Blue Origin Blue Origin launches the unmanned rocket New Shephard to the edge of space (100.5 km) and lands safely upright on its original launch pad in Texas, becoming the first organization to do so.
United Nations A new United Nations report finds 90 percent of the thousands of disasters over the last two decades are weather-related. The majority have been caused by floods, storms, heatwaves and droughts. Researchers with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) suggest the cost has been between $250 and $350 billion per year, i.e., total of $5 trillion-$7 trillion. The report concurs with findings of previous studies that weather disasters are on the rise compared to previous decades. Flooding, in particular, is becoming more frequent and more devastating as sea levels continue to rise.
Hong Kong local elections, 2015 Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement gets a boost with Umbrella Soldiers winning at least four seats in Sunday's election although the distribution of political power over the district council seats remains broadly the same vis-a-vis the Hong Kong local elections, 2011.
United States The United States issues a worldwide travel alert due to heightened activity by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (aka Da’esh-ISIS), Boko Haram, al-Qa’ida and other terrorist groups through February 24, 2016.
All four crew members aboard a United States military helicopter (UH-60) are killed when their chopper crashes at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.
Puebla A highway traffic accident in the Mexican state of Puebla kills 20 people and injures at least 15 others.
United States A U.S. Apache helicopter crashes in South Korea's Gangwon Province, killing the pilot and one crew member.
India Seven people are feared dead after a helicopter crashes in the Indian town of Katra, Jammu and Kashmir, near the Hindu shrine of Vaishno Devi.
Japan An explosion at Japan's controversial Yasukuni Shrine for the war dead in Tokyo damages the ceiling and a wall of a public bathroom near the shrine’s southern entrance. No one was injured.
Pharmaceutical company American pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Allergan, Plc announce plans to merge to form the world's largest drug company. The merger is subject to approval from regulators in the U.S., European Union and elsewhere as well as approval by shareholders of both companies. If approved, the deal will reduce tax revenue paid to the U.S. by approximately $930 million.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict (2015) Two Palestinian teenage girls, ages 14 and 16, use scissors to stab a 70-year-old Palestinian man whom they misidentified as an Israeli, and other Israeli civilians, near Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market; one of the attackers is killed and the other wounded while being subdued, and an Israeli civilian is wounded by police gunfire.
A Palestinian kills a 20 year-old Israeli and wounds two women in a stabbing attack at a gas station near the town of Modi’in; the Palestinian assailant is shot and killed by an officer at the scene.
Maguindanao massacre Human rights activists and families of the victims decry the lack of justice six years after the murder of around 58 people, including journalists and politicians, in Maguindanao, Mindanao. They criticize the regime of Philippines President Benigno Aquino III for the lack of convictions in the trial.