Portal:Current events/2024 February 19

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda tensions
  • Rwanda rejects the United States' calls to withdraw troops and missile systems from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, citing threats from an alleged Congolese military build-up near the border. (AP)
• Mexican drug war
  • Twelve gunmen are killed in a shootout with the Mexican Army in Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas. (AP)
• Red Sea crisis
  • The Houthis claim to have shot down a United States MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Red Sea. (Fox News)

Business and economy

• Capital One announces a deal to acquire Discover Financial for $35.3 billion. (CNN) (CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

• Four people are killed, three are injured, and 17 are missing after a building collapses in Beirut, Lebanon. (AP)

International relations

• Brazil–Israel relations
  • Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz says that Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is a persona non grata in Israel until he retracts his comments comparing the war between Israel and Hamas to the Holocaust. In response, Brazil recalls its ambassador to Israel. (Reuters) (Reuters 2)

Law and crime

• Capital punishment in Pakistan
  • The Senate of Pakistan rejects a bill that would allow public hanging of rapists. (The News Pakistan)
• The International Court of Justice holds public hearings on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. (Reuters)

Sports

• 2024 NASCAR Cup Series
  • In stock car racing, William Byron wins the 66th Daytona 500. It is team owner Rick Hendrick's ninth victory in the event. (Reuters)