Thursday, February 19, 2026

Kordofan campaign

At least three aid workers are killed and four others are injured in a drone attack by the Rapid Support Forces and Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North on an aid convoy in South Kordofan, Sudan.

Politics

Andrey Gyurov is sworn in as Prime Minister of Bulgaria.

Politics

United States president Donald Trump says he has ordered defense secretary Pete Hegseth and other relevant department heads to "begin the process" of releasing classified government files related to extraterrestrial life and UAPs.

2026 political prisoner release in Venezuela

Acting Venezuelan president Delcy Rodríguez signs a general amnesty bill into law, enabling the release of hundreds of political prisoners, including former National Assembly vice president Juan Pablo Guanipa.

Arrest of Yoon Suk Yeol

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol is sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of leading an insurrection when he declared martial law on December 3, 2024.

Connections of Jeffrey Epstein

In the United Kingdom, police arrest royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on charges of misconduct in public office related to his links to convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He is later released from police custody.

Disasters

Eighteen people are killed and three others are injured when two trucks collide head-on near Port Said, Egypt.

Disasters

Sixteen people are killed and several others are injured after a gas explosion which then caused the building to collapse in Karachi, Pakistan.

Disasters

Six firefighters are killed and another is injured when a fire engine plunges off a cliff in Xinhua County, Hunan, China.

Disasters

At least four people are killed and 17 others are injured when a truck transporting liquid gas crashes and explodes in Santiago, Chile.

Disasters

A person is killed and five others are injured in Pétion-Ville, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, when a high-voltage power line breaks and falls into a public market.

Disasters

Five miners are trapped underground and presumed dead in a diamond mine after a mudslide in Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa.

Science

Scientists discover a new dinosaur species (Spinosaurus mirabilis) deep in the Sahara Desert.

2026 Winter Olympics

Ski mountaineer Oriol Cardona wins the men's sprint event and captures Spain's first Winter Olympics gold medal in 54 years.