Portal:Current events/2026 February 18

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Middle Eastern crisis
  • Syrian conflict
    • United States intervention in Syria
      • The United States announces that it will withdraw all remaining military troops from Syria, formally ending its 12-year military presence in the country. (The Wall Street Journal)
  • A security officer is killed and another is injured in an attack by the Islamic State in Raghib, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria. (Reuters)
• Cambodian–Thai border dispute
  • Cambodian prime minister Hun Manet claims that Thai forces are occupying Cambodian territory beyond Thailand's claimed territory. (Al Jazeera)
• Ecuadorian conflict
  • Four people are killed and two others are injured in a drive-by shooting outside of a school in Guayaquil, Guayas Province, Ecuador. (Xinhua)
• Gaza war
  • Two Palestinians, including one child, are killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
• Myanmar civil war
  • The state-run Myanmar Alin newspaper reports that Bo Nagar, leader of the anti-government Burma National Revolutionary Army, surrendered to the Burmese military after clashes with other rebel groups. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• A gas explosion at a lead mine in Bashar, Plateau State, Nigeria, kills at least 38 miners working underground and injures 27 others. (AFP via Arab News)
• Twelve people are killed in an explosion and fire at a fireworks shop in Xiangyang, Hubei, China. (CBC News)

International relations

• China–Poland relations
  • Poland bans all Chinese-made vehicles from entering its military sites, citing data security concerns regarding onboard sensors. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Terrorism in Australia
  • Australia issues a temporary exclusion order barring one citizen held in a Syrian detention camp from returning to the country under counter-terrorism legislation, citing the citizen's possible links to Islamic State members. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2026 Japanese general election
  • Sanae Takaichi is re-appointed Prime Minister of Japan by the House of Representatives after winning the legislative election. (AP)
• 2028 Philippine presidential election
  • Philippine vice president Sara Duterte announces her candidacy in the next presidential election. (AFP via France 24) (Reuters)
• Censure of José Jerí
  • Following two rounds of voting, José María Balcázar succeeds the removed José Jerí as interim President of Peru. (AP)

Science and technology

• Human rights in Gabon
  • Gabon indefinitely suspends access to social media platforms YouTube and TikTok citing concerns they undermine social cohesion and threaten national security. (Reuters)