Portal:Current events/2024 February 14

February 14, 2024 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israel–Hamas war
- Israel–Hezbollah conflict
  - A rocket attack from Lebanon on a military base in Safed, Israel, kills one Israeli soldier and injures several others. In response, Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon kill 11 civilians and four Hezbollah militants in Nabatieh and al-Sawana. (The Guardian)
Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Crimea attacks
  - Ukraine claims to have sunk the Russian ship Tsezar Kunikov off the coast of Katsiveli, Crimea. A video appears to show the vessel being struck with unmanned surface drones. (RFE/RL)
Cross-Strait relations
- Two Chinese fishermen drown and two others are rescued when their boat capsizes near Kinmen, Taiwan, while being pursued by the Taiwan Coast Guard, who allege that the fishermen were trespassing. (AP)
Explosions occur along the route of a natural gas pipeline from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Iran, to the Caspian Sea. The Iranian oil minister blames the incident on "terrorism and sabotage". (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2024 Port Hills fire
- A state of emergency is declared in Christchurch, New Zealand, as firefighters attempt to control a bushfire in the city's Port Hills region. (Stuff)
Fifteen people are killed and eight others are injured when a truck and four microbuses collide in Alexandria, Egypt. (AP)
One person is killed and 53 others are injured when a church balcony collapses during an Ash Wednesday Mass in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, Philippines. (WION)

International relations

Russia–United States relations, Russia and weapons of mass destruction
- U.S. officials announce a "serious national security threat" after military intelligence indicates that Russia intends to imminently place nuclear weapons in space. U.S. President Joe Biden has been briefed, according to officials. (The Telegraph)
- The U.S. holds emergency talks with allies, including Canada and the United Kingdom, on the Russian nuclear threat. (CBC)
- U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson says that there is no need for public alarm after briefing President Biden on the matter. (The Hill)
Foreign relations of Cuba, Foreign relations of South Korea
- Cuba and South Korea establish diplomatic relations after exchanging letters via their United Nations representatives. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Politics and elections

Science and technology

An over 10,000-years-old underwater structure from the Stone Age is discovered in the Bay of Mecklenburg, in the Baltic Sea. The kilometer long stone wall might be the oldest man-made structure on earth. (CNN)