Portal:Current events/2016 February 9

February 9, 2016 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- A suicide bomb attack in Syria's capital Damascus kills at least 10 people. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility. (The New York Times) (AP)
- Doctors without Borders reports three people were killed and at least six others injured in Friday's airstrikes, source not identified, that hit the Tafas field hospital in Dara'a Governorate near the Jordanian border. (UPI) (Médecins Sans Frontières)
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- The United States sends more troops to Afghanistan's southern Helmand province to shore up security forces who are facing sustained attacks from the Taliban. (Reuters)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)
- Iraqi Armed Forces announce the complete recapture of the city of Ramadi in western Iraq's Anbar Province from the Islamic State, along with the reopening of the Ramadi-Baghdad road. (UPI) (Iraqi News)

Business and economy

Dubai says that it will continue with its Mall of the World project, despite the financial pressures created by falling oil prices. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Taiwan earthquake
- The death toll from Saturday's earthquake in Taiwan rises to 41 with 109 people missing. (Focus Taiwan)
- Taiwan authorities arrest three construction company executives of the Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building, which collapsed Saturday, on suspicion of negligent homicide. Almost all of those killed have been recovered from the rubble from this building; the 100-plus missing are likely buried in the debris. (Reuters) (AP via The Washington Post)
Bad Aibling rail accident
- Two passenger trains collide in the German town of Bad Aibling in the state of Bavaria. At least ten people are dead, one person is missing and presumed dead, about 80 are injured, and 17 are seriously or critically injured. The rescue is difficult – resembling a mountain-type rescue – because of a nearby river and a steep incline and a curve in the tracks; rescue helicopters had to be used. It is one of Bavaria's and Germany's deadliest-ever railroad accidents. Human error is being examined as a possibility. (BBC) (CNN)
One Indian soldier, buried in the snow for six days, is rescued from last week's Siachen Glacier avalanche, however the other nine soldiers from the army post in the Himalayan region of Kashmir didn't survive. (AP via Appeal-Democrat)^{[permanent dead link]}
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Ovalle in Chile's central region. No injuries or damage have been reported. (AP via ABC News)

Law and crime

2016 Mong Kok civil unrest
- Clashes break out and turn into a riot in the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong on the pretext that the police try to close down illegal food vendors. Nearly 90 police officers are injured. (The Straits Times)
The Maryland House of Delegates and Senate override Governor Larry Hogan's veto of a bill extending felons' voting rights to those who have not completed the terms of their probation or parole. The law goes into effect March 10, 2016. (UPI)
Warner/Chappell Music agrees to return $14 million collected in copyright fees for the song Happy Birthday to You which a federal judge ruled in September belongs in the public domain. (UPI)

Politics and elections

Philippine presidential election, 2016
- The campaign period for the election begins in what international media dubs as a "cliffhanger" between five candidates: Jejomar Binay, Miriam Defensor Santiago, Rodrigo R. Duterte, Grace Poe, and Mar Roxas. (Deutsche Welle) (The Daily Mail)
2016 United States presidential election, New Hampshire primary
- Voters in the state of New Hampshire go to the polls for the first primary election in this year's presidential cycle. (BBC)
- New York businessman Donald Trump wins the Republican Party primary while Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic Party primary. (NBC News) This makes Sanders the first Jewish and the first self-described democratic socialist to win a U.S. presidential primary. (The Week) (CNN) (The Huffington Post) Barry Goldwater, the 1964 Republican presidential nominee, was the first winner of Jewish heritage, but was a Christian. (CNN)