial Act.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1677Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Earl of
Shaftesbury was arrested and confined to the London Tower. [see Oct
24, 1681]
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1740Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Giambattista
Bodoni, printer, typeface designer (Bodoni), was born in Saluzzo,
Italy.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1741Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Benjamin
Franklin's General Magazine (2nd US Mag) began publishing.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1751Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Thomas Gray's poem
"Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard" was 1st published.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1760Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Cherokee Indians
held hostage at Fort St. George, SC, were killed in revenge for
Indian attacks on frontier settlements.
   (HN, 2/16/99)(MC, 2/16/02)
1779Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, William Boyce,
English organist, composer (Cathedral Music), died. [see Feb 7]
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1804Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Lt. Stephen
Decatur attacked Tripoli, where pirates held the USS Philadelphia.
Decatur and 76 volunteers, aboard the captured Intrepid, attempted
to recapture the Philadelphia, which caught fire, exploded and sank.
Decatur and his crew escaped.
   (AP, 2/16/98)(HN, 2/16/98)(ON, 2/03, p.2)
1808Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Peninsular War
began when Napoleon ordered a large French force into Spain under
the pretext of sending reinforcements to the French army occupying
Portugal.
   (MC, 6/21/02)
1812Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Henry Wilson, 18th
U.S. Vice President (Grant 1873-1875), was born.Â
   (HN, 2/16/98)
1822Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Francis Galton
(d.1911), English scientist, was born. He was one of the first
moderns to present a carefully considered eugenics program.
   (NH, 6/97, p.18)(SFC, 8/28/97,
p.A12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Galton)
1823Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, John Daniel
Imboden (d.1895), Brig General (Confederate Army), was born.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1826Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Franz von
Holstein, composer, was born.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1829Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Francois-Joseph
Gossec (95), Belgian-French composer (Messe de Morts), died.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1838Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Henry Adams, was
born. He was the son and grandson of the presidents who became a
U.S. historian and wrote "The Education of Henry Adams."
   (HN, 2/16/99)
1845Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Quinton Hogg,
English philanthropist, was born. [see Feb 14]
   (HN, 2/16/01)
1847Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Ludwig Philipp
Scharwenka, German composer (Album Polonaise), was born.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1852Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Charles Taze
Russell (d.1916) was born in Pittsburgh. In 1872 Russell abandoned
the Adventist movement and formed the International Bible Students
Association, which was later named Jehovah’s Witnesses (1931).
  Â
(www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/302393/Jehovahs-Witness)(AH,
4/07, p.30)
1854Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Franz Liszt's
symphony "Orpheus," premiered.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1857Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Elisha Kent Kane
(b.1820), US Navy surgeon and Arctic explorer, died of a stroke in
Cuba.
   (ON, 6/09, p.5)
1862Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, During the Civil
War, some 14,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered at Fort
Donelson, Tenn. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's victory earned him the
nickname "Unconditional Surrender Grant." Nathan Bedford Forrest
escaped.
   (AP, 2/16/98)(HN, 2/16/98)
1864Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Battle of Mobile,
Al., operations by Union Army.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1865      Feb 16, Columbia,
S.C., surrendered to Federal troops.
   (HN, 2/16/98)
1868Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, San Francisco
police have recently been investigating the proceedings of a gang of
thieving boys who denominate themselves and are known to the world
as the Hoodlum Gang.
  Â
(http://gadling.com/2011/08/04/the-hoodlums-of-san-francisco/)
1868Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks (B.P.O.E.) was organized in New York City
by members of the theatrical profession. Later, men in other
professions were permitted to join the social organization. The
letters E.L.K. are repeated in the titles of some of its officers,
such as Esteemed Leading Knight and Esteemed Loyal Knight..
   (AP, 2/16/98)(HNQ, 10/15/99)
1870Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The clipper ship
Cutty Sark left London on its first voyage, proceeding around Cape
Hope to Shanghai 3 1/2 months later. The ship made only eight
voyages to China in the tea trade, as steam ships replaced sail on
the high seas.
   (AP, 5/21/07)
1876Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, George Macauley
Trevelyan (d.1962), English historian (Giuseppi Garibaldi), was
born: “’History repeats itself’ and ‘History never repeats itself’
are about equally true ... We never know enough about the infinitely
complex circumstances of any past event to prophesy the future by
analogy.”
   (AP, 4/14/01)(MC, 2/16/02)
1878Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The silver dollar
became US legal tender.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1883Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, "Ladies Home
Journal" began publishing.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1886Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Van Wyck Brooks
(d.1963), American biographer, critic and literary historian, was
born. “Nothing is so soothing to our self-esteem as to find our bad
traits in our forebears. It seems to absolve us.”
   (AP, 8/14/00)(HN, 2/16/01)
1892Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The opera
“Werther” premiered at the Imperial Theatre Hofoper in Vienna. It
was composed in 1887 by French composer Jules Massenet based on
Goethe’s 1774 novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther.”
   (SFC, 9/17/10,
p.F1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werther)
1903Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Edgar Bergen,
radio ventriloquist and comedian, was born in Chicago.
   (HN, 2/16/01)(MC, 2/16/02)
1903Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, At Pokegama,
Minnesota, temperatures fell to a record state low of 59 degrees
below zero.
   (SFC, 2/16/09, p.D10)
1904Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, George Keenan,
U.S. diplomat, was born. He became a historian and proposed the
policy of “containment” for dealing with the Soviet Union.
   (HN, 2/16/99)
1905Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, 1st US Esperanto
club was organized in Boston. Dr. Lazarus Ludwig Zamenhof
(1859-1917), a Polish ophthalmologist, invented the artificial
language in 1885.
   (MC, 2/16/02)(SFCM, 6/8/03, p.18)
1907Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Fernando
Previtali, composer, was born.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1909Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The SF Citizens
Health Committee declared SF free of bubonic plague.
   (ON, 1/00, p.7)
1909Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, 1st subway car
with side doors went into service in NYC.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1909Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Serbia mobilized
against Austria and Hungary.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1915Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Emil Waldteufel,
[Charles Levy], French composer (Estudiantina), died.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1916Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Russian troops
conquered Erzurum, Armenia.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1917Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The 1st Madrid
synagogue in 425 years opened.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1918Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Council of
Lithuania declared the independence of the State of Lithuania. The
council also declared that the foundations of the state would be
determined by a Constituent Assembly to be elected by the
inhabitants on the basis of universal, equal and secret suffrage.
Independence lasted until World War II. It again declared
independence in 1990.
   (DrEE, 10/5/96, p.5)(LHC, 2/16/03)(AP, 2/16/07)
1919Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Sir Mark Sykes
(b.1879), best known for the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement dividing up
the Middle East in anticipation of the fall of the Ottoman Empire,
died of Spanish flu in Paris. In 2008 an Oxford team took tissue
samples before reburying his body in its grave in East Yorkshire.
They hoped to find clues that might help fight a future global
influenza outbreak.
   (AP,
9/17/08)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Sykes)
1920Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Patty Andrews,
vocalist (Andrews Sisters), was born in Minneapolis.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1920      Feb 16, The Allies
accepted Berlin’s offer to try World War I war criminals in
Leipzig’s Supreme Court.
   (HN, 2/16/98)
1922Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Geraint Evans,
Welsh opera baritone (Knaben Wunderhorn, Falstaff), was born.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1922Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Univ. of
Vytautas the Great re-opened in Kaunas. It was Lithuania’s main
university until 1930.
   (DrEE, 11/23/96, p.4)(LHC, 2/16/03)
1923Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Bessie Smith
(1898-1937) made her first recording "Down Hearted Blues." Her
recording was included by the National Recording Preservation Board
in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2002.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downhearted_Blues)(www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6TiLIeVZA)
1923Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Egypt the
burial chamber of King Tutankhamen's recently unearthed tomb was
unsealed by archeologist Howard Carter.
   (AP,
2/16/08)(www.king-tut.org.uk/curse-of-king-tut/howard-carter-timeline.htm)
1932Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The 1st patent for
a tree was issued to James Markham for a peach tree.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1934Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Thousands of
Socialists battled Communists at a rally in New York’s Madison
Square Garden.
   (HN, 2/16/98)
1935Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Brian Bedford,
actor (Anthony-Coronet Blue), was born in England.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1935Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Salvatore Bono
(d.1998), vocalist (Sonny & Cher), (Rep-R-Ca, 1995-98), was born
in Detroit.
   (SFC, 1/6/98, p.A11)(MC, 2/16/02)
1936Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Spanish Frente
Popular (People's Front) won elections.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1937Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Wallace H.
Carothers, a research chemist for Du Pont who invented nylon,
received a patent for the synthetic fiber. It would replace silk in
a number of products and reduce costs. [see 1930] In 2000 Susannah
Handley authored "Nylon: The Story of a Fashion Revolution."
   (HN, 2/16/98)(AP, 2/16/98)(WSJ, 1/21/00, p.W8)
1938Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The US Federal
Crop Insurance program was authorized.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1940Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The British
destroyer HMS Cossack rescue British seamen from a German prison
ship, the Altmark, in a Norwegian fjord.
   (HN, 2/16/99)
1941Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Italians lost
their last position in the Sudan.
   (HN, 2/16/98)
1941Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Kim Jong Il, son
of Kim Il Sung, was born in the far East of the Soviet Union. He
took over leadership of North Korea from his father in 1994.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il)
1942Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, German submarines
attacked an Aruba oil refinery and sank the tanker Pedernales.
   (MC, 2/16/02)(SSFC, 11/10/02, p.C11)
1942Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Tojo outlined
Japan’s war aims to the Diet, referring to "new order of
coexistence" in East Asia. During the Japanese war crimes trials,
Tojo himself took responsibility, as premier, for anything either he
or his country had done. He asserted, however, with the other
defendants, that they--and Japan--had made war only in
"self-defense."
   (HN, 2/16/98)
1943Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Withdrawing Africa
Corps reached the Mareth-line in North Africa.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1943Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Sign on Munich
facade: "Out with Hitler! Long live freedom!" was posted by the
"White Rose" student group. They were caught on 2/18 and beheaded on
2/22.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1943Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Red army
conquered Kharkov.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1944Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Richard Ford,
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, was born. His work included “The
Sportswriter” and “Independence Day.”
   (HN, 2/16/01)
1944Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The submarine USS
Scorpion (SS-278) and Steelhead were warned that they were close
together in the Yellow Sea, and that an enemy submarine was in the
vicinity. On 6 March 1944 Scorpion was reported as presumed lost
with all sixty officers and men.
   (http://tinyurl.com/ycseedd5)
1945Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, American
paratroopers landed on Corregidor during World War II, in a campaign
to liberate the Philippines.
   (AP, 2/16/98)(HN, 2/16/98)
1946Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The 1st
commercially designed helicopter was tested at Bridgeport, Ct.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1948Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, NBC-TV began
airing its first nightly newscast, "The Camel Newsreel Theatre,"
which consisted of “20th Century Fox- Movietone News” newsreels.
   (AP, 2/16/98)(MC, 2/16/02)
1949Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Chaim Weitzman was
elected the 1st president of Israel. The title was invented by PM
David Ben-Gurion to honor and to sideline veteran Zionist leader
Chaim Weitzman.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim_Weizmann)(Econ, 8/29/15, p.40)
1951Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, NYC passed a bill
prohibiting racism in city-assisted housing.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1951Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Stalin contended
that the U.N. was becoming the weapon of aggressive war.
   (HN, 2/16/98)
1952Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The FBI arrested
10 members of the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina.
   (HN, 2/16/98)
1952Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Jan Kerouac
(d.1996), novelist daughter of Jack Kerouac, was born. Her books
included "Baby Driver" (1981) and "Trainsong" (1988).
   (SFC, 6/7/96, p.A22)(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Kerouac)
1956      Feb 16, In
Antarctica the McMurdo research station was established by the
United States near McMurdo Sound. It was named for a British naval
officer who was part of the expedition that first charted the area
in 1841. Founders initially called the station Naval Air Facility
McMurdo. It was named for a British naval officer who was part of
the expedition that first charted the area in 1841.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMurdo_Station)Â Â Â
(Reuters, 12/13/18)
1956Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Britain abolished
the death penalty.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1957Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, LeVar Burton,
(Roots, Star Trek Next Generation), was born in Landstuhl, Germany.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1957Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A US flag flew
over an outpost in Wilkes Land, Antarctica. Wilkes Land is named
after Lieutenant Charles Wilkes (later a Rear Admiral), the American
explorer who commanded the 1838–42 United States Exploring
Expedition.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilkes_Land)(HN,
2/16/98)
1959Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Leonard
Spigelgass' "Majority of One," premiered in NYC.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1959Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The US House
Committee on Un-American Activities has charged that an “elite
corps” of Communist lawyers is promoting the party’s cause in the
courts, Congress and government agencies. A committee report dealt
with the activities of 39 lawyers, who were among more than 100
lawyers identified as Communists in sworn testimony before the
committee in the past decade.
   (SSFC, 2/15/09, DB p.50)
1959Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Fidel Castro took
the oath as Cuban premier in Havana after the overthrow of Fulgencio
Batista.
   (HN, 2/16/98)(AP, 2/16/98)
1960Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, US nuclear
submarine USS Triton set off on underwater round-world trip.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The United States
launched the “Explorer Nine” satellite.
   (AP, 2/16/01)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Wilbert Ridieu
(19) robbed the Lake Charles, La., Gulf National Bank. He walked out
with $14,000 and 3 hostages, 2 of whom he shot and left for dead.
Rideau stabbed to death Julia Ferguson on a rural Louisiana road
following the bank robbery. He confessed and was sentenced to death
3 times. Rideau escaped death in the 1970s when the death penalty
was outlawed. In 2003 his case was still in court. While in prison
Rideau became a self-educated writer and elevated the prison
magazine, the Angolite, to national acclaim. In 2005 Rideau was set
free for time served after a racially mixed jury found him guilty of
manslaughter.
   (NW, 1/13/03, p.52)(AP, 1/16/05)(SFC, 1/17/05,
p.A5)
1961Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, China used it's
1st nuclear reactor.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Todd Gitlin
(b.1943), Harvard activist, helped organize a national anti-war
rally in Washington, DC. Some 8,000 students turned up. Boston SANE
& the fledgling SDS organized the first anti-nuclear march.
  Â
(www.peacebuttons.info/new/E-News/peacehistoryfebruary.htm#february16)(Econ,
2/18/12, p.15)
1962Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A North Sea flood
disaster hit the coastal regions of Germany and in particular the
city of Hamburg where 315 were killed. Helmut Schmidt, police
senator of Hamburg, coordinated the rescue operations, commandeered
the army to help and requested for emergency help throughout Europe.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of_1962)(Econ,
11/14/15, p.94)
1963Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, 1st round-trip
swim of Straits of Messina, Italy, was made by Mary Revell of US.
   (MC, 2/16/02)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Beatles made
their 2nd appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show" from the Deauville
Hotel in Miami.
   (SFC, 3/6/04, p.D17)
1965Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Four persons were
held in a plot to blow up the Statue of Liberty, Liberty Bell and
the Washington Monument.
   (HN, 2/16/98)
1966Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The World Council
of Churches being held in Geneva, urged immediate peace in Vietnam.
   (HN, 2/16/98)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Beatles George
Harrison & John Lennon flew to India with their wives for
transcendental meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
   (www.beatles.ws/1968.htm)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, America’s first
911 emergency telephone system was inaugurated in Haleyville, Ala.
   (AP, 2/16/98)
1970Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In SF a homemade
bomb exploded outside the police Park Station on Waller St. Sgt.
Brian McDonnell (44) died 2 days later and 8 other officers were
injured. Black Panthers were suspected, but a later investigation
suggested it was the work of the Weather Underground.
   (SFC, 1/27/07, p.A8)(SFC, 2/17/07, p.B1)
1972Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Wilt Chamberlain
became the 1st NBA player to score 30,000 points.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_career_achievements_by_Wilt_Chamberlain)
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Heritage
Foundation, a conservative public policy think tank, was founded in
Washington, DC, by Paul Weyrich, Edwin Feulner, and Joseph Coors.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heritage_Foundation)(SFC,
12/28/17, p.D5)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Janani Luwum, the
Anglican archbishop of Uganda, and two other men were killed in what
Ugandan authorities said was an automobile accident.
   (AP, 2/16/98)
1978Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The 1st Computer
Bulletin Board System was Ward & Randy's CBBS in Chicago.
   (www.historyoftheinternet.com/chap3.html)
1978Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, China and Japan
signed a $20 billion trade pact, which was the most important move
since the 1972 resumption of diplomatic ties.
   (HN, 2/16/98)
1979Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Nematollah Nassiri
(b.1911), Iranian general and head of the Savak intelligence agency
during the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was executed.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nematollah_Nassiri)
1980Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Eric Heiden skated
5k in 7:02.29, an Olympic Record.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_skating_at_the_1980_Winter_Olympics)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In France
Magdalena Kopp, lover of Carlos the Jackal, aka Ilich Ramirez
Sanchez, was captured by French officials.
  Â
(www.colin-smith.info/pages/books/extracts/carlos/extract_03.htm)(SFC,12/11/97,
p.C2)
1983Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In India a bomb
wounded 13 people in the latest election violence in the
northeastern state of Assam. The assassination pushed the death toll
from 15 days of violence to at least 217 people.
   (http://tinyurl.com/cer6x)
1986Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Mario Soares
(1924-2017), Socialist, was elected Portugal's 1st civilian
president in the 2nd round of elections.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_presidential_election%2C_1986)(SSFC,
1/8/17, p.A2)
1987Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, John Demjanjuk
(66), a retired auto worker from Ohio, went on trial in Jerusalem,
accused of being "Ivan the Terrible," a guard at the Treblinka
concentration camp. He was convicted, but the Israeli Supreme Court
overturned the ruling.
   (AP,
2/16/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Demjanjuk)
1988Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Vice President
George Bush and Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis scored big
victories in the New Hampshire Republican and Democratic
presidential primaries. Bush won the New Hampshire primary over Bob
Dole, Jack Kemp, Pete du Pont and Pat Robertson 37.7 to 28.5 to 12.8
to 10.1 to 9.4%. Dukakis won over Dick Gephardt and Paul Simon 35.9
to 19.9 to 17.2%.
   (AP, 2/16/98)(SSFC, 1/25/04, p.A19)
1988Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Richard Wade
Farley gunned down 7 people at ESL Corp. during an office rampage in
Sunnyvale, Calif. Farley was later convicted of murder and sentenced
to death.
   (AP, 2/16/98)(SFC, 10/27/04, p.B1)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Investigators in
Lockerbie, Scotland, said a bomb hidden inside a radio-cassette
player was what brought down Pan Am Flight 103 the previous
December, killing all 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground.
   (AP, 2/16/99)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Former President
Reagan began two days of giving a videotaped deposition in Los
Angeles for the Iran-Contra trial of former national security
adviser John Poindexter.
   (AP, 2/16/00)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Tonya Harding won
the US female Figure Skating championship.
   (http://tinyurl.com/qpcus)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Iraqi officials
charged that 130 civilians were killed when British jet fighters
raided the town of Fallouja two days earlier.
   (AP, 2/16/01)
1991Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A Soviet Foreign
Ministry spokesman downplayed Moscow’s initial enthusiasm for an
Iraqi offer to withdraw from Kuwait, saying it was insufficient to
end the war.
   (AP, 2/16/01)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Two days before
the New Hampshire primary, five Democratic presidential candidates
debated on CNN, directing most of their criticism at President
George H.W. Bush.
   (AP, 2/16/02)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Angela Carter
(b.1940), English writer, died. Her collected writings "Shaking A
Leg" was published in 1999 by Penguin. This was the 3rd of a series
that included "Nothing Sacred" and "Expletives Deleted." In 2016
Edmond Gordon authored “The Invention of Angela Carter: A
Biography.”
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Carter)(SFEC, 2/14/99, BR
p.5)(Econ, 11/12/16, p.76)
1992Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Israeli
helicopters attacked a convoy in Sidon, Lebanon, killing Sheik Abbas
Musawi, leader of the pro-Iranian group Hezbollah. Sheik Hassan
Nasrallah (b.1960) took over Hezbollah after the Israeli
assassination of Sheik Abbas Musawi. He has led the group since,
controlling its operational activities.
   (AP, 2/16/02)(AP, 6/3/06)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Prices fell as
Wall Street reacted unfavorably to President Clinton's economic
austerity plan outlined in a White House address the night before.
   (AP, 2/16/98)
1993Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16-1993 Feb 17, An
overcrowded ferry carrying up to 1,500 people sank between Jeremie
and Port-au-Prince, Haiti, killing an estimated 500-700 people; only
285 people were known to have survived.
   (AP, 2/17/98)(AP, 2/3/06)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Figure skaters
Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan encountered each other at the
Winter Olympic Games in Norway before posing for the U.S. team
photograph.
   (AP, 2/16/99)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, At least 217
people were killed when a powerful earthquake shook Indonesia's
Sumatra island.
   (AP, 2/16/00)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Four people were
killed when tornadoes tore through rural north Alabama.
   (AP, 2/16/00)
1995Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In a dark and
defensive address to his nation, Russian President Boris Yeltsin
berated his military leaders for big losses and human rights abuses
in Chechnya, but insisted Russia had to use force to defend its
unity.
   (AP, 2/16/00)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, World chess
champion Garry Kasparov won for the second time against IBM
supercomputer “Deep Blue” in the fifth game of their match in
Philadelphia (Kasparov had drawn twice and lost once).
   (AP, 2/16/01)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Vista, San
Diego County Joshua Jenkins, 15, stabbed his parents and
grandparents to death. The next day he axed his sister. In 1997 he
was sentenced to 116 years in prison.
   (SFEC, 6/1/97, p.A22)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A commuter train
slammed into Amtrak’s Capital Limited an Silver Spring, Md., and
killed 11 people. It was later claimed that a new warning system was
partly to blame.
   (WP, 6/29/96, p.B1)(AP, 2/16/01)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Former California
Gov. Edmund G. “Pat” Brown (b.1905) died in Beverly Hills,
California, at age 90. In 2005 Ethan Rarick authored “California
Rising: The Life and Times of Pat Brown.”
   (SFC, 9/23/00, p.A19)(AP, 2/16/01)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Violence in
Bangladesh kept the election turnout to about 15%. Opposition
leaders filed no candidates and claimed that the results showed that
Prime Minister Zia had lost authority to rule.
   (WSJ, 2/16/96, p.A-1)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Green groups
threatened to boycott gas pumps that were not labeled “MMT-free.”
They claimed that the manganese based fuel additive poses health
risks. The accusation was denied by the Ethyl Corp.
   (WSJ, 2/16/96, p.A-1)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, U.S. Rep. Dan
Burton, R-Ind., the chairman of a House committee investigating
campaign fund-raising activities, told NBC's "Meet the Press" that
his probe would be far broader than originally anticipated.
   (AP, 2/16/98)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Mr. Jefferson, the
1st cloned calf, was born in Virginia.
   (www.revivicor.com/MrJefferson.htm)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Afghanistan 27
people died of the cold. Some 30,000 earthquake survivors were sent
24 truckloads of aid by the Taliban.
   (WSJ, 2/18/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Bihar, India,
20 people were killed during the first round of voting.
   (SFC, 2/23/98, p.A12)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In China Ren
Chengjian was hauled back to Zhengzhou from the US where he faced
charges of stealing vast sums, $42 million, from state-run banks and
companies.
   (SFC, 10/17/98, p.A14)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, In the Republic of
Congo a court indicted 100 members of the recently ousted government
on charges of assassination, torture, rape, fraud and theft.
   (SFC, 10/17/98, p.A14)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, Lawmakers in
Ecuador and Peru agreed to let their border dispute be resolved by
the US, Brazil, Chile and Argentina.
   (SFC, 10/17/98, p.A14)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, In Japan the Diet
approved laws to pump $517 billion in public money into the
country’s cash-strapped banks.
   (SFC, 10/17/98, p.A14)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Skier Hermann
Maier of Austria won the Super-G and Katja Seizinger of Germany won
the women's downhill at the Nagano Olympics; Russia's Pasha Grishuk
and Yeggeny Platov won the ice dancing event.
   (AP, 2/16/08)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Turkey the
government banned Muslim headwear by female students and teachers at
religious schools. Separately the leadership of the main Kurdish
political party was imprisoned on charges of links to separatist
rebels.
   (WSJ, 2/17/98, p.A1)
1998Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Taiwan a China
Airlines Airbus A300-600R crashed at Chiang Kai-shek airport while
trying to land in fog. 196 people on board were killed plus 6 on the
ground. The passengers included the governor of Taiwan’s Central
Bank and other financial officials.
   (SFC, 2/17/98, p.A6)(AP, 2/16/08)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In LA a number of
possessions of O.J. Simpson were auctioned off to cover his 1997
legal suit. A conservative Christian group purchased his Hall of
Fame plaque and other memorabilia and burned it the following day
   (SFC, 2/18/99, p.A3)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The body of Tracy
Biletnikoff (20), daughter of football player star Fred Biletnikoff,
was found at Canada College in Redwood city, Ca. Her boyfriend,
Mohammad Haroon Ali (23) fled to Mexico, but was later arrested as
he tried come back over the border.
   (SFC, 2/17/99, p.A1)(SFC, 3/16/12, p.C3)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Testimony began in
the Jasper, Texas, trial of John William King, charged with murder
in the gruesome dragging death of James Byrd Jr. King was accused of
beating Byrd with a bat and then dragging him behind a truck until
the African-American man died from decapitation. King was later
convicted and sentenced to death.
   (AP,
2/16/00)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Byrd)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Chinese Lunar
New Year began the Year of the Rabbit.
   (SFC, 2/12/99, p.C1)(SFC, 2/16/99, p.A8)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Northern
Ireland Assembly voted 77 to 29 to create a 12-member executive
council to help pave the way for the transfer of some powers from
the British government.
   (SFC, 2/17/99, p.A8)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Romanian miners
began a fresh march on Bucharest.
   (WSJ, 2/17/99, p.A1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In South Africa
the 4 policemen charged with the fatal beating of Steve Biko were
denied amnesty.
   (WSJ, 2/17/99, p.A1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Turkish commandoes
reported the capture of Abdullah Ocalan in Kenya. Kurds seized Greek
missions around Europe and took hostages. It was later reported that
US data helped the Turks capture Ocalan.
   (SFC, 2/17/99, p.A1)(WSJ, 2/17/99, p.A1)(WSJ,
2/22/99, p.A1)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Uzbekistan six
car bombs exploded in Tashkent in an assault aimed at Pres. Islam
Karimov. 13 people were killed and at least 120 injured.
   (SFC, 2/17/99, p.A8)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In NYC Lucy
Edwards (41), a former bank of New York executive, and her husband,
Peter Berlin (46), pleaded guilty to laundering over $7 billion from
Russian bankers in exchange for $1.8 million.
   (SFC, 2/17/00, p.A9)(AP, 2/16/01)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In California an
Emory Worldwide DC-8 crashed after lifting off from Mather Airport
near Sacramento and all 3 crew members were killed. A disconnected
part in the control system was later blamed for the crash.
   (SFC, 2/17/00, p.A1)(SFC, 4/21/01, p.A2)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Germany
Wolfgang Schaeuble, leader of the Christian Democrats, resigned.
   (SFC, 2/17/00, p.A12)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Israel German
Pres. Johannes Rau spoke before the parliament and gave an apology
for WW II Nazi genocide.
   (SFC, 2/17/00, p.D3)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Russia and NATO
announced a resumption of contacts that were broken in Mar 1999 due
to NATO bombing in Yugoslavia.
   (SFC, 2/17/00, p.D3)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Spanish papers
reported that former Chilean Gen. Pinochet suffered from brain
damage, according to a leaked British medical assessment, and could
not stand for trial.
   (WSJ, 2/16/00, p.A1)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Sri Lanka 57
soldiers and guerrillas were killed in renewed fighting as Knut
Vollebaek, the foreign minister of Norway, met with Pres. Chandrika
Kumaratunga to help broker peace talks.
   (SFC, 2/17/00, p.D3)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16 - 2000 Feb 21, In
Colombia militiamen under the command of Rodrigo Tovar (aka Jorge
40) tortured and dismembered at least 60 people in the town of El
Salado in northern Bolivar province during this period according to
a 2011 report from the National Commission of Reparation and
Reconciliation.
   (AP, 7/8/11)(AP, 5/21/20)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Pres. Bush on his
first foreign trip met with Pres. Fox in Mexico. They announced a
joint agenda to expand trade, protect immigrant rights and reduce
drug trafficking.
   (SFC, 2/17/01, p.A1)(AP, 2/16/02)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Two dozen US and
British aircraft bombed 5 radar and other anti-aircraft sites around
Baghdad with guided missiles. A number of new guided bombs, AGM-154A
priced from $250-700k, missed their targets.
   (SFC, 2/17/01, p.A1)(AP, 2/16/02)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In California Gov.
Davis began negotiations to purchase 32,000 miles of transmission
lines from the utilities that would allow them to issue bonds to pay
off their debt.
   (SFC, 2/17/01, p.A1)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Dr. William H.
Masters (b.1915), leading researcher in human sexuality, died at age
85 in Tucson, Ariz. He and Virginia Johnson (Masters and Johnson)
authored the best seller "Human Sexual Response" in 1966.
   (SSFC, 2/18/01, p.A24)(NW, 12/31/01, p.108)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Russia test-fired
nuclear-capable missiles from land, sea and air positions.
   (SFC, 2/17/01, p.A12)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Serbia Kosovo
militants killed 9 Serbs and injured 43 with a roadside bomb that
blew up a bus in northeastern Kosovo.
   (SFC, 2/17/01, p.A12)(SSFC, 2/18/01, p.D1)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Pres. Bush
departed on a 6-day Asia trip. Enroute to a three-nation tour of
Asia, Bush stopped off at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska, where
he told hundreds of cheering US soldiers that "America will not
blink" in the fight against terrorism and Osama bin Laden.
   (SFC, 2/16/02, p.A3)(AP, 2/16/07)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Noble, Ga.,
officials found 334 decomposing bodies at the Tri-State Crematory,
where the furnace had not worked for years. Ray Brent Marsh (28),
manager of the family operation, was arrested and charged with 5
counts of theft by deception. In 2004 families of the dead settled a
class-action suit for $80 million. Marsh pleaded guilty and was
sentenced to twelve years in prison, with credit for the time he had
served before making bond, plus seventy-five years of probation.
   (SSFC, 2/17/02,
p.A6)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-State_Crematory#Criminal_prosecution)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Mark Meier,
glacier expert, predicted that oceans would rise 7-11 inches by the
end of this century due to polar warming.
   (SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A4)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â John W. Gardner (89),
founder Common Cause, a citizen’s lobby for the well-being of the
nation, died. Gardner joined Pres. Johnson’s cabinet in 1965 where
he started Medicare and presided over the creation of PBS.
   (SFC, 2/18/02, p.A6)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Afghanistan
British peacekeepers came under fire at an observation post in
Kabul.
   (SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A18)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16-17, In Afghanistan
US forces made bombing raids aimed at controlling clashes among
militia forces. Pentagon officials later said the attacks were
against suspected al Qaeda fighters.
   (SFC, 2/19/02, p.A9)(SFC, 2/20/02, p.A14)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Some 20,000
Israelis rallied for peace in Tel Aviv. 2 Israelis were killed when
a Palestinian suicide bombed sd’d in a pizza restaurant in the West
Bank settlement of Karnei Shomron. In Jenin Nazih Abu Sabaah, a
Hamas leader, was killed by a car bomb. In the Bureij refugee camp 3
Palestinians were killed in gunfire with Israeli troops.
   (SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A12)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Zimbabwe expelled
Pierre Schori, head of the EU’s 150-member mission to observe
elections. EU officials threatened sanctions.
   (SFC, 2/16/02, p.A14)(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A13)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Michael Waltrip
raced past leader Jimmie Johnson to win the rain-shortened Daytona
500 for the second time in three years.
   (AP, 2/16/04)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The SF
anti-war demonstration cost organizers some $85,000. An estimated
200,000 people participated. Some 1000 protesters clashed with
police at the end of the rally and 46 people were arrested. A later
aerial study numbered the crowd at 65,000.
   (SFC, 2/17/03, p.A1)(SFC, 2/21/03, A1)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Eleanor "Sis"
Daley (95), the matriarch of Chicago's Daley political clan, died.
   (AP, 2/16/04)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In
Australia PM John Howard said he respects the views of hundreds of
thousands of citizens who took part in peace protests over the
weekend but would not be swayed by their opposition to war with
Iraq.
   (AP, 2/17/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Belgium
thieves over the weekend emptied more than 100 vaults at a diamond
trading center in what officials said might be the largest theft
ever in Antwerp.
   (AP, 2/18/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Cyprus
Tassos Papadopoulos was elected the country's 5th president over
Glafcos Clerides. He opposed current reunification plans.
   (AP, 2/17/03)(WSJ, 2/18/03, p.A1)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Yasser
Arafat affirmed in a letter to Britain's Tony Blair that he will
honor a pledge to appoint a prime minister. 8 Palestinians were
killed, 6 in a mysterious explosion in Gaza City and 2 by Israeli
army fire in the West Bank.
   (AP, 2/16/03)(SFC, 2/17/03, A3)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, French
President Jacques Chirac said in a published interview that the
massive US military deployment in the Persian Gulf has made it
possible to peacefully disarm Iraq.
   (AP, 2/16/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Israeli
Cabinet voted to allow about 17,000 Ethiopians with Jewish roots to
come to Israel, lifting immigration restrictions on the group known
as Falash Mura.
   (AP, 2/16/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Mexico's
central Mexico state voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum in
support of executing kidnappers, armed robbers and murderers.
   (AP, 2/17/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The
19-member NATO alliance turned to its Defense Planning Committee,
which Paris withdrew from in 1966, to negotiate an end to the
month-long NATO deadlock over Iraq. NATO agreed to supply Turkey
with defense equipment in the event of war with Iraq.
   (AP, 2/16/03)(SFC, 2/17/03, A1)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A Syrian
military truck carrying diesel fuel overturned and caught fire at a
Lebanese-Syrian border crossing, killing at least 17 people.
   (AP, 2/16/03)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A confident John
Kerry launched a full-throttle attack on President Bush's economic
policies, mostly ignoring his Democratic rivals on the eve of the
Wisconsin primary.
   (AP, 2/16/05)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Ohio a crane
collapsed at an I-80 bridge near Toledo and 3 workers were killed.
   (WSJ, 2/17/04, p.A1)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Australia
rioters set fire to a train station and pelted police with gasoline
bombs in an Aboriginal ghetto in Sydney during a nine-hour street
battle that began after a teenager died, allegedly while being
chased by officer.
   (AP, 2/16/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Belarus
President Alexander Lukashenko ordered the Justice Ministry to
strengthen control over political parties, community organizations
and unions.
   (AP, 2/16/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Ex-soldiers took
Haiti's rebellion to the key central city of Hinche, torching the
police station and freeing prisoners.
   (AP, 2/17/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, India and Pakistan
began historic meetings aimed at preparing for a sustained peace
dialogue on Kashmir and other disputes.
   (AP, 2/16/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, An earthquake
shook Indonesia's Sumatra island, killing five people and damaging
60 homes.
   (AP, 2/17/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Iraq 3 U.S.
soldiers were killed in roadside bomb blasts. A bomb exploded in a
schoolyard in a Shiite Muslim neighborhood in Baghdad, killing at
least one child and wounding three other people,
   (AP, 2/16/04)(SFC, 2/17/04, p.A3)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Thailand officials
said bird flu has been detected in a previously unaffected Thai
province and has resurfaced in eight other provinces that were under
observation.
   (AP, 2/16/04)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, US Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan urged a go-slow approach on personal Social
Security accounts, saying that while he embraces the idea central to
President Bush's proposed overhaul, he is concerned about stability
in financial markets.
   (AP, 2/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The NHL canceled
what was left of its decimated schedule after a round of last-gasp
negotiations failed to resolve differences over a salary cap, the
flash-point issue that led to a lockout.
   (AP, 2/16/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A corporate jet
crashed in Pueblo, Colo., and 8 people were killed.
   (WSJ, 2/17/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Kyoto global
warming pact went into force, 7 years after it was negotiated,
imposing limits on emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases
scientists blame for increasing world temperatures, melting glaciers
and rising oceans. Canada’s pledge to cut emissions 6% below its
1990 level by 2012 faced the problem of an average annual increase
of 1.5%.
   (AP, 2/16/05)(WSJ, 2/15/05, p.A16)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Rescuers searching
for miners trapped by a coal mine explosion in northeast China found
six more bodies, bringing the death toll in the country's worst
mining disaster in decades to 209.
   (AP, 2/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Ecuador tens of
thousands of protesters gathered near Quito's presidential palace to
demand President Lucio Gutierrez's resignation, accusing him of
authoritarian rule and with packing the supreme court with his own
judges.
   (AP, 2/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, India and Pakistan
agreed to start a bus service across a ceasefire line dividing the
disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
   (Reuters, 2/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Israel's
parliament gave the final approval to PM Ariel Sharon's plan to
withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements.
   (AP, 2/16/06)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, CEO Sergio
Marchionne announced Fiat SpA will buy the Maserati sportscar brand
from Ferrari, a company in which it already had a majority stake,
just three days after winning independence from General Motors Corp.
   (AP, 2/16/05)(Econ, 4/26/08, p.88)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Japan released GDP
numbers indicating that its economy has technically been in a
recession since Spring of 2004.
   (Econ, 2/19/05, p.40)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Paraguay the
body of Cecilia Cubas, the kidnapped daughter of former President
Raul Cubas, was dug up from behind a house months after she was
abducted by heavily armed gunmen.
   (AP, 2/17/05)(Econ, 3/12/05, p.40)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In southern Russia
a car bomb killed 3 people outside a government building in
Dagestan.
   (WSJ, 2/17/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Sudan 6 tribal
leaders in a southern Darfur area agreed to cease attacks against
each other and drop all claims for blood money for past assaults on
tribesmen.
   (AP, 2/17/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Syria and Iran
announced a united front amid perceived US threats.
   (WSJ, 2/17/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Former Turkish PM
Mesut Yilmaz rejected charges of corruption as he went on trial over
a banking scandal with alleged mafia involvement, becoming the first
head of government to be tried by the Supreme Court.
   (AFP, 2/16/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Vietnam banned all
poultry raising in the southern business capital of Ho Chi Minh City
this year to limit the risk of bird flu transmitting to humans.
   (AP, 2/16/05)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, President Bush
said he was satisfied with Vice President Dick Cheney's explanation
about his shooting accident; Texas authorities said they had closed
their investigation without filing any charges.
   (AP, 2/16/07)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Pennsylvania Sen.
Arlen Specter asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate
whether a top aide improperly helped direct nearly $50 million in
Pentagon spending to clients represented by her husband. His request
followed a USA TODAY report that he secured $48.7 million in
projects for six clients of the aide's spouse's firm.
   (USAT, 2/17/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Scientists
reported that glaciers in Greenland were melting twice as fast as
previously believed. The melting of glaciers in South America and in
the Himalayas was also accelerating due to global warming.
   (SFC, 2/17/06, p.A14)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The UN released a
report saying the US should shut down the prison for terror suspects
at Guantanamo Bay and either release all detainees or bring them to
trial.
   (AP, 2/16/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Afghanistan the
bodies of two Italian aid workers were found in a guarded compound
in Kabul. The Italian news agency ANSA said the two could have died
from carbon monoxide poisoning from a defective stove in the
compound.
   (AP, 2/16/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Australia's
parliament stripped regulatory control of an abortion drug from the
country's health minister, a staunch Roman Catholic who once warned
of an "epidemic" of abortion in Australia.
   (AP, 2/16/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A Belgian court
found three men guilty of belonging to an Islamic group linked to
terrorist attacks in Madrid and Casablanca and sentenced them to at
least six years in jail.
   (AP, 2/17/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In China Li Datong
said the Bing Dian newspaper supplement, known for hard-hitting
coverage of sensitive issues, will resume publication March 1.
However he and deputy editor Lu Yuegang were removed from their
posts and transferred to the News Research Institute, another
department of the China Youth Daily.
   (AP, 2/16/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Two shipping
accidents off eastern China's Fujian province left 61 sailors
missing.
   (AP, 2/17/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Egypt confirmed
its first cases of H5N1 bird flu.
   (Reuters, 2/17/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Indonesia signed
an agreement with Newmont Gold Corp. to drop a civil suit in
exchange for $30 million to be paid over 10 years for a fund to
monitor environmental and community development.
   (WSJ, 2/17/06, p.A6)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A top official
said Iraq's Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into
claims that Shiite-led death squads have been operating in the
country. Attacks around the country killed at least 19 people,
including six Iraqis in a car bombing and three sheiks in a drive-by
shooting.
   (AP, 2/16/06)(WSJ, 2/17/06, p.A1)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Baghdad, Iraq,
gunmen wearing Iraqi special forces uniforms kidnapped Ghalib Abdul
Hussein Kubba, director-general of the Basra International Bank, and
his son after killing five of their bodyguards.
   (AP, 2/17/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In southern Iraq 2
Macedonians working for a cleaning company were abducted in Basra. A
$1 million ransom was demanded for their release.
   (AP, 2/18/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Russia's Evgeni
Plushenko beat world champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland by an
unfathomable 27.12 points to win the gold medal in men's figure
skating at the Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
   (AP, 2/16/07)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Karachi,
Pakistan, some 40 thousand people shouting "God is Great!" marched
and burned effigies of the Danish prime minister in the country's
fourth day of protests over cartoons of Prophet Muhammad.
   (AP, 2/16/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A human rights
group said that homophobic rhetoric has escalated in Poland since a
socially conservative party came to power, threatening the rights of
gays and lesbians.
   (AP, 2/16/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Romania
authorities investigating the leak of secret military documents,
including details on coalition troops in Iraq and Afghanistan,
arrested Marian Garleanu, a Romanian journalist, for possession of
leaked material. Garleanu denied any wrongdoing and said he was
targeted because he has repeatedly exposed corruption in the
Ministry of Defense.
   (AP, 2/17/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Serbia rejected
European Union's guidelines for an independence vote in Montenegro,
increasing tensions within the troubled Balkan state.
   (AP, 2/16/06)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A government
spokesman said a swan found in Slovenia this month died of the
lethal H5N1 avian flu virus strain, according to laboratory tests
performed in Italy.
   (Reuters, 2/16/06)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The US House of
Representatives voted 246-182 for a non-binding resolution opposing
Pres. Bush’s plan to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. 17 Republicans
voted in favor.
   (SFC, 2/17/07, p.A1)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, An annual survey
released Forbes.com said Raleigh, North Carolina, topped the list of
the best US cities for getting a job.
   (Reuters, 2/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, US coffee giant
Starbucks, locked in a trademark tussle with Ethiopia, said it will
not oppose Addis Ababa's bid to brand its coffee in America and
pledged to pursue dialogue over the matter.
   (AP, 2/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Francisco
Castaneda, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, died of penile
cancer that went undiagnosed for more than a year while he was in
state and federal custody in California. In 2010 a Los Angeles jury
awarded his family $1.73 million.
   (SFC, 11/12/10, p.A9)(http://tinyurl.com/2atfmvw)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A rebel commander
said the Taliban have deployed 10,000 fighters for a spring
offensive of "bloody attacks" against foreign troops in Afghanistan.
   (AP, 2/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The ritual
sacrifice of a snow-white llama symbolically marked President Evo
Morales' nationalization of Bolivia's lone operating tin smelter.
   (AP, 2/17/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, French President
Jacques Chirac said US cotton subsidies were scandalous and immoral
because they hurt African farmers.
   (Reuters, 2/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A spokesperson
said the UN has allocated $2.35 million from an emergency fund to
provide humanitarian aid to Guinea, which is in the midst of a tense
nationwide strike.
   (AP, 2/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The number of
Iraqi civilians killed in Baghdad's sectarian violence fell
drastically overnight. 10 bodies were reported by the morgue in the
capital, compared to an average of 40 to 50 per day. A US Marine was
killed during combat operations in western Anbar province.
   (AP, 2/16/07)(AP, 2/17/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, An Italian judge
indicted 26 Americans and five Italians in the abduction of an
Egyptian terror suspect on a Milan street in what would be the first
criminal trial stemming from the CIA's extraordinary rendition
program. The proceedings were later suspended pending a ruling on
the Italian government's request to throw out the indictments.
   (AP, 2/16/07)(AP, 2/16/08)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Japan's Cabinet
approved sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program under UN
Security Council guidelines.
   (AP, 2/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Abdul Ghani, a
Pakistani health official in charge of a campaign to inoculate
children against polio, was killed in a bomb blast following rumors
the vaccination was a US plot to sterilize them. Police in southern
Pakistan announced they had arrested five suspected militants from
the southern city of Karachi and Rawalpindi, a garrison city near
Islamabad, and that the suspects were planning suicide attacks on
foreigners and minority Shiite Muslims. Police also arrested three
Islamic militants who were planning suicide attacks to take place at
forthcoming Shiite Muslim gatherings in Sindh province.
   (AFP, 2/16/07)(AP, 2/17/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Peru’s President
Alan Garcia said that he is selling the presidential airplane in an
effort to curb "frivolous" expenses in his administration.
   (AP, 2/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Poland Antoni
Macierewicz (b.1948), vice-minister of national defense, authored a
report on the recently disbanded WSI (military intelligence service)
that named dozens of current and former agents.
   (Econ, 2/24/07,
p.63)(www.warsawvoice.pl/view/13967)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Russian
prosecutors released more details on new theft and money laundering
charges against Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a jailed former oil tycoon,
and increased by $2 billion the amount of money they say he and his
partner stole from subsidiaries of OAS Yukos.
   (AP, 2/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Serbia Slobodan
Milosevic's paramilitary commander, his secret police chief and five
others were convicted of killing four people in an attack against a
prominent opposition leader who survived.
   (AP, 2/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, BBVA, Spain's
number two bank, said it has reached an agreement to buy US bank
Compass Bancshares for around 9.6 billion US dollars (7.4 billion
euros) in the latest major foreign acquisition by a Spanish firm.
   (AFP, 2/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Sri Lanka's navy
said it destroyed two Tamil Tiger rebel boats as the craft were
hauling hundreds of thousands of steel balls often used in bombs.
Four rebel fighters were believed killed. Tamil Tiger rebels accused
Sri Lankan security forces of killing 39 civilians and blamed them
for the disappearance of 39 others in the last two weeks.
   (AFP, 2/16/07)(AP, 2/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Sudan heavy
fighting took place between the Targem and Rezegat Maharia tribes in
South Darfur state. Unconfirmed reports suggested that between 70 to
100 tribesmen were killed and 14 injured.
   (Reuters, 2/19/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A Turkish court
sentenced seven suspected al-Qaida militants to life in prison for a
pair of 2003 suicide bombings in Istanbul that killed 58 people,
attacks prosecutors said were ordered by Osama bin Laden.
   (AP, 2/16/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A Yemeni official
said a boat loaded with Somali and Ethiopian migrants capsized in
the Gulf of Aden during a night crossing in which at least 112
people died.
   (AP, 2/16/07)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, US President
George W. Bush in Benin, opening a five-country Africa tour,Â
stepped up pressure on Kenyan leaders to accept a power-sharing deal
to end their country's deadly political crisis.
   (AFP, 2/16/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Maryland a car
plowed into a crowd that had gathered to watch a drag race on a
suburban road, killing 8 people and injuring at least four.
   (AP, 2/16/08)(SSFC, 2/17/08, p.A2)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, It was reported
that the first flowering in 50 years had taken place in the bamboo
forests of Bangladesh leading to a plague of rats. The last
flowering in 1958 also caused a similar rodent plague.
   (SFC, 2/16/08, p.B6)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Egyptian border
guards shot and killed an Eritrean woman and arrested her two young
daughters after they tried to cross illegally into Israel.
   (AP, 2/16/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The EU gave the
final approval for the deployment of a 1,800-member policing and
administration mission in Kosovo.
   (AP, 2/16/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Italy Michael
Seifert (83), a former SS prison guard who was sentenced to life in
prison in Italy for Nazi war crimes, was jailed near Naples, hours
after he was extradited from Canada. Seifert, known as the "Beast of
Bolzano," was convicted in absentia in 2000 by a military tribunal
in Verona on nine counts of murder committed while he was an SS
guard at a prison transit camp in Bolzano, northern Italy.
   (AP, 2/16/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A company source
said Toshiba Corp is planning to give up on its HD DVD format for
high-definition video, conceding defeat to the competing Blu-Ray
technology backed by Sony Corp.
   (Reuters, 2/16/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In northwest
Pakistan a suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into
an independent parliament candidate's election office, killing at
least 40 people and wounding more than 90 days before a crucial
vote. A second car bombing near a checkpoint killed two civilians
and wounded eight security personnel.
   (AP, 2/16/08)(AP, 2/17/08)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton launched her Asia tour in Japan calling US-Pacific
ties "indispensable" for curbing problems like climate change, the
global financial crisis and nuclear weapons.
   (AP, 2/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Stamford,
Connecticut, a 200-pound domesticated chimpanzee was shot dead
by police after a violent rampage that left a friend of its owner
badly mauled. Travis (15) had once starred in TV commercials for Old
Navy and Coca-Cola. The chimp was acting so agitated earlier that
afternoon that the owner gave him the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in
some tea. Owner Sandra Herold later denied giving Xanax to the
chimp. Charla Nash lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids in the
attack. Doctors later said she will be blind for life.
   (AP, 2/17/09)(SFC, 2/19/09, p.A5)(AP, 4/7/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Kansas
Republican legislators blocked an effort by Democratic Gov. Kathleen
Sebelius to transfer funds to allow the state to pay its bills.
Income tax refunds were suspended and the state payroll was
threatened. The impasse was resolved the next day as Gov. Sibelius
met a key Republican demand and signed a bill to balance the budget.
   (WSJ, 2/17/09, p.A5)(WSJ, 2/18/09, p.A6)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Konrad Dannenberg
(b.1912), German-born rocket designer, died in Huntsville, Ala. He
was part of Werner von Braun’s rocket development team, which sent a
rocket into outer space (1942) and came to the US after WW II.
   (WSJ, 2/21/09, p.A5)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A new British
anti-terrorism law went into effect that could effectively bar
photographers from taking pictures of police of military personnel.
   (SFC, 2/17/09, p.A2)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Authorities
acknowledged that nuclear-armed submarines from Britain and France
collided in the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month, touching off new
concerns about the safety of the world's deep sea missile fleets.
The HMS Vanguard, the oldest vessel in Britain's nuclear-armed
submarine fleet, and the French Le Triomphant submarine, which was
also carrying nuclear missiles, both suffered minor damage in the
collision.
   (AP, 2/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Sir Ernest
Harrison (b.1926), British businessman, died. He led Racal
Electronic PLC and oversaw the birth of Vodafone Group PLC (1988).
   (WSJ, 2/28/09, p.A8)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, China’s Pres. Hu
Jintao arrived in Mauritius to sign deals worth more than 270
million dollars to fund infrastructure projects on the Indian Ocean
island. The next day he pledged continued aid to Africa
despite his country's economic downturn, and wrapped up a
four-nation visit to the continent.
   (AFP, 2/17/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, France's top
judicial body recognized the French government's responsibility for
the deportation of Jews during World War II, the clearest such
recognition of the state's role in the Holocaust.
   (AP, 2/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, On the French
island of Guadeloupe police detained about 50 people after coming
under a barrage of stones as they tried to take down barricades. On
Martinique as many as 10,000 demonstrators marched through the
narrow streets of the capital to protest spiraling food prices and
denounce the business elite.
   (AP, 2/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Iraq roadside
bombs struck two minibuses filled with Shiite pilgrims returning to
Baghdad, killing eight people, in the latest of a series of deadly
attacks targeting the pilgrims.
   (AP, 2/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Officials said
Israel has taken control of a large chunk of land near a prominent
West Bank settlement, paving the way for the possible construction
of 2,500 settlement homes, in a new challenge to Mideast
peacemaking.
   (AP, 2/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Japan warned it
was in the deepest economic crisis since World War II, after Asia's
biggest economy suffered its worst contraction in almost 35 years.
   (AFP, 2/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Madagascar
anti-government protesters threw stones and police responded with
tear gas as opposition leader Andry Rajoelina continued his attempts
to force out the president. No casualties were immediately reported.
   (AP, 2/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Pakistan’s
government agreed to impose Islamic law and suspend a military
offensive across much the northwest in concessions aimed at
pacifying the Taliban insurgency spreading from the border region to
the country's interior.
   (AP, 2/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Russia’s Pres.
Medvedev replaced four provincial governors for their poor
performance amid financial crisis and named new governors for the
western Oryol, Pskov and Voronezh regions and the northern Nenets
region.
   (AP, 2/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Russia Pres.
Medvedev said Bolivia will receive helicopters from Russia to help
fight drugs as well as assistance to develop energy resources.
   (AP, 2/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Cardinal Stephen
Kim Sou-hwan (86), South Korea's first cardinal, died. He was a
tireless advocate for democracy and stood up to a string of military
dictators.
   (AP, 2/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Spain Samsung
of South Korea unveiled the world's first solar-powered mobile phone
at an industry show where the sector is showcasing the new
technology it hopes will drive demand through the economic crisis.
   (AFP, 2/16/09)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The UN said Tamil
Tiger guerrillas have prevented tens of thousands of civilians from
leaving Sri Lanka's war zone and those trying to escape have been
"shot and sometimes killed."
   (AP, 2/16/09)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, New US Treasury
data said China's holdings of US Treasury bonds tumbled in December,
allowing Japan to take over as the top holder of American government
debt.
   (AFP, 2/16/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Simon Property
Group Inc sought to pluck General Growth Properties out of
bankruptcy, offering to pay $7 billion to creditors and nearly $3
billion to shareholders in a deal that would combine the two largest
U.S. shopping mall owners.
   (Econ, 2/20/10,
p.64)(www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61F2JS20100216)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In New Jersey
Shamsid-Din Abdul-Raheem (21) threw his 3-month-old daughter off the
Garden State Parkway Driscoll Bridge after the mother filed a
restraining order against him. The body of the infant was found on
April 24.
   (SSFC, 4/25/10, p.A9)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, William Gordon
(b.1918), American astronomer, died. He designed the Arecibo radio
telescope, completed in 1963, in Puerto Rico.
   (Econ, 2/27/10, p.87)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Argentina’s Pres.
Cristina Fernandez issued a decree seeking to control all shipping
to and from the Falkland Islands, escalating her fight with Britain
over drilling for oil and gas in the South Atlantic.
   (SFC, 2/17/10, p.A2)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Austria 14
countries and the European Commission adopted the Danube River Basin
Management Plan, a cleanup plan for the Danube River and its
tributaries. Participating countries included Austria, Bosnia,
Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Montenegro,
Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
   (AP, 2/16/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Canada Maelle
Ricker thrilled a rowdy hometown crowd and easily won the women's
Olympic snowboard cross title, bagging the first gold for a Canadian
woman on home soil.
   (AP, 2/17/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Jorge Puello, who
surged into the spotlight by providing food, medicine and legal
assistance to the 10 Americans jailed in Haiti, acknowledged in a
phone interview from the Dominican Rep., that he is named in a 2003
federal indictment out of Vermont that accuses him of smuggling
illegal immigrants from Canada into the United States. He was
already being pursued by authorities in the Dominican Republic on an
Interpol warrant out of El Salvador, where police said he led a ring
that lured young women and girls into prostitution.
   (AP, 2/17/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Dubai police
appealed for an international manhunt after releasing names and
photos of an alleged 11-member European hit squad accused of
stalking and killing a Hamas commander on Jan 19 in a plot that
mixed cold precision with spy caper disguises such as fake beards
and wigs.
   (AP, 2/16/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Georgia's
breakaway Abkhazia region said it would allow sponsor Russia to
build a military base on its soil for land troops, strengthening the
region's dependence on Moscow and provoking ire from Tbilisi..
   (www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61F3JE20100216)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Greek customs
officials and finance ministry employees walked off the job for a
3-day strike as protests grew against the government’s austerity
measures, which aimed at pulling the country out a debt crises.
   (SFC, 2/17/10, p.A2)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Guinea a decree
said that Cmdr. Claude Pivi will stay on as minister in charge of
presidential security. Pivi is considered a rogue commander who is
accused of torturing civilians, including a group of students he
arrested outside a nightclub after discovering the side mirror on
his SUV was missing. Lt. Col. Moussa Tiegboro was appointed to a
special ministerial post within Gen. Sekouba Konate's office.
Tiegboro has been named in a UN investigation as one of the
principle actors behind a Sept. 28 massacre of at least 157 unarmed
civilians.
   (AP, 2/17/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Iranian Pres.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, shrugging off international concerns,Â
announced the country was moving ahead to expand its nuclear
enrichment capacities by installing more advanced machinery at its
main enrichment facility.
   (AP, 2/16/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Iraq Zia Toma
(21), an engineering student, was killed in Mosul, the third in as
many days, as community leaders warned of rising violence against
the minority ahead of Iraq's March 7 general election. The gunman
also wounded pharmacy student Ramsin Shmael (22), both Assyrian
Christians.
   (AFP, 2/16/10)(AFP, 2/20/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Mexican
authorities found the decapitated bodies of five men in the town of
Escuinapa, Sinaloa state. 2 of the heads were missing their ears and
two more had a "Z" carved on their backs in an apparent reference to
the Zetas drug gang.
   (AP, 2/17/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Mozambique state
media reported that a mob attacked health workers in a town in the
northern town of Macoroja, killing one and injuring three others,
after accusing them of spreading cholera.
   (AFP, 2/17/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Royal Dutch Shell
PLC said it was freezing executive pay and revamping bonus policy in
the wake of a shareholder rebellion at its annual meeting last year.
   (AP, 2/16/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Pakistani
intelligence officials said the Taliban's top military commander has
been arrested in a joint CIA-Pakistani operation. Mullah Abdul Ghani
Baradar, the group's No. 2 leader behind Afghan Taliban founder
Mullah Mohammad Omar and a close associate of Osama bin Laden, was
captured some days ago in Karachi.
   (AP, 2/16/10)(Reuters, 2/17/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Sudan gunmen
attacked a police convoy outside Nyala in south Darfur, wounding
seven Pakistani police officers serving with the UN-AU force. 2
people were soon arrested in connection with an ambush.
   (AP, 2/18/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Thailand officials
said tests conducted by the government have found that British-made
bomb detectors it bought for a total of $21 million have an accuracy
rate of only 20 percent, but they will continue to be used.
   (AP, 2/16/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, UN Sec. General
Ban Ki-moon announced that the int’l. convention banning cluster
bombs has received the 30 ratifications required and will enter into
force on August 1.
   (SFC, 2/17/10, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The IBM computer
named Watson beat two former Jeopardy champions, Ken Jennings and
Brad Rutter, finishing a 3-day match at the TV quiz show.
   (SFC, 2/17/11, p.D4)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In California
Norman Wielsch (49), commander of the Central Contra Costa Narcotics
Enforcement Team, was arrested along with Christopher Butler (49),
owner of a Concord private investigation firm, for allegedly
stealing and selling drugs. Stephen Tanabe (47), a Contra Costa
deputy sheriff, was arrested on March 4 on drug and weapons charges
related to the case against Wielsch and Butler. Tanabe resigned on
March 10 after being accused of making “dirty DUI” arrests. Butler
later said he helped Wielsch set up a house of prostitution at 670
Gregory Lane in Pleasant Hill in 2009. Butler also said Wielsch
robbed prostitutes whose operations competed with his own. Butler
and Wielsch were indicted on Aug 15 on drug and corruption charges.
Tanabe was indicted on Dec 15. On May 4, 2012, Butler pleaded guilty
to 7 criminal counts. His former associate, vice cop Louis Lombardi,
was sentenced to 3 years in prison. He had admitted to 9 felonies
while working under Wielsch. On Sep 25, 2012, Butler was sentenced
to 8 years in prison. On Dec 5, 2012, Wielsch pleaded guilty to
stealing drugs and robbing prostitutes. On May 20, 2013, Wielsch was
sentenced to 14 years in prison.
   (SFC, 2/18/11, p.C2)(SFC, 3/11/11, p.C3)(SFC,
5/13/11, p.A1)(SFC, 5/14/11, p.A1)(SFC, 8/16/11, p.C1)(SFC,
12/17/11, p.C2)(SFC, 5/5/12, p.A8)(SFC, 9/26/12, p.A1)(SFC, 12/6/12,
p.C3)(SFC, 5/21/13, p.C1)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Florida Gov. Rick
Scott rejected plans for a high-speed rail link between Tampa and
Orlando, turning down over $2 billion in federal money.
   (SFC, 2/17/11, p.A8)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Hawaii lawmakers
approved a bill to allow civil unions from same-sex couples. Gov.
Neil Abercrombie planned to sign it and civil unions would begin Jan
1, 2012.
   (SFC, 2/17/11, p.A6)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Elkins, West
Virginia, a deputy US marshal was killed an 2 others wounded when
drug suspect Charles E. Smith opened fire on them with a shotgun.
Smith was shot dead.
   (SFC, 2/17/11, p.A6)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Borders Group Inc
filed for bankruptcy protection and said it would close about
one-third of its bookstores, after years of shriveling sales that
made it impossible to manage its crushing debt load.
   (Reuters, 2/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, France-based
Sanofi-Aventis agreed to buy Massachusetts-based Genzyme Corp., the
world’s largest maker of medicines for rare genetic disorders, for
at least 20.1 billion.
   (SFC, 2/17/11, p.D2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Google CEO Eric
Schmidt unveiled the one-stop payment service, called One Pass, at
Berlin's Humboldt University. The announcement came a day after
Apple rolled out a long-awaited subscription service for
applications designed for its iPhone and iPad. Apple is demanding a
30 percent cut of all subscriptions sold on those mobile apps while
Google is charging 10 percent. Schmidt also announced that Google
was funding a Berlin-based institute in conjunction with Humboldt
University. It would examine the evolution of the Internet and its
impact on society.
   (AP, 2/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Albanian lawmakers
voted to lift the immunity of Ilir Meta, a former prime minister
(1999-2002) accused of corruption, paving the way for him to be
investigated in a case that has triggered a severe political crisis.
   (AP, 2/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Argentina the
collision of two trains near the San Miguel station, 12 miles west
of Buenos Aires, killed four people and injured about 70 others, 14
critically.
   (AP, 2/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Bahraini
protesters demanding sweeping political reforms from their rulers
held their ground in an Egypt-style occupation of the capital's
landmark square, staging a third day of demonstrations that have
brought unprecedented pressure in one of Washington's most strategic
allies in the Gulf.
   (AP, 2/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Brazilian
authorities said they have arrested 19 Goias state troopers
suspected of taking part in a death squad that allegedly murdered
and tortured innocent women and children. Officials said Martha
Rocha (51), a 27-year police veteran who led a division responsible
for protection of women, will replace Allan Turnowski as head of the
troubled 12,000-member Rio Civil Police.
   (AP, 2/16/11)(AFP, 2/17/11)Â
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Colombian rebels
released to the International Red Cross the last two captives of a
batch of six after a confusing weekend delay that bred ill will.
FARC freed a 35-year-old police major seized in 2007 and an army
corporal captured in 2008.
   (AP, 2/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Egypt’s ruling
military council issued its 2nd statement in 3 days calling for an
immediate halt to all labor unrest. Airport employees protested for
better pay, but did not disrupt flights. Textile workers struck to
demand a corruption investigation and residents of a Suez Canal city
pressed for closing a chemical factory they say is dumping toxic
waste into a lake.
   (AP, 2/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, International
migration officials said nearly 100 Egyptians have arrived in Italy
in two boats, as fears rose about a wave of people trying to reach
Europe because of turmoil in the Arab world.
   (AP, 2/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In India Maoist
rebels in eastern Orissa state kidnapped a senior local official and
his aide and demanded an end to security force operations in the
area.
   (AFP, 2/17/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Indonesian marine
police said they have up 129 starving men from Myanmar off the coast
of Aceh. The refugees all belonged to the Rohingya minority, who are
not recognized by Myanmar’s military rulers.
   (SFC, 2/17/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Iran's opposition
leaders remained defiant despite calls from hard-liners for them to
be brought to trial and put to death, with reform advocate Mahdi
Karroubi saying he was willing to "pay any price" in pursuit of
democratic change. State TV called Mousavi and Karroubi mercenaries
carrying out a plot designed by Iran's enemies and urged government
supporters to rally on Feb 18. Supporters and opponents of the
Iranian government clashed at a funeral for a student, Sanee Zhaleh
(26), shot dead during the Feb 14 opposition rally. His allegiance
was claimed by both sides.
   (AP, 2/16/11)(Reuters, 2/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A Iraqi teenager
was killed when private guards shot at protesters who set fire to
several government offices in Kut, the capital of Wasit province. 3
demonstrators were killed in Kut. Baghdad’s city government demanded
that the US pay $1 billion and apologize for damage to the city
caused by blast walls erected during the nearly 8-year long war.
   (AFP, 2/16/11)(AP, 2/17/11)(Econ, 3/5/11, p.54)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In the Ivory Coast
bodies of people, who voted for the opponent of Laurent Gbagbo, have
continued to turn up at city morgues. It was reported that at least
296 people have been killed since the Nov 28 elections. The number
was based on calls to a UN hot line from family members. Another 100
people were said to be missing.
   (SFC, 2/16/11, p.A4)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A government
official said Japan, as of Feb 10, has temporarily suspended its
annual Antarctic whaling after repeated harassment by a
conservationist group.
   (AP, 2/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Libya at least
four people were killed in clashes with security forces in Al-Baida,
as the country faced a Feb 17 nationwide "Day of Anger" called by
cyber-activists.
   (AFP, 2/17/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Mexican police
arrested 2 police officers related to the Feb 14Â killing of
top intelligence officer Homero Salcido Trevino. A battle between
gang members and soldiers left two gunmen dead and paralyzed the
western town Zitacuaro.
   (AP, 2/17/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In South Sudan a
one-day meeting began in Juba between leaders of all the south’s
parties, the start of a consultation process to draw up a
constitution for the new nation. South Sudan's ruling party accused
northern authorities of arming rebels since the region's landmark
independence vote last month, including renegade troops behind
clashes that killed more than 200 people last week.
   (AFP, 2/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Yemeni authorities
flooded the streets of the capital with 2,000 police to try to halt
six days of Egypt-style demonstrations against the president of 32
years. One person was killed when police and protesters clashed in
the southern port of Aden in the first known death during Yemen's
political unrest.
   (AP, 2/16/11)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Long Beach,
Ca., an immigration agent shot and injured another agent and was
then killed by a third colleague in a federal building.
   (SFC, 2/17/12, p.A5)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The US returned
shipwreck treasure from the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, which
sank off the coast of Portugal in 1804, to Spain. Odyssey marine
Exploration of Tampa, Florida, salvaged treasure from the ship in
2007 at a cost of $2.6 million. Spain had agreed to pay $20 for each
coin found on the ship. Some 594,000 silver coins and a couple
hundred gold coins were found.
   (SFC, 6/11/12, p.E1)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Iowa China's
leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping reached out to heartland America with
billions of dollars in farm deals.
   (AFP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Detroit Umar
Farouk Abdulmutallab (25) of Nigeria was given a mandatory life
sentence for trying to blow up a packed jetliner with a bomb sewn
into his underwear. Four months ago he pleaded guilty to all charges
related to the Dec 25, 2009, Northwest Airlines Flight 253.
   (AP, 2/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The New Jersey
Assembly passed legislation (42-33) legalizing same-sex marriage,
sending the bill to Republican Governor Chris Christie, a possible
vice-presidential candidate. Gov. Christie vetoed the measure the
next day.
   (Reuters, 2/16/12)(AP, 2/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, NY Times
journalist Anthony Shadid (b.196), a Lebanon-born 2-time winner of
the Pulitzer Prize, died from an apparent asthma attack as he
prepared to leave Syria.
   (SFC, 2/18/12, p.A3)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The mediation and
security council of the West African regional group ECOWAS approved
humanitarian aid of three million dollars for victims of the food
crisis and rebel attacks in the Sahel region (Burkina Faso, Chad,
Mali, Mauritania, Niger).
   (AFP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Britain’s PM David
Cameron, on a trip to meet first minister Alex Salmond in Edinburgh,
made an impassioned plea to the Scots to remain within the United
Kingdom, offering instead more devolved power.
   (Reuters, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Wildlife activists
said poachers in Cameroon have slaughtered at least 200 elephants in
the past five weeks, where they are more dangerously endangered than
anywhere else on Earth.
   (AP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In CongoDRC police
in Kinshasa used tear gas to block a march by Christian groups
protesting alleged fraud in the November polls that returned
President Joseph Kabila and his party to power. Three priests and
two nuns were among those jailed.
   (AFP, 2/16/12)(AP, 2/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Ecuador's highest
court upheld a July 20, 2011, criminal libel verdict favoring
President Rafael Correa, sentencing three newspaper executives and a
columnist to three years in prison each and ordering them to pay a
total of $42 million in damages. Three of the four defendants left
Ecuador before the verdict, saying they feared for their safety, and
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli announced he was granting
political asylum to El Universo's director, Carlos
Perez. Â
   (AP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The European
Parliament approved a divisive new fishing and farming accord with
Morocco that will reduce customs costs and boost trade across the
Mediterranean.
   (AP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Indian police
detained 35 Tibetan students at a protest outside the Chinese
embassy in New Delhi against Beijing's rule over Tibet.
   (AFP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Iranian opposition
group the National Council of Resistance said it has agreed to begin
evacuating its long-time base in a camp in central Iraq to transfer
to a UN-approved site near Baghdad.
   (AFP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, An Iraqi judicial
panel said that Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi and his
employees ran death squads that for years carried out deadly attacks
on security officials and Shiite pilgrims. Al-Hashemi was in Iraq's
northern Kurdish region, where he has sought refuge from the central
government in Baghdad.
   (AP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Israeli PM
Benjamin Netanyahu paid a historic visit to Cyprus, declaring the
two countries' warming ties a "natural relationship" in a reflection
of the rapidly shifting alliances in this turbulent part of the
world.
   (AP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Israeli defense
officials say they will buy military training jets from Italy.
   (AP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Maldivian
President Mohamed Waheed agreed to demands for early elections,
after taking power last week in what his ousted predecessor
described as a coup d'etat.
   (AFP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Mali said its army
is going on the offensive against Tuareg rebels after a number of
strategic retreats during the first weeks of fighting. A
government-backed plan was presented, drawn up by political parties,
that involves them trying to bring rebels to the negotiating table.
   (AP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Nigeria unknown
gunmen shot and killed two police officers in Minna, Niger state. 32
people were killed in a head-on crash between two buses in Bauchi
state.
   (AP, 2/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Pakistan welcomed
the leaders of Afghanistan and Iran for a regional summit at a key
juncture in peace efforts with the Taliban and amid rising tensions
between Tehran and Israel.
   (AFP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Palestinian police
said a truck lost control in slick, rainy weather and barreled into
a school bus in the West Bank, killing at least seven children and a
teacher.
   (AP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Senegal police
opened fire with tear gas on protesters who had gone ahead with a
sleep-in at a downtown square, even though the government had banned
the demonstration being held one week before the country's
presidential election.
   (AP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Syrian forces
attacked the city of Daraa, carrying out arrests and shooting
randomly in the city where the uprising against President Bashar
Assad erupted 11 months ago. At least 41 people were killed as
security forces bore down on focal points of dissent. UN chief Ban
Ki-moon called for an end to the violence in Syria and urged the
international community to find a common response to the unrest. The
UN General Assembly demanded an immediate halt to Syria's brutal
crackdown on dissent. In a strongly worded resolution adopted by a
137-12 vote, member states demanded Assad's government stop
attacking civilian demonstrators and start pulling troops back to
barracks.
   (AP, 2/16/12)(AFP, 2/16/12)(AFP, 2/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, UN chief Ban
Ki-moon urged Afghanistan to make fighting drug trafficking a
priority as opium harvests soar in the world's top producer, and
said the world must help in the effort in his opening address in
Vienna of a Paris Pact meeting to fight drug trafficking in
Afghanistan.
   (AFP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Yemen Tariq
al-Dahab, a senior al-Qaida leader, was killed by his half brother
Hizam in a family feud. An ensuing gunbattle between his followers
and opponents left Hizam and 15 other militants dead. Another
al-Qaida-linked fighter was killed in clashes with the army in
Zinjibar that also left eight soldiers wounded.
   (AP, 2/16/12)(AP, 2/20/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Zimbabwe President
Robert Mugabe told foreign firms to form partnerships with
Zimbabweans to secure their investments under new rules requiring
them to cede majority stakes to locals.
   (AFP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, An animal
protection group said 4 Chinese nationals have been arrested in
Zimbabwe on cruelty charges after they cut up and ate rare
tortoises. The 4 men were found to have entered Zimbabwe illegally
and worked without permits in the small scale mining district of
Bikita. They awaited deportation.
   (AP, 2/16/12)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Italian sailor
Giovanni Soldini led an 8-member team of the Maserati to a record
47-day trip from NYC around Cape Horn to San Francisco, beating a
1998 monohull record.
   (SSFC, 2/17/13, p.A12)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A San Francisco
Bay ferry was struck by a 22-foot motorboat in Richardson Bay.
Motorboat pilot Harry Holzhauer (68) was killed. In 2018 a federal
appeals court upheld $4.2 million in damages against the Golden Gate
Bridge District for the collision. A jury found the ferry captain
30% responsible and Holzhauer 70% responsible.
   (http://tinyurl.com/ycyfhny6)(SFC, 8/13/18, p.C1)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Alberto Morales
(42), the Florida prisoner who escaped in Texas after stabbing a
detective with his eyeglasses was fatally shot after refusing to
cooperate with officers and lunging at them. Morales had escaped on
Feb 11 from a Wal-Mart parking lot after attacking the Miami-Dade,
Fla., detective.
   (AP, 2/16/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Afghan Pres.
Karzai issued a decree that orders the prosecution of Afghan
security forces involved in torturing prisoners and requires all
future interrogations be videotaped.
   (AP, 2/17/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Bangladesh an
estimated 100,000 people demonstrated in Dhaka demanding move severe
punishment for war criminals from the country’s 1971 liberation war.
   (SSFC, 2/17/13, p.A4)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Bulgaria’s PM
Boiko Borisov fired Simeon Djankov, his finance minister and deputy
prime minister. Djankov was unpopular for his austerity policies.
   (Econ, 2/23/13, p.52)0
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Egypt’s interior
ministry announced a move to purchase 100,000 new 9mm pistols for
police officers. This ended 5 days of strikes by police demanding
greater firepower under increasing lawlessness.
   (SSFC, 2/17/13, p.A4)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A court in Egypt
ordered a TV channel that airs belly dancing clips off the air for
showing "sexually explicit" content and operating without a
broadcast license.
   (AP, 2/16/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In India the
bodies of three sisters — aged 7, 9 and 11 — were found in a village
well in Bhandara district in Maharashtra after they had gone missing
from school two days earlier. Police eventually registered a case of
rape and murder after a post-mortem of the girls found that they had
been sexually abused and brutally killed.
   (AP, 2/22/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Iraq a suicide
bomber, pretending to ask for help, assassinated Brig. Gen. Ali
Aouni, the head of the Iraq Defense Ministry's intelligence academy,
and three bodyguards at his home in the Tal Afar.
   (AP, 2/16/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A court in
L'Aquila, Italy, convicted four people in the collapse of a
university dormitory during the 2009 earthquake in that Apennine
mountain town. Eight students died in the collapse during the
powerful quake, which struck in the pre-dawn hours of April 6, 2009.
   (AP, 2/16/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Kenya a
suspected militant died while planting an improvised explosive
device in Garissa at a venue where one of the country's presidential
contenders was going to hold a campaign rally.
   (AP, 2/21/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In rural northern
Nigeria an Islamist group calling itself Ansaru attacked a camp for
a construction company in Bauchi state, killing a guard and
kidnapping seven foreign workers from Britain, Greece, Italy and
Lebanon. Ansaru is a acronym for “Vanguard for the Protection of
Muslims in Black Africa.”
   (AP, 2/17/13)(Econ, 2/23/13, p.46)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Pakistan bomb
went off in a Shiite Muslim-dominated residential suburb of the city
of Quetta killing at least 81 people and wounding some 160. Most of
the dead and wounded were Hazaras, an ethnic group that migrated
from Afghanistan over a century ago. 8 more people soon died of
their wounds bringing the death toll to 89.
   (AP, 2/16/13)(AP, 2/17/13)(AP, 2/18/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, G20 leaders
meeting in Moscow said there would be no currency war and deferred
plans to set new debt-cutting targets, underlining broad concern
about the fragile state of the world economy.
   (AP, 2/16/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A Syrian activist
group said pro-government gunmen have kidnapped more than 300 people
Idlib province in retaliation for the abduction of 42 Shiite Muslims
this week. At least one person was killed in the Palestinian refugee
camp of Yarmouk by sniper fire. In the southern region of Quneitra
rebels briefly controlled a military checkpoint in the town of Khan
Arnaba and captured five officers before they withdrew.
   (AP, 2/16/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Syrian peace
activist Omar Aziz (64), detained last November, died of health
complications at a military hospital.
   (AP, 2/22/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Tunisia
thousands of supporters of the ruling Islamist party marched
in Tunis in response to rising criticism of the country’s
direction.
   (SSFC, 2/17/13, p.A4)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Zimbabwe a
pastor and three activists were arrested for holding a voter
education meeting a day after President Robert Mugabe announced
March 16 as the date for a referendum on a new constitution.
   (AP, 2/17/13)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Colorado 3
people were killed in a single-engine plan crash near Telluride.
   (SFC, 2/18/14, p.A5)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A winter storm hit
New England overnight with more than a foot of snow in parts of
Massachusetts. Thousands on Cape cod were left without power.
   (SFC, 2/17/14, p.A6)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Pennsylvania
the FBI said it was in contact with Sunbury police regarding Miranda
Barbour (19) who says she wants to plead guilty to the killing Troy
LaFerrara last November. She said she has also killed at least 22
people across the country over the last six years as part of her
involvement in a satanic cult.
   (SFC, 2/17/14, p.A6)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In the Central
African Republic troops of the MISCA African Union force clashed
with anti-balaka militias at Cantonnier, near the border with
Cameroon. 8 people, including 6 civilians, were killed in the
firefight.
   (AFP, 2/18/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Egypt a suicide
bomber on a tourist bus in the Sinai peninsula killed the Egyptian
driver and 3 South Koreans. At least a dozen other tourists on the
bus were wounded.
   (AP, 2/16/14)(AP, 2/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Japanese media
said the second heavy snowfall in a week has killed up to a dozen
people and injured hundreds over the weekend, while paralyzing
traffic and causing power outages. A record 45 inches of snow fell
on Yamanashi.
   (AP, 2/16/14)(SFC, 2/17/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Almaty,
Kazakhstan, protesters waived their knickers in a protestÂ
ostensibly over a rule regulating synthetic underwear. The “pantie
protesters” were rounded up and led away. The real anger was over
the recent devaluation of the country’s currency.
   (Econ, 2/22/14, p.35)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Libya the
wreckage of a helicopter was found near es-Sider port. Authorities
began searching for the bodies of the five people who were on board.
   (Reuters, 2/18/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Macedonia an
explosion wounded five Roma children in western town of Tetovo.
Three people were soon detained in the case.
   (AP, 2/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In west Nepal a
small plane owned by state-run Nepal Airlines Corporation crashed
with 18 people aboard in bad weather. Rescuers found the wreckage of
the 43-year-old de Havilland Twin Otter the next day near
Machinelek.
   (Reuters, 2/16/14)(AP, 2/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In North Korea
John Short (75), an Australian missionary, was questioned and then
arrested in his Pyongyang hotel, a day after he arrived there. He
has lived in Hong Kong for 50 years and has been arrested previously
in China for evangelizing.
   (AP, 2/20/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In southwest
Pakistan a bomb placed by an ethnic separatist group derailed a
train, killing 8 people in Kashmor district, Sindh province. A
roadside bomb killed a police officer guarding a polio vaccination
drive in the outskirts of Peshawar.
   (AP, 2/16/14)Â
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A faction of the
Pakistani Taliban announced that they had killed 23 soldiers, who
they said had been kidnapped in 2010.
   (AP, 2/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A spokesman for
Gaza's Hamas rulers said that the Islamic militant group will oppose
any international force in a future Palestine, adding a new
complication to US-brokered peace efforts.
   (AP, 2/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In the southern
Philippines Suspected Abu Sayyaf extremists kidnapped a Filipino
couple, adding to a group of hostages they are holding that includes
two European tourists.
   (AP, 2/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Saudi Arabia
another man died from a new respiratory virus related to SARS,
bringing to 60 the number of deaths in the kingdom at the center of
the outbreak.
   (AP, 2/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, South African
rescuers worked to reach more than 200 illegal miners reported
trapped underground in an abandoned gold shaft in Benoni, a suburb
just east of Johannesburg. 22 miners were arrested as they emerged
over the next 24 hrs. An unknown number of other miners refused to
come up.
   (AP, 2/16/14)(Reuters, 2/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Switzerland told
the newest EU member, Croatia, that it will not be able to sign a
labor market pact as planned on July 1, following a shock referendum
vote in favor of immigration curbs.
   (Reuters, 2/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Western-backed
Free Syrian Army (FSA) appointed a new military chief. Brig. Gen.
Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir replaces Gen. Salim Idris, who was criticized
by many in the opposition for being ineffective.
   (AP, 2/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Tunisia armed
militants operating a fake checkpoint in the northwest killed 4
people and wounded four others.
   (AP, 2/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Ukraine
anti-government demonstrators in Kiev ended their nearly three-month
occupation of City Hall as promised in exchange for the release of
all jailed protesters.
   (AP, 2/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Venezuela’s Pres.
Nicolas Maduro ordered the expulsion of three US consular officials
that he accused of infiltrating universities.
   (SFC, 2/17/14, p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A judge in Texas
granted a temporary injunction on an Obama order that would have
protected about four million undocumented foreigners from
deportation and was due to come into effect from Feb 18.0
   (AFP, 2/17/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In West Virginia a
CSX train carrying crude oil derailed east of Charleston. At least
12-15 cars derailed and at least one tank car fell into the Kanahwa
River.
   (SFC, 2/17/15, p.A5)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Leslie Gore (68),
singer and songwriter, died of lung cancer in NYC. Her hits included
“It’s My Party” (1963) and “You Don’t Own Me” (1963).
   (SFC, 2/18/15, p.D4)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Armenian
president asked the country's parliament speaker to withdraw his
signature from a groundbreaking 2009 agreement with Turkey meant to
restore ties between the two nations due to "preconditions" that
Turkey put in place before it ratifies its part of the deal.
   (AP, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Bahrain said it
has deployed fighter planes to help support Jordan, a day after it
announced plans to send troops to the kingdom.
   (AP, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In China a party
watchdog said Su Rong, a former provincial party leader and former
vice chairman of China's top political advisory body, has been
expelled from the ruling Communist party and stripped of all
government positions. Su Rong was accused of taking bribes in return
for government positions and will likely face criminal charges.
   (AP, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A Danish court
jailed two suspected accomplices of the slain gunman behind the
recent deadly attacks in Copenhagen while PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt
said there were no signs of links to a wider terror network.
   (AP, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In East Timor
opposition party member Rui Maria de Araujo was sworn in as prime
minister, leading a smaller 38-member Cabinet for the half-island
nation.
   (AP, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Egyptian jets
bombed Islamic State targets in Libya, a day after the group there
released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians. 40
to 50 militants were reported killed along with 7 civilians.
   (Reuters, 2/16/15)(Econ., 2/21/15, p.44)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The European Union
published a new sanctions list of individuals and entities. It added
9 more entities and 19 more individuals, including a Russian deputy
minister of defense, for their actions linked to the fighting in
eastern Ukraine. There was a week's lapse in the publishing of the
list because of the negotiations which led to an agreement between
Ukraine and Russia on Feb 12.
   (AP, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The leaders of
France, Germany and Ukraine said that observers from the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) must have
"free access" for their work in eastern Ukraine.
   (Reuters, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A German court
said a 93-year-old man has been charged with 170,000 counts of
accessory to murder on allegations he served as an SS guard at the
Nazis' Auschwitz death camp in occupied Poland.
   (AP, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Greece offered to
accept conditions on an extension to its loan agreements with the
euro zone, and even an inspection by the European Commission, at a
fraught meeting in Brussels.
   (Reuters, 2/18/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Iraq and Syria
the United States and its coalition partners launched air strikes
against Islamic State targets; two in Syria and 13 in Iraq over the
last 24 hours.
   (Reuters, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Nigeria said its
troops backed by air strikes have recaptured the northeastern towns
of Monguno and Marte from Islamist Boko Haram insurgents.
   (Reuters, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Nigerian Boko
Haram insurgents attacked a Cameroon military camp near the town of
Waza in the north of the country, wounding several soldiers.
   (Reuters, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Kaspersky Labs,
founded in 1997 in Moscow, released a report on how a gang it calls
Carbanak had hacked the computer systems of banks around the world.
The company also said it had discovered “the “Equation /Group,”
apparently a part of the NSA, which it said was able to embed
spyware in computers.
   (Econ., 2/21/15, p.63)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Sierra Leone's
government promised a full investigation after an internal audit
found that nearly one-third of the money received to fight Ebola was
spent without saving the necessary receipts and invoices to justify
the spending.
   (AP, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, South Korea's
ruling party-controlled legislature approved President Park
Geun-hye's appointment of Lee Wan Koo in a 148-128 vote.
   (AP, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In South Sudan an
unidentified armed group abducted at least 89 boys, some as young as
13, from their homes in the northern town of Wau Shilluk.
   (AP, 2/21/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Spain court
papers showed that a Granada court has dropped charges against 11
out of 12 suspects in the country's biggest ever clerical sex abuse
scandal because the statute of limitations had expired.
   (AFP, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Sudanese security
officers seized the print runs of 13 newspapers in one of the most
sweeping crackdowns on the press in recent years. There was no
immediate word from the authorities on why the newspapers had been
seized.
   (AFP, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Syrian state news
said 9 people, including three children, were killed today in rebel
fire on a government-held neighborhood in the northern city of
Aleppo.
   (AFP, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Turkey said it was
temporarily closing its embassy in Yemen, the latest foreign mission
to do so following the takeover of power by Shiite Huthi militiamen.
   (AFP, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In eastern Ukraine
pro-Russian rebels said they would open a safe corridor for as many
as 7,000 Ukrainian troops out of the encircled town of Debaltseve on
condition they surrender the territory, an offer the Kiev military
promptly rejected.
   (Reuters, 2/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Yemen
supporters of former President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi seized radio
and television buildings in the southern city of Aden after they
accused security forces of working for Shiite rebels who control the
capital. One soldier and two Hadi supporters were reported killed in
clashes.
   (AP, 2/16/15)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, US authorities
said they have frozen the assets of two leaders of the notorious
MS-13 street gang based in Central America. The order freezes the US
assets of gang leaders Jose Roberto Orellana and Dany Balmore Romero
Garcia, and prohibits Americans from engaging in transactions with
them.
   (AP, 2/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The United States
signed a bilateral agreement authorizing up to 110 scheduled daily
flights to Cuba.
   (AFP, 2/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, US authorities
seized 154 pounds of cocaine valued at $2 million at Port Everglades
in Florida.
   (AP, 2/25/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Belgian police
arrested ten people in the Brussels area who were allegedly part of
a network recruiting people to fight with the Islamic State group in
Syria.
   (AFP, 2/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Colombia Sen.
Carlos Ferro resigned as deputy Interior minister as soon as a
video, in which he discusses sexual encounters with other men, went
viral. Ferro denied any wrongdoing or abuse of his political
position.
   (AP, 2/18/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Congo DRC a
one-day general strike called to pressure President Joseph Kabila to
quit power when his mandate ends in December paralyzed most economic
activity in Kinshasa.
   (Reuters, 2/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Egypt Boutros
Boutros-Ghali (93), the first UN chief from the African continent,
died in Cairo. He helped negotiate Egypt's landmark peace deal with
Israel but then clashed with the United States when he served a
single term as UN secretary-general (1992-1996).
   (AP, 2/18/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Greece’s Defense
Minister Panos Kammenos said four of five new migrant registration
centers are "ready to function and welcome refugees".
   (AFP, 2/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In India students,
journalists and teachers protested in New Delhi after a student
union leader's arrest and subsequent violence by Hindu nationalists.
   (AP, 2/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, An Iraqi army
helicopter crashed due to a technical malfunction during a routine
flight, killing all 9 crew members.
   (Reuters, 2/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Mexico Pope
Francis encouraged young people to "dare to dream" of a crime-free
life and priests to stay strong despite relentless violence as he
visited a region lacerated by drug gangs.
   (AFP, 2/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In the southern
Philippines 4 people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed in
a roadside bombing by suspected Muslim insurgents who wanted to
attack military reinforcements in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town,
Maguindanao province.
   (AP, 2/17/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Russia's energy
minister said that his country has agreed with OPEC members Saudi
Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela to freeze oil production levels if other
producers do the same.
   (AP, 2/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Russia at least
7 people, including two children, were killed when a gas explosion
caused part of a block of flats to collapse in Yaroslavl.
   (AFP, 2/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Syria 15
civilians were killed in US-led strikes on the town of Al-Shadadi.
   (AFP, 2/18/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Ukraine PM
Arseny Yatseniuk survived a no confidence motion, but the majority
of Pres. Poroshenko's lawmakers voted against him.
   (AP, 2/17/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Ukrainian
military said 3 servicemen have been killed and seven wounded in
fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours.
   (Reuters, 2/16/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Lawmakers in
Venezuela's opposition-controlled legislature approved an amnesty
for jailed foes of President Nicolas Maduro, who has pledged to veto
the bill.
   (AFP, 2/16/16)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A number of US
cities held “A Day Without Immigrants” actions in response to Pres.
Trump’s policy on immigration.
   (SFC, 2/16/17, p.A7)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A jury convicted
former Georgia National Guard sergeant of fatally shooting an
off-duty police officer outside a restaurant in Griffin nearly three
years ago. Michael Bowman faced a possible death sentence following
the Troup County jury's verdict in the May 31, 2014, killing of
Griffin police officer Kevin Jordan.
   (AP, 2/17/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Parts of Maine and
New Hampshire received more than a foot of wet, heavy snow.
Eastport, Maine, recorded 69 inches of snow over a 10-day period.
Andover, Maine, had 79 inches of snow on the ground, the 2nd highest
level recorded in the state.
   (SFC, 2/17/17, p.A5)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Texas Harris
County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced that Houston would
decriminalize possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana,
beginning March 1.
   (CSM, 2/18/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Afghanistan at
least 12 civilians were killed and three others wounded when their
vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the eastern Paktika province. The
Islamic State group launched an attack on security posts killing 17
soldiers in the Dih Bala district in eastern Nangarhar province.
Soldiers reportedly killed 21 IS fighters.
   (AP, 2/16/17)(AP, 2/17/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Albanian police
said they have arrested a man who allegedly had 1.25 metric tons
(1.38 tons) of dried cannabis hidden under his house. Police say the
drugs were going to be smuggled into Italy.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Benin four
Christian priests from an anti-voodoo cult were arrested and charged
for their suspected role in five deaths during prayers held last
month in anticipation of the end of the world.
   (Reuters, 2/17/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In southeastern
Brazil two passenger buses collided head-on, killing at least nine
people and injuring 46 near the city of Teodoro Sampaio west of Sao
Paulo.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, China's Ministry
of Public Security said it is banning carfentanil and three similar
drugs as of March 1, closing a major regulatory loophole in the
fight to end America's opioid epidemic.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A feud over
Cyprus' troubled history led to the abrupt halt of reunification
talks between the ethnically split island's rival leaders, with
confusion and much finger pointing over who walked out on whom.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Egypt swore in
nine new ministers to the cabinet of PM Sherif Ismail, along with
five new governors, including the country's first female governor.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, France's
parliament approved a bill criminalizing websites that carry
purposely false information with the aim of dissuading women from
having abortions.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In France the
Troadec family -- Pascal and Brigitte, both aged around 50, their
son Sebastien (21) and his sister Charlotte (18) – were last seen in
Nantes. Bloodstains found in the house in a suburb of Nantes later
matched the DNA of three of the four missing persons. On March 5 the
sister and brother-in-law of Pascal Troadec were remanded in
custody.
   (AFP, 2/28/17)(AFP, 3/5/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Germany foreign
ministers from 20 of the world's leading nations (G20) met in Bonn
to discuss current conflicts and ways to prevent future crises
against a backdrop of uncertainty among allies and adversaries over
the direction of US foreign policy.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Germany a union
representing ground staff has called on its members to go on strike
at Berlin's two airports, leading to the cancelation of some 210
flights.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Greek authorities
seized 1.3 tons of marijuana in a truck crossing into the country
from Albania, a major illegal drugs producer.
   (AP, 2/17/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Iraq a car
packed with explosives blew up in southern Baghdad, killing at least
55 people and wounding more than 60, in the deadliest such attack in
Iraq this year.
   (Reuters, 2/16/17)(SFC, 2/17/17, p.A2)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Italy taxi
drivers in Rome, Milan and Turin staged wildcat strikes to protest
proposed legislation they say will favor Uber and other car-sharing
services.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Kazakhstan
Syrian government officials sat face-to-face with rebels for the
second time in three weeks, as diplomats stepped up efforts to lay
the groundwork for UN-brokered peace talks next week.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Malaysian
authorities announced two more arrests in the Feb 13 death of Kim
Jong Nam, the North Korean leader's half-brother. Siti Aisyah (25)
of Indonesia and her boyfriend were arrested as suspects in Nam’s
death.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Myanmar's
government said the military has ended its four-month
counterinsurgency operation in troubled Rakhine state, where it had
been accused of rape, torture and other abuses against Muslim
Rohingya minority residents.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, NATO said it had
received a new and detailed request from Libya's UN-backed
government to train and develop its military, depleted by years of
conflict and facing an Islamist militant threat as well as division
among Libyan militias.
   (Reuters, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Dutch artist and
illustrator Dick Bruna (89), creator of beloved children's character
Miffy the white rabbit, died in Utrecht. Miffy, the white bunny with
two dots for eyes and a cross for her mouth, was inspired by a
rabbit seen hopping around the garden during a family seaside
holiday in 1955.
   (AFP, 2/17/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In southern
Pakistan 88 people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated
explosives at the Sufi Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in the town of
Sehwan Sharif. The Islamic State claimed responsibility.
   (Reuters, 2/16/17)(AFP, 2/17/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Portugal's
attorney general's office said prosecutors are bringing charges of
corruption, money-laundering and forgery against Angolan Vice
President Manuel Vicente as part of an investigation in Lisbon.
Vicente is suspected of bribing a Portuguese magistrate to favor him
in two investigations.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Saudi Arabian
Interior Ministry said authorities have arrested 18 suspects
belonging to the Islamic State group, including bomb makers.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Saudi Arabia a
three-day Comic-Con event opened in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. The
festival of anime, pop art, video gaming and film-related events
attracted a largely youthful crowd of thousands. On Feb 23 the
government's General Authority for Entertainment said organizers of
the event would be penalized for an unspecified violation.
   (AFP, 2/24/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Somalia two
civilians were killed in an al-Shabab mortar attack outside the
presidential palace during a handover ceremony for the country's new
leader, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, also known as Farmajo.
   (AP, 2/16/17)  Â
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Syria four
Russian servicemen were killed when they their vehicle was struck by
a roadside in the center of the country. The loss raised the total
Russian combat casualties so far in Syria's war to 27.
   (AP, 2/20/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A Swedish court
sentenced Haisam Omar Sakhanh (46), a Syrian refugee, to life
imprisonment for participation in the 2012 mass execution of seven
government troops in Syria.
   (AP, 2/16/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Zimbabwe is likely to be the
country hardest hit by an outbreak of armyworms that is destroying
crops and threatening food security in southern Africa.
   (Reuters, 2/16/17)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, US Special counsel
Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russians, and three Russian
organizations, with meddling in the 2016 US election.
   (AP, 2/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The New Yorker
magazine published an article with details of Donald Trump's 2006
alleged sexual affair with Karen McDougal, Playboy's 1998 Playmate
of the year. The article cited a $150,000 payment to McDougal from
American Media Inc., publisher of the National Enquirer, which never
printed the story, to keep quiet about the alleged affair.
   (SFC, 2/17/18, p.A6)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The US Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency said 212 people were arrested
last week during a five day sweep in the Los Angeles area for
violating immigration laws. Numerous businesses were told they would
be audited. ICE said 88 percent of those arrested were convicted
criminals.
   (SFC, 2/17/18, p.A4)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The FBI
acknowledged that it had received a tip last month that Florida
school shooter Nikolas Cruz had a “desire to kill” and access to
guns, but agents failed to investigate.
   (SFC, 2/17/18, p.A1)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Arizona Dept.
of Transportation confirmed that Waymo has received a permit to
operate as a transportation network company, making it the first US
commercial ride-hailing service to operate without human drivers.
   (SFC, 2/17/18, p.D1)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In southern
California a cement truck smashed through a guardian rail into
oncoming traffic on I-10 in Rialto, San Bernadino County. Five
people were killed.
   (SSFC, 2/18/18, p.A6)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Iowa Supreme
Court ruled that the birth mother of an 18-month-old girl, paid as a
surrogate to have the baby, is not legally the child's parent.
   (SFC, 2/17/18, p.A4)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Minnesota Mahad
Abdirahman (20) was sentenced after pleading guilty earlier to two
counts of first-degree assault for the November knife attack on two
brothers at the Bloomington Mall of America.
   (AP, 2/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A new US study by
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and US Davis
reported that fragrances from shampoos, moisturizers and colognes
cause just as much smog as the exhaust spewing out of car and truck
engines.
   (SFC, 2/16/18, p.D5)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Brazil's federal
government issued a decree to put the military in charge of Rio de
Janeiro's local police amid a spike in violence.
   (AP, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Canada announced
targeted sanctions against a Myanmar general who led an army
crackdown that forced almost 700,000 Muslim Rohingya refugees to
flee to Bangladesh.
   (AFP, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In southern Chile
arsonists burned at least 25 tractor trailer trucks and other heavy
machinery early today in the country's heavily forested Araucania
region. Indigenous communities of south-central Chile have long
accused the state and private companies of taking their ancestral
land.
   (Reuters, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In China Ye
Jianming, chairman of CEFC China Energy, was detained on the orders
of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The oil tycoon was buying a stake
in Russia's biggest oil producer.
   (AP, 3/1/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, This year marks
the year of the dog, one of the 12 animals in the Chinese
astrological chart. People in Asia and around the world celebrated
the Lunar New Year with festivals, parades and temple visits to ask
for blessings.
   (AP, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In southern China
nine people died in a fire at a waste processing facility that is
suspected of being sparked by fireworks residue in Qingyuan city,
Guangdong province.
   (Reuters, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Ethiopia imposed
in a state of emergency one day after PM Hailemariam Desalegn
announced his surprise resignation. Authorities a day later said it
will last for six months.
   (Reuters, 2/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The European
Commission approved a Belgian scheme of certificates for renewable
energy and high-efficiency cogeneration plant as in line with the
bloc's climate goals.
   (Reuters, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, French sources
said Pres. Emmanuel Macron has placed an army general who led UN
operations in Mali in charge of rolling out mandatory national
service, a sign of the French president's desire to stamp the
military's mark on the exercise.
   (Reuters, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, French customs
officers found an impressionist painting by Edgar Degas stowed on a
bus, more than eight years after it was reported stolen. Degas' "Les
Choristes" ("The Chorus Singers"), which depicts a scene from the
opera "Don Juan," was taken from a Marseille museum in 2009 while on
loan from Paris' Musee d'Orsay.
   (AP, 2/23/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In southern
Germany dozens of world leaders, top defense officials and diplomats
gathered for the Munich Security Conference amid growing strains
between the US and other NATO nations and Russia over the conflicts
in Syria and Ukraine.
   (AP, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, At the Munich
Security Conference the defense ministers of Germany and France
pledged to redouble their military and foreign policy cooperation
efforts, inviting other European countries to participate if they
felt ready to do so.
   (Reuters, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, India said it had
suspended the passports of a billionaire jeweler and a diamond
merchant accused of defrauding a state-run bank after reports they
had left the country. India's financial crimes agency is
investigating allegations that Nirav Modi and his business partner
Mehul Choksi were involved in defrauding the Punjab National Bank
(PNB) of almost $1.8 billion.
   (AFP, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Indian
investigators arrested three people who allegedly helped billionaire
jeweler Nirav Modi obtain fake documents for overseas loans in one
of the country's biggest bank scams.
   (AFP, 2/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In southern India
seven workers died of suffocation while cleaning an underground
drainage pit at a poultry farm in Morem village, Andhra Pradesh
state.
   (AP, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Israeli
demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv to urge PM Benjamin Netanyahu to
resign after police recommended he be charged with bribery in two
corruption cases.
   (Reuters, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Italian police
clashed with hundreds of anti-fascist demonstrators in Bologna who
were trying to disrupt a planned campaign appearance by the head of
the neo-fascist Forza Nuova.
   (AP, 2/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Kenya two
non-Muslim teachers were killed in an al-Shabab attack in Wajir
County. This prompted the Teacher's Service Commission to transfer
329 teachers elsewhere and many other to leave on their own. At
least 224 primary schools and 42 secondary schools were no longer
able to function.
   (SFC, 5/4/18, p.A3)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Kosovo and
Montenegro announced they had reached a deal on a 2015 border
agreement between the two countries, a step toward Kosovo gaining
visa-free travel to the European Union.
   (Reuters, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, European leaders
and royals gathered in Lithuania, which is celebrating the centenary
of its independence declaration with festivities and church bells
tolling across the small Baltic nation.
   (AP, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In the Maldives
dozens of pro-opposition supporters were injured and many were
arrested after police broke up countrywide protests demanding the
resignation of Pres. Yameen Abdul Gayoom and the release of his
political opponents from prison.
   (AP, 2/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A prolonged 7.2
magnitude quake rocked Mexico and left nearly a million homes and
businesses without power in the capital and south. Thirteen people
were killed when a minister's UH-60 Black Hawk military helicopter
crash-landed in Santiago Jamiltepec, Oaxaca state, on its way to the
epicenter of the earthquake.
   (Reuters, 2/17/18)(AFP, 2/17/18)(AFP, 2/18/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In northern
Nigeria a trio of suicide bombers detonated at a crowded fish market
late today in Konduga, Borno state, killing at least 20 people.
   (AP, 2/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Nigeria's justice
ministry ordered 475 Boko Haram suspects to be freed following a
series of mass trials in which most cases were dropped for lack of
evidence. The court imposed a second 15-year sentence on Haruna
Yahaya (35), who was involved in the 2014 kidnapping of more than
200 schoolgirls from Chibok.
   (AFP, 2/18/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A federal control
board urgently sought a $300 million loan for Puerto Rico's power
company after a judge rejected a previous $1 billion loan request
despite warnings the US territory would have to start rationing
electricity.
   (AP, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Spanish media
group Mediapro said Chinese investment fund Orient Hontai Capital
has taken control of Mediapro, best known for owning television
rights to the Spanish and Italian football leagues.
   (AFP, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, It was reported
that Swiss-based Roche Holding will buy Flatiron Health and its
cancer-focused medical records for $1.9 billion.
   (SFC, 2/19/18, p.D4)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In northern Syria
Abu Ayman al-Masri, a top commander of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS),
was killed by the rival Nureddine al-Zinki hardline group in the
village of Al-Huta.
   (AFP, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Syria six
civilians suffered breathing difficulties and other symptoms
indicative of poison gas inhalation after an attack launched by
Turkey on the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin.
   (AP, 2/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Tanzania a
first-year university student killed by a bullet while on a bus the
day before a fiercely contested parliamentary by-election in the
Kinondoni constituency of Dar es Salaam. Witnesses said police used
tear gas and fired live ammunition in an attempt to stop hundreds of
Chadema party members from marching towards a local Electoral
Commission office.
   (AP, 2/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Thailand awarded
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar's army chief, a royal
decoration amid allegations of crimes by Myanmar security forces
against Rohingya Muslims that have prompted international
condemnation.
   (Reuters, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Turkey US
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu announced the creation of new "mechanisms" to improve
relationships, starting with the question of American support for
Kurdish rebels in northern Syria.
   (AP, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A Turkish court
sentenced six journalists, including two prominent brothers, to life
in jail for aiding plotters of a 2016 failed coup, a sharp
turnaround after the country's highest court ordered one of the men
released. Mehmet Altan, an economics professor and journalist, and
his brother Ahmet, also a journalist, were accused of giving coded
messages on a television talk show a day before the abortive
military putsch. Nazli Ilicak, another well known journalist, was
also among the sentenced.
   (Reuters, 2/16/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A Turkish court
freed German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel pending trial after
indicting him for alleged security offences.
   (Reuters, 2/16/18)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, US military
transport planes carrying humanitarian aid meant for Venezuelans
landed in the Colombian border city of Cucuta, where food and
medicine is being stored amidst uncertainty over how and where aid
will be distributed.
   (Reuters, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Mississippi
police found four people dead in a home in Clinton following a
12-hour standoff. Suspect Nam Lee was found wounded and soon died.
    (SFC, 2/18/19, p.A4)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, World Pangolin Day
was marked around the globe. Conservationists say well over 1
million pangolins have been poached since around 2000.
   (AP, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Afghanistan the
Taliban stormed a police checkpoint late today, killing six police
in the northern Balkh province.
   (AP, 2/17/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Albania
thousands of opposition supporters clashed with police at an
anti-government rally protesting what they claim is a corrupt and
inefficient Cabinet. The protesters demanded that the government
resign and an early election be held.
   (AP, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Hundreds of
passengers throughout Europe were stranded by the abrupt collapse of
the British regional airline Flybmi.
   (AP, 2/17/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In China Mao
Zedong's former secretary Li Rui (101), a bold critic of the ruling
Communist Party, died. He had spent a lifetime near the center of
elite politics.
   (AFP, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Croatian police
found a body in a freezer in the hallway of the Dominic family home
in the village of Pavlovec, northeast of Zagreb. It was apparently
that of Jasmina Dominic, who was reported missing in 2005 but was
last seen in 2000 when she was 23 years old. Smiljana Srnec (450,
her the older sister, was detained.
   (AP, 2/18/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Egypt
extremists attacked an army checkpoint in the troubled northern
Sinai peninsula at dawn, causing 15 casualties among the armed
forces including at least one officer shot dead. Seven of the
extremists were reported killed.
   (AP, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In France "yellow
vest" protesters took to the streets for the 14th weekend in a row.
A poll this week showed dwindling support for the demonstrations.
   (Reuters, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, French director
Francois Ozon's film "Grace a Dieu" ("By the Grace of God") won the
Berlin Film Festival's jury grand prize. The movie, which opens on
Feb. 20, portrays French priest Bernard Preynat, who has been
accused of molesting dozens of boys during the 1980s and '90s.
   (AP, 2/18/19)  Â
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel robustly defended European nations' decision to stand
by the Iran nuclear deal in comments at the Munich Security
Conference, an annual gathering of top global defense and foreign
policy officials.
   (AP, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Germany Serbian
President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo President Hashim Thaci
appeared together at the Munich Security Conference, both expressing
interest in reaching an agreement but neither appearing to give
ground.
   (AP, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Haiti's PM
Jean-Henry Ceant, after days of deadly protests, announced that
government officials will lose their perks under emergency economic
and anti-corruption measures.
   (AFP, 2/17/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, India's first
locally built semi high-speed train broke down early today on its
way back to New Delhi from Varanasi in northern Uttar Pradesh, a day
after its inauguration by PM Narendra Modi. The railway ministry
said the disruption was possibly due to cattle run over.
   (Reuters, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Mexico's Pres.
Manuel Lopez Obrador announced a $3.9 billion bailout for Pemex, the
country's state-owned oil company, and promised it an additional
$1.6 billion in revenue.
   (SSFC, 2/17/19, p.A4)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Nigeria's
president and the leading opposition candidate urged people to
remain calm after a national election scheduled for today was
postponed by a week just five hours before polls were due to open.
   (Reuters, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Police in North
Macedonia said they've broken up a criminal ring of migrant
smugglers and filed charges against 21 people, including a police
officer, for illegal trafficking.
   (AP, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A Russian court
ordered Michael Calvey, the US founder of one of Russia's biggest
private equity firms accused of fraud, to be kept in custody until
April 13. Investigators accused Calvey and other executives of
embezzling 2.5 billion rubles ($37.73 million).
   (Reuters, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Serbia
thousands of people rallied in the capital for 11th week in a row
against populist President Aleksandar Vucic and his government.
   (AP, 2/17/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Spain thousands
of Catalan separatists marched in Barcelona to proclaim the
innocence of 12 of their leaders who are on trial for their role in
a failed 2017 secession bid.
   (AP, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Bruno Ganz (77),
Swiss actor, died in Zurich. He gave masterful performances as Adolf
Hitler in "Downfall" (2004) and an angel seeking mortality in
divided Berlin in "Wings of Desire" (1987).
   (AFP, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In eastern Syria
jihadist fighters defending the last dreg of the Islamic State
group's "caliphate" were holed up in half a square km of Baghouz
village. Large numbers of civilians were reported still trapped
inside.
   (AFP, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Vatican said
former US cardinal Theodore McCarrick (88) has been expelled from
the Roman Catholic priesthood after being found guilty of sexual
crimes against minors and adults.
   (Reuters, 2/16/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Zimbabwe eight
artisanal miners, who were trapped underground since Feb. 12 after
heavy flooding, were rescued. Dozens of their co-workers remained
missing and were feared dead.
   (AP, 2/16/19)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, More than 100
former US federal prosecutors and Justice Dept. officials called on
Attorney Gen'l. William Barr to resign following his intervention
last week to lower the Justice Dept.'s sentencing recommendation for
Pres. Trump's longtime friend Roger Stone.
   (SFC, 2/17/20, p.A7)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Larry Tesler
(b.1945), American computer scientist who worked in the field of
human–computer interaction, died at his Portola Valley home. Tesler
worked at Xerox PARC, Apple, Amazon, and Yahoo!
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Tesler)(SFC,
2/25/20, p.D2
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, New York City
police and prosecutors announced that Rashaun Weaver (14) has been
charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of Tessa Majors, a Barnard
freshman who was killed in December 2019 in Morningside Park.
   (ABC News, 2/15/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Texas an
implosion failed to bring down the core of former 11-story,
Affiliated Computer Services building in Dallas. A wrecking ball
continued the demolition of the "Leaning Tower of Dallas" on Feb 24.
   (SFC, 2/25/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Wisconsin the
bodies of a woman (26) and her two young daughters were found in a
Milwaukee garage more than a week after they were reported missing.
The bodies were found after police interviewed the woman's boyfriend
(25), who had been arrested in Tennessee on a fugitive from justice
warrant.
   (AP, 2/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Police in
Azerbaijan detained three opposition party leaders and more than 100
activists before they were due to take part in a protest against the
results of last week's national election, which have been questioned
by international observers.
   (Reuters, 2/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Storm Dennis
roared across Britain with high winds and heavy rains, prompting
authorities to issue a record number of flood warnings and alerts
for England and a rare “red warning" for extremely life-threatening
flooding in Wales.
   (AP, 2/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Burkina Faso
gunmen killed 24 civilians, including a church pastor, and kidnapped
three others. It was the latest attack against a religious leader in
the increasingly unstable West African nation.
   (AP, 2/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, China reported a
drop in new virus cases for the third straight day. Its latest
figures showed 68,500 cases and 1,665 deaths due to the COVID-19
virus, most of the in Hubei province. The National Health Commission
reported 2,009 new cases and 142 deaths.
   (AP, 2/16/20)(Reuters, 2/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Dominican
Republic was forced to suspend municipal elections across the
country following problems with electronic voting systems.
   (SFC, 2/18/20, p.A2)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Egypt’s chief
prosecutor denied allegations that the police tortured George Zaki,
a human rights activist and vocal critic of President Abdel Fattah
el-Sissi.
   (AP, 2/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Germany and the
UN, which co-hosted a Jan. 19 Berlin summit, gathered foreign
ministers and other officials from a dozen countries on the
sidelines of the Munich Security Conference to try to bolster a
drive to cut off outside military support for Libya's warring
parties.
   (AP, 2/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Israeli
military said it has thwarted an attempt by the Hamas militant group
to hack soldiers' phones by posing as young, attractive women on
social media, striking up friendships and persuading them into
downloading malware.
   (AP, 2/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia started trial oil production from the jointly-operated Wafra
and Khafji oilfields. Trial production from the two fields in the
Neutral Zone will increase gradually till it reaches its normal
levels.
   (Reuters, 2/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Syrian troops
consolidated the government's hold over the key Aleppo province,
capturing over 30 villages and hamlets in the western countryside in
a single day. Authorities uncovered a mass grave containing nearly
70 bodies in eastern Ghouta, an area outside of the capital that
rebel fighters lost control of in April 2018.
   (AP, 2/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Taiwan's health
minister said a man has died from the coronavirus, marking the first
such death on the island since the epidemic spread from mainland
China.
   (Reuters, 2/16/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The UN said
Yemen’s warring sides have agreed to implement a long-delayed and
major prisoner swap, in a sign that talks to end the disastrous war
between the country's internationally recognized government and its
Houthi rebels could be making progress.
   (AP, 2/15/20)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The US White said
Pres. Biden is extending a ban on housing foreclosures to June 30 to
help homeowners struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
   (SFC, 2/17/21, p.A5)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The US Navy
announced that it seized a large cache of weapons last week being
smuggled by two small ships off the coast of Somalia. The arms were
reportedly bound for war-torn Yemen.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Nigerian
businessman Obinwanne Okeke, who once appeared on the cover of
Forbes magazine, was jailed for 10 years in the US over a cyber
fraud scam that led to the theft of about $11m (£8m). Okeke, also
known as Invictus Obi, used Nigerian-based companies to defraud
people in the US.
   (AP, 2/17/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Arizona reported
1,132 new coronavirus cases and three additional deaths bringing
overall cases to 799,740 and total deaths to 14,981.
   (SFC, 2/17/21, p.A5)
2021 Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, California to
date had 3,480,319 cases of coronavirus and 47,509 deaths. The SF
Bay Area had 397,180 cases and 4,953 deaths. Total cases nationwide
reached over 27,726,970 with the death toll at
487,109.  Â
   (sfist.com, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, American fashion
designer Jessica McClintock (b.1930) died in San Francisco. She was
the founder, President and CEO of Jessica McClintock, Inc., an
American retail company based in San Francisco. Her romantic, lacy
confections dressed generations of women for their weddings and
proms.
   (SFC, 3/15/21, p.B1)(NY Times, 3/23/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Hawaii Payroll
Services LLC discovered its servers and databases had been breached
over the last 24 hours by an unauthorized user. The attack enabled
the intruder to disable and remove security software and encrypt all
data residing in Hawaii Payroll's servers. About 4, 500 customers of
the company were potentially affected by the ransomware attack.
   (AP, 9/28/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Dr. Bernard Lown,
the Harvard cardiologist who invented the first effective heart
defibrillator (1962), died at his home in Chestnut Hill, Mass. He
was one of a group of co-founders of an international organization
that won the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize for its campaign against nuclear
war.
   (NY Times, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Nevada the
Clark County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a name
change from McCarran International Airport to Harry Reid
International Airport.
   (SFC, 2/17/21, p.A4)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Killer tornadoes
in the Southeast and historic subzero cold as far south as Texas
were blamed for seven deaths and massive power outages. In North
Carolina at least three people were found dead early today after a
tornado tore through a seaside town at the rough edge of a blast of
winter weather across the US. 4.5 million Texan households were cut
off from power. Â
   (Reuters, 2/16/21)(AP, 2/16/21)(Econ., 2/20/21,
p.21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The seemingly
unstoppable rise of Bitcoin continued with the cost of a single unit
of the digital currency rising above $50,000 for the first time.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Marriott Chief
Executive Arne Sorenson (62) died. He grew the company into the
world’s largest hotel chain and steered it through a global pandemic
that has been catastrophic in the travel industry in the past year.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Algeria
thousands from all walks of life thronged to Kherrata, a town 200km
(120 miles) east of Algiers, a continuation of the anti-government
movement, known as the Hirak.
   (BBC, 2/20/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Authorities in
Belarus raided homes and offices of journalists and human rights
activists in the latest move to squelch protests against
authoritarian Pres. Alexander Lukashenko.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The British
government said health authorities in England have identified 38
cases of a new coronavirus variant which has a key mutation that is
thought to reduce the effectiveness of vaccines. The variant, known
as B.1.525, has the E484K spike protein mutation, which is also
present in the South African variant.
   (Reuters, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, It was reported
that Bulgarian customs officials have confiscated more than 400
kilograms (880 pounds) of heroin from a ship transporting goods from
Iran.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Denmark said it
registered the more contagious coronavirus variant B.1.1.7, first
detected in Britain, in close to half of all positive tests in the
second week of February.
   (Reuters, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A daughter of
Dubai's powerful ruler who tried to flee the country in 2018 only to
be detained by commandos in a boat off India has re-emerged in new
videos published today, saying she doesn't know if she's “going to
survive this situation.” Her father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, also serves as the prime minister and vice president in the
hereditarily ruled UAE.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, France and leaders
of Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mauritania agreed to step up
the fight against Islamic extremists in the Sahel by maintaining a
strong French military presence, deploying a new Chadian battalion
and gradually building up a European task force.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A Hong Kong
government advisory panel on COVID-19 vaccines said it would
recommend China's Sinovac vaccine for emergency use, a move that
brings it a step closer to being formally greenlighted in the Asian
financial hub.
   (Reuters, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The first 550,000
doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Budapest, as
Hungary prepares to become the first EU country to roll out the
Chinese vaccine. Hungary has reported 389,622 coronavirus cases
since the start of the pandemic, with 13,837 deaths.
   (Reuters, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In India a bus
drove off a bridge near Patna village, Madhya Pradesh state, killing
at least 45 people.
   (https://tinyurl.com/yax65cd6)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Iraq recorded a
sharp rise in COVID-19 infections with 3,332 confirmed in the past
24 hours, after the country confirmed infections of one of the newer
variants of the novel coronavirus.
   (Reuters, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Suspected Israeli
settlers vandalized several vehicles belonging to Palestinian
workers in the occupied West Bank in broad daylight in an incident
caught by security cameras.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Italy reported 336
coronavirus-related deaths against 258 the day before, while the
daily tally of new infections rose to 10,386 from 7,351 the day
before.
   (Reuters, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, It was reported
that police in Myanmar have filed a new charge against ousted leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, in a move that may allow her to be held
indefinitely without trial as part of an intensifying crackdown by
authorities who seized power in a coup.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Poland’s
right-wing government said it will redraw its proposed media
advertising tax to make it fairer after it led to a media protest
and condemnation from a coalition partner and critics abroad.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Russian
prosecutors asked a Moscow court to fine jailed opposition leader
Alexei Navalny (44) on charges of defaming a World War II veteran,
maintaining pressure on the top Kremlin foe.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Russia extended a
ban on flights to and from Britain until the end of March 16 due to
a new variant of the coronavirus first detected in the UK.
   (Reuters, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, It was reported
that Slovakia has become the nation with most COVID-19 deaths by
size of population in the world amid a surge of cases from a highly
contagious coronavirus variant.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, South Korea’s
intelligence service said that North Korea has attempted to hack
Pfizer and steal COVID-19 vaccine technology.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Spain anti-riot
officers arrested Spanish rap artist Pablo Hasél, who had barricaded
himself at northeastern Lleida University with dozens of supporters
to avoid prison and defend his fight for free speech. He was taken
to prison to serve a 9-month sentence for insulting the monarchy and
glorifying terrorism in a song about former King Juan Carlos I and
in 64 tweets. Violent street protests soon followed in several
cities.
   (AP, 2/17/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to expand cross-border operations against
Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, following the killing of 13
Turkish soldiers, police and civilians who had been abducted by
Kurdish insurgents.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Ukrainian
health minister said that Kyiv's vaccine purchases were being
hampered by "dirty information attacks" that had triggered a
corruption investigation against his ministry.
   (Reuters, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The UN announced
it is releasing $15 million from its emergency relief fund to help
Guinea and Congo combat new outbreaks of Ebola.
   (AP, 2/16/21)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Zimbabwe said the
coronavirus variant first discovered in neighboring South Africa now
makes up more than 60% of cases within its borders.
   (BBC, 2/16/21)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The United States
and NATO said Russia was still building up troops around Ukraine
despite Moscow's insistence it was pulling back.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The US Education
Department said it will cancel federal student loans for at least
1,800 students who attended DeVry University, once one of the
nation’s largest for-profit college chains, because it fraudulently
lured in applicants for years with vastly inflated claims about
their career prospects.
   (NY Times, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The US, European
Union and others pledged $600 million in additional funds to help
hundreds of thousands struggling six months after a powerful
earthquake struck Haiti's southern region.
   (AP, 2/17/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A report by US
federal investigators said former Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke misused
his position to advance a commercial development in his Montana
hometown and lied to an agency ethics official about his involvement
in the project.
   (SFC, 2/17/22, p.A6)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Private equity
financier John Wilson (62), the founder of Hyannis Port Capital, was
sentenced to 15 months in prison for participating in a vast US
college admissions fraud scheme by conspiring to pay bribes to
secure spots for his children at top schools.
   (Reuters, 2/17/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A court document
was unsealed showing that Alex Saab, an ally of Venezuelan President
Nicolas Maduro for almost a year, served as a confidential source
for US Drug Enforcement Administration and forfeited funds as part
of a deal to "self-surrender" to face charges. US prosecutors had
submitted the information under seal last February.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The US Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) said a total of 80 unruly airplane
passengers have been referred to the FBI for potential criminal
prosecution.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Total US COVID-19
cases reached over 78,081,612 with the death toll at 926,213.
   (sfist.com, 2/17/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Leonard Kessler
(101), the author and illustrator of hundreds of children’s books
for early readers that celebrated the ordinary (“I Have Twenty Teeth
— Do You?”) and the not-so-ordinary (“Mr. Pine’s Purple House”),
died at his home in Sarasota, Fla.
   (NY Times, 2/24/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Walter Dellinger
(80), a renowned scholar of constitutional law and one of the top
legal figures in the Clinton administration, died at his home in
Chapel Hill, NC.
   (NY Times, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In southern
Afghanistan a young boy (5) became in trapped in a well. He died
before locals and authorities were able to rescue him on Feb. 18.
   (Reuters, 2/18/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Australia a
shark killed a swimmer off a Sydney beach in the city's first fatal
attack in nearly 60 years.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Brazil's Space
Agency said it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with
Amazon.com Inc's cloud network unit to foster the long-term
development of the country's space program.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Brazil-based
Embraer said its electric aircraft subsidiary Eve has received
orders from Australian charter firms Aviair, HeliSpirit and
Microflite for up to 90 electric vertical take-off and landing
aircraft (eVTOLs).
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Britain said it
will double the size of the British force in Estonia as part of a
NATO deployment and will send equipment, including tanks and armored
fighting vehicles, to the country amid fears of a Russian invasion
of Ukraine.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Britain reported
54,218 new COVID-19 cases and 199 deaths within 28 days of a
positive test. That compared with 46,186 cases and 234 deaths a day
earlier. Britain's vaccine officials advised that all children aged
5-11 should be offered COVID-19 shots.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Burkina Faso's
military leader Paul-Henri Damiba was sworn in as president, weeks
after leading a successful coup. He promised to deal with the
mounting insecurity that helped oust his predecessor.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Police in the
Canadian capital Ottawa started warning truck drivers blockading the
downtown core that they should depart or face arrest, part of a
promised crackdown to end a three-week-old protest over COVID
restrictions. Police also started ticketing some of the hundreds of
vehicles blocking the downtown core.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Yi Gang, the
governor of the central bank, said China will work with Asian
countries to beef up use of local currencies in trade and
investment.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, It was reported
that a Chinese court has ordered the freezing of 640.4 million yuan
($101 million) in assets held by a subsidiary of China Evergrande
Group.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Beijing Qi
Guangpu completed a Chinese freestyle skiing aerials double and
finally got to taste Olympic glory after three near-misses when he
impressively won the men’s individual gold.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, President Nayib
Bukele asked US senators to stay out of El Salvador's "internal
affairs" after they called for an investigation into the economic
risks the United States faces due to the Central American country's
adoption of bitcoin as legal tender.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The European Court
of Justice dismissed challenges by Poland and Hungary to a new tool
that would cut funding by the 27-nation bloc for members that flout
democratic values.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Germany's cabinet
backed a tax relief package for workers and businesses, aiming to
mitigate the impact of the pandemic on Europe's largest economy with
fresh stimulus.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A German
government official said the German government is planning to
transfer hydrogen production technology to African countries amid
its efforts to quit coal and nuclear energy.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, “Alcarràs,” a
contemplative work by the Spanish director Carla Simón about peach
farmers in a village in northern Spain, won the Golden Bear, the top
prize at the Berlin International Film Festival.
   (NY Times, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Germany's BioNTech
said it has developed a vaccine factory made from shipping
containers that it plans to ship to Africa as assembly kits to ease
what the World Health Organization has described as huge disparities
in global COVID-19 vaccine access.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A fire broke out
in the cargo hold of the Felicity Ace off the coast of the Azores.
The ship had departed Emden, Germany, on Feb. 10 and was scheduled
to arrive in Davisville, R.I. The Volkswagen Group estimated nearly
4,000 vehicles were on board, including 189 Bentleys and 1,100
Porsches. 22 crew members were rescued from the vessel. Lithium-ion
batteries in electric cars kept blaze alight.
   (NY Times, 2/17/22)(Reuters, 2/18/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Southwestern
Guatemala was struck by an earthquake of magnitude 6.2, killing two
people, collapsing roofs and triggering landslides.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, India reported an
outbreak of the highly contagious H5N1 bird flu virus on a poultry
research farm in the northeastern state of Bihar. The outbreak
started on Jan. 18. The virus killed 787 out of 3,859 birds on the
farm in Patna and all of the remaining birds were slaughtered.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Senior schools
reopened in the Indian state of Karnataka a week after authorities
closed them in the face of protests against a ban on female students
wearing the hijab Muslim head covering in class.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Italy reported
59,749 COVID-19 related cases, against 70,852 the day before. The
number of deaths fell to 278 from 388.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Kuwait two
senior Cabinet ministers submitted their resignations to the prime
minister, citing political turbulence and the impossibility of
reform in the Gulf Arab state.
   (AP, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, revealed that his
militant group has been manufacturing military drones in Lebanon and
has the technology to turn thousands of missiles in their possession
into precision-guided munitions.
   (AP, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Data from the West
Africa monetary union's debt agency Umoa-Titres showed that Mali has
defaulted on more than 53.99 billion franc CFA ($93 million) in
interest and principal payments since January due to regional
sanctions.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Morocco said it
will spend 10 billion dirhams ($ 1.07 bln) on a national plan to
mitigate the impact of drought on farmers and the economy. The
country has registered a rainfall deficit of 64% so far this year.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Nepal police used
teargas and water cannon to disperse protesters objecting to a
US-funded infrastructure program. The Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC), a US government aid agency, agreed in 2017 to
provide $500 million in grants to fund an electricity transmission
line and road improvement project in Nepal. Opponents say Nepal
would not have sufficient oversight over the board directing
projects.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Norway's industry
minister said that the Norwegian government would be unable to
prevent a transfer of customer data from telecoms operator Telenor's
Myanmar unit to the Asian country's military rulers.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Pakistani
authorities raided the home of a media owner and arrested him after
a dramatic scuffle in which the man fired a pistol toward police and
hit one officer in the head with the weapon, injuring him. Days
earlier Mohsin Baig, owner and editor-in-chief of news outlet Online
and the Urdu-language Daily Jinnah newspaper, suggested that PM
Imran Khan had showed favoritism by granting an award to a
government minister, Murad Saeed, with whom he has a close
friendship.
   (AP, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, It was reported
that Paraguay's soybean crushing industry will run out of beans to
process by the middle of the year due to a drought hammering
production.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Russian President
Vladimir Putin hosted his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro for
talks in Moscow and hailed ties between the two countries.
   (AP, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In Somalia Al
Shabaab militants attacked several police stations and security
checkpoints in Mogadishu. State TV reported that five people, two of
them children, were killed in two attacks.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A South African
judge dismissed a bid by former president Jacob Zuma to appeal an
earlier ruling rejecting his attempt to have the prosecutor in his
arms deal corruption trial taken off the case for alleged bias.
Zuma's trial will move forward on April 11.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In central Sudan a
collision between two passenger buses killed 10 people.
   (AP, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, The Swiss
government said it will lift almost all its coronavirus pandemic
restrictions from midnight, as fears waned that a spike in
infections fuelled by the Omicron variant would overwhelm the health
care system.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Ukrainians raised
national flags and played the country's anthem to show unity against
fears of a Russian invasion that Western powers have said could be
imminent.
   (Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A UN official said
that 80% of Tonga's 105,000 people were affected by the Jan. 15
undersea volcanic eruption and ensuing tsunami and that the country
needs over $90 million to start repairing damage and restoring its
key farming and fishing sectors.
   (AP, 2/16/22)