Portal:Current events/2025 February 22

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Gaza war
  • 2025 Gaza war ceasefire, Gaza war hostage crisis
    • Hamas releases six living hostages, including pre-war hostages Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, both captive for more than nine years. (Times of Israel)
    • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders the delay of the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners indefinitely, citing the "humiliating" procedure of the hostages' release. (AP) (NBC News)
• Islamic terrorism in Europe
  • 2025 Mulhouse stabbing attack
    • A 69-year-old Portuguese Lino Sousa Loureiro is killed and seven other people are injured in a mass stabbing attack by a 37-year-old Algerian man at a market in Mulhouse, France. The stabbing is being treated as a suspected Islamic terrorist attack. (AP) (CNN)
• Kivu conflict
  • 2025 Bukavu offensive
    • Hundreds of Congolese police officers join the M23 movement in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the rebel group consolidates its control of the city. Around 1,800 police officers have surrendered their weapons to the new authorities, according to the Congo River Alliance. (Reuters)
• Yemeni civil war
  • Operation Prosperity Guardian
    • Houthi forces launch surface-to-air missiles at a U.S. fighter jet and MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Red Sea for the first time with both missiles missing their target. (Reuters)
• Mali War
  • The Tuareg independence movement accuses Malian soldiers and Wagner Group mercenaries of killing 24 civilians, which constitutes a war crime. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

• 75th Berlin International Film Festival
  • Norwegian drama film Dreams (Sex Love) wins the Golden Bear award at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival, while Tilda Swinton is awarded the Honorary Golden Bear for her range and legacy. (DW) (Berlinale)

Disasters and accidents

• Real Plaza Trujillo roof collapse
  • The death toll following the structural collapse of a metal roof of the Real Plaza Trujillo in Trujillo, Peru, rises to eight. The La Libertad government announces a period of mourning from February 22–23. (La Republica)
• A bus carrying passengers to a wedding ceremony overturns in Ranhghati, Rajasthan, India, killing two people and injuring 30 others. (The Times of India)
• A bus crashed into a petrol tanker in Niger State, killing 14 and injuring six. (ARAB NEWS)

International relations

• China–Cook Islands relations
  • The Cook Islands signs a five-year memorandum of understanding to collaborate with China in seabed mining, which includes technology transfer, logistics support, and deep-sea ecosystem research. (DW) (The Guardian)

Law and crime

• UPMC Memorial Hospital shooting
  • Two people, including a police officer, are killed and seven other people are injured in a mass shooting at the UPMC Memorial Hospital in West Manchester Township, York County, Pennsylvania, United States. (York Daily Record) (Fox News)
• One person is killed and another is injured in a shooting at the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. The FBI is investigating the shooting but it is believed the incident was not an act of terrorism. (ABC News)
• Mohamed Amra, a French criminal and suspected drug lord known as "The Fly", is recaptured in Romania, nine months after escaping during an ambush that killed two French prison officers. (Sky News)

Politics and elections

• The Vatican City issues a statement informing of the worsening health of Pope Francis after more than a week in hospital due to respiratory problems. Vatican officials say Pope Francis is now in critical condition and that the prognosis "remains guarded". (Reuters)