Portal:Current events/2014 February 14

February 14, 2014 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War:
- From 18 to 43 people including civilians are killed and dozens wounded by a car bomb outside a mosque in the southern Syrian village of al-Yadouda according to local reports. (ABC News)
France announces it will increase the number of its soldiers deployed in the Central African Republic as sectarian violence worsens. (The Miami Herald)

Arts and culture

India and Penguin books ban the book The Hindus: An Alternative History by Wendy Doniger for "blasphemy". (The Guardian)
Oscar Pistorius posts a message apologizing for his role in the killing of Reeva Steenkamp. (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

Winter storms will return to the United Kingdom with flood warnings in place for parts of Gloucestershire, Berkshire, Surrey and Somerset. (BBC News)
A giant winter storm continues to hit the northeastern United States as hundreds of thousands of people in the southern United States remain without power. At least 22 people have died in the storm. (BBC News)
The eruption of Mount Kelud on the island of Java causes the closure of airports in three cities Surabaya, Yogyakarta and Solo as well as the reported death of two people. (Reuters)

Law and crime

The United States Department of the Treasury sanctions the wife of Los Zetas former leader Miguel Treviño Morales under the Kingpin Act. (U.S. Dept. of Treasury)

Politics and elections

2013–14 Thai political crisis:
- The government of Thailand deploys thousands of riot police to reclaim areas of Bangkok currently occupied by protesters. (AAP via The Australian)
Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta resigns after less than a year in office, following pressure from his own Democratic Party to step down. (CNN)

Sports

Five members of the 2014 induction class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame are announced, headed by recently retired NBA commissioner David Stern, elected as a contributor. Šarūnas Marčiulionis and Guy Rodgers are elected as players; Bob "Slick" Leonard is elected as a coach; and Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton is also elected as a contributor. The full induction class will be announced on April 7 and will be formally inducted on August 8. (AP via ESPN)