February 16, 2016 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)
- Three Americans abducted last month in Baghdad are freed by the Iraqi National Intelligence Service. (AP via Orange County Register)
Arts and culture
- The jewels of former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos are to be auctioned. Valued at $21 million (USD), they were seized by the government when her husband Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown. (CNN) (BBC)
- After more than 200 years, Mozart's and Salieri's lost cantata Per la ricuperata salute di Ofelia is discovered in Prague. (Reuters) (The Independent) (BBC)
International relations
- Cuba–United States relations
- The United States and Cuba sign an agreement restoring commercial air traffic between the two countries for the first time in 50 years. The U.S. Department of Transportation immediately opened bidding for as many as 110 U.S.-Cuba flights per day to Havana and nine other destinations. Travel from the U.S. is permitted in 12 authorized categories, which does not include tourism. (AP) (AFP via The Jamaica Observer)
Law and crime
- Four American journalists are charged by Bahrain for "unlawful obstruction of vehicles and attending unlawful gatherings." The state-run Bahrain News Agency said all were released "pending further investigations." Freelance reporter Anna Day and a film crew, who were covering the fifth anniversary of the Arab Spring uprisings, are scheduled to fly to Dubai tonight. (NBC News) (New York Daily News)
Politics and elections
- Philippine Senate election, 2016
- Filipino Senate candidate and boxer Manny Pacquiao calls LGBT people "less than animals" when asked about his opposition to same-sex marriage, prompting condemnation from prominent Filipino LGBT figures such as Aiza Seguerra, John Lapus and Vice Ganda. Pacquiao later apologizes. (NPR) (The New York Times) (Rappler)