February 15, 2019 (Friday)
Armed conflict and attacks
- 2019 Kaduna State massacre
- 66 people were killed by gunmen in Nigeria's Kaduna State including 34 victims being either women or children. The attack happened one day before the scheduled election before it was delayed another week. (Al Jazeera) (BBC News)
Business and Economy
- Amazon HQ2
- After announcing that it was canceling its New York City headquarters plans the day before, Amazon announces that it will keep its second headquarters in Virginia. (CNET)
- Payless ShoeSource is closing all its 2,100 stores in America, starting liquidation sales on Sunday. (USA Today)
Law and crime
- Aurora, Illinois shooting
- Five people are dead and six others are injured during a mass shooting in Aurora, Illinois. The suspected shooter was later killed by police. (CBS Chicago)
- Brumadinho dam disaster
- Eight Vale employees from Minas Gerais are arrested over alleged involvement in a dam collapse that killed at least 166 people. (Financial Times) (The Wall Street Journal)
- Ethnic issues in Japan
- The government of Japan approves a bill which officially acknowledges the Ainu as an indigenous people, following a non-binding resolution that was passed in 2008. (The Japan Times)
Politics and elections
- United States–Mexico barrier, Trump wall
- U.S. President Donald Trump declares a National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States. (Fox News)
- The American Civil Liberties Union and watchdog group Public Citizen announced they will file lawsuits challenging the legality of President Trump’s emergency declaration. (Time) (CBS News)
- Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez calls for a snap general election on 28 April and will dissolve the Cortes Generales on 5 March after failing to approve a government budget. (The New York Times) (CNN)
- 2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit Viet Nam
- North Korean officials arrive in Beijing ahead of the second Trump–Kim summit. (ChannelNewsAsia)
- 2020 United States presidential election, 2020 Republican Party presidential primaries
- Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld announces the launching of a presidential exploratory committee to run for President of the United States in the 2020 United States presidential election. (CNN)
- 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis
- A senior United States administration official says the U.S. is willing to meet with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to negotiate an exit to the crisis, as the U.S. military helps deliver aid to Venezuela. (CNN)
Sports
- 2020 Summer Olympics
- Following the announcement of the launch of a joint bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics, North Korea and South Korea announce that they are also interested in marching jointly at the 2020 Summer Olympics, as well as fielding unified teams in some sports. (ESPN)