Portal:Current events/2022 February 11

February 11, 2022 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis
  - Reactions to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis
    - Russia–NATO relations
      - The Biden administration says that Russia now has enough troops and military equipment in place in order to launch an invasion of Ukraine and warns Americans to leave the country within the next 48 hours. (BBC News)
      - The British Foreign Office advises British nationals to leave Ukraine immediately. (The Independent) (FCDO)
      - It is announced that the United States Armed Forces will deploy 3,000 additional troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to Poland in the "coming days" amid tensions with Russia. (Reuters)
    - Israel begins evacuating embassy staff and diplomats’ families from Kyiv, and also orders a travel warning for all Israelis, saying that a large scale Russian offensive may occur soon. (Times of Israel)
    - Japan urges its citizens to leave Ukraine immediately. There are about 150 Japanese citizens currently living in Ukraine. (Nikkei)
    - South Korea bans all travel to Ukraine and asks its citizens to leave Ukraine immediately. (Newsweek)
  - Satellite imagery records Russia amassing more troops near the Russia–Ukraine border. (Reuters)
Iran–Israel proxy conflict
- Israel announces the arrest of eight alleged Iranian spies for organizing a plot to kill an Israeli businessman in Istanbul in retaliation for the 2020 assassination of the chief of Iran's nuclear program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, widely regarded to be the work of the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad. Turkish intelligence shared with the Mossad apparently contributed to the arrests, and several Turkish operatives were among those arrested. (Times of Israel)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
    - Hong Kong reports a record 1,325 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the territory-wide total of confirmed cases to 20,119. (South China Morning Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - South Korea reports a record 53,926 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,239,287. (The Korea Herald)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - The Government of France announces that mask mandate in indoor public places will be eased beginning on February 28 as the number of COVID-19 declines. (Euronews)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - Italy lifts its outdoor mask mandate and reopens nightclubs as the number of COVID-19 cases declines. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia reports a record 203,949 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 13.7 million. (The Moscow Times)
Koala conservation
- The Australian Government officially lists the koala as an endangered species due to a combination of factors including drought, bushfires, disease and habitat loss. (The Guardian)
Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, Deforestation in Brazil
- Satellite imagery shows 430 square kilometres of Amazon rainforest was deforested in January, five times more than last January. (BBC News)

International relations

Somaliland–Taiwan relations
- Somaliland Foreign Minister Essa Kayd rebukes China's apparent attempts to dictate the unrecognized breakaway state's foreign relations with Taiwan and reaffirms the state's recognition of the Republic of China. (Reuters)
Finland–United States relations
- Finland agrees to a $9.4 billion deal with the United States to purchase 64 F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter-jets for its air force. The agreement also includes buying advanced surface-to-surface missiles from Lockheed Martin in order to upgrade the country's missile systems. The munition deliveries are expected to begin by 2025. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Canada convoy protest
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford declares a state of emergency over the protest-related blockades in the City of Ottawa and at the Ambassador Bridge. (CBC)
Crime in Portugal
- Portuguese police, with help from the FBI, arrest an 18-year-old boy for planning an armed attack on a university in Lisbon. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Aftermath of the 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état
- Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, leader of the military junta, is declared president by the Burkinabé Constitutional Council. His "election", deemed retroactively effective since the coup on January 24, will be made official by an inauguration on February 16. (AP)