February 15, 2018 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan
- The United Nations report that in 2017, more than 10,000 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in the war. (Deutsche Welle)
- Syrian Civil War
- An arms depot explosion in Tabiyet Jazira, Deir ez-Zor, kills at least 23 people, including over a dozen Russian contractors allegedly belonging to the Wagner Group, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (The Guardian)
Business and economy
- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission blocks a Chinese-led group of investors from buying the Chicago Stock Exchange. (CNN)
Law and crime
- Aftermath of the 2017 cyberattacks on Ukraine
- The United Kingdom government and the United States White House accuse the Russian military of being responsible for the launch of the NotPetya malware in June 2017. The White House calls it the most destructive and costly cyberattack in history and says Russia will be met with unspecified "international consequences". Russia denies responsibility and dismisses the accusation as "groundless", lacking evidence, and "Russophobic". (Washington Examiner)
- United Kingdom football sexual abuse scandal
- Former Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra youth coach Barry Bennell is found guilty of 43 sexual attacks on twelve boys between 1979 and 1990. (BBC)
Politics and elections
- Mexican general election, 2018
- María de Jesús "Marichuy" Patricio Martínez, the National Indigenous Congress's independent pre-candidate for President of Mexico, is involved in a road accident while campaigning in Baja California Sur. Marichuy is reported as injured while a passenger of the vehicle is dead. (Reuters)
- Istanbul convention
- Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov says that GERB, his party, will not ratify the convention due to lack of support from political parties. The treaty was designed by the Council of Europe to combat domestic violence and violence against women but critics say its language is vague, it could encourage youth to identify as transgender or third gender and it could lead to same-sex marriage in Bulgaria. (Reuters)
- Criminal justice reform in the United States
- The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee backed the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, a package to reduce some of the strictest federal sentencing rules along with reforms for the federal prison system, by a vote of 16–5. (CNN)
- Politics of Ethiopia
- Hailemariam Desalegn resigns as Prime Minister of Ethiopia after six years in office amid ongoing unrest in the Oromia and Amhara regions. (BBC)
- Politics of South Africa
- Cyril Ramaphosa is elected by the National Assembly as President of South Africa. (PBS)
Science and technology
- Discoveries of exoplanets
- NASA's Kepler space telescope has discovered 95 new exoplanets. (USA Today)