Portal:Current events/2017 February 25

February 25, 2017 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that militants attacked two Syrian Armed Forces bases in Homs, killing at least 42 people, including a senior intelligence officer. (Reuters via Jerusalem Post) (SBS)
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- According to officials, at least 11 people, mostly police officers, are killed outside a mosque in Jowzjan Province in an ambush by militants. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)
- Shifa Gardi, a prominent female reporter for Rudaw Media Network, is killed by a roadside bomb while reporting on the battle for Mosul. (BBC)
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- Clashes erupt between Nagorno-Karabakh separatists and Azerbaijani forces in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense confirmed casualties on its side while the separatist forces claim to have no casualties. Both sides blame each other for the flareup in fighting. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

International relations

France–United States relations
- French President François Hollande reproaches U.S. President Donald Trump for his disparaging comments about Paris at Friday's Conservative Political Action Conference, noting that allies should have more respect and support for each other. (Reuters) (The New York Times)

Law and crime

German police shoot a man, who was trying to escape after apparently driving into a group of pedestrians in a central square in Heidelberg. A 73-year-old man was killed and two other people injured. Police do not believe terrorism is involved. (BBC) (Deutsche Welle) (Reuters)
A suspected drunken driver plows his car into a crowd watching the Krewe of Endymion parade at the New Orleans Mardi Gras. Dozens are injured, with 28 people, including a child and a police officer, taken to seven hospitals, five in critical condition. (AP) (New Orleans Times-Picayune) (AP via ABC News)

Politics and elections

An act to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
- A leaked memo from House Republicans reveals cutting provisions from Obamacare such as Medicaid expansions and subsidies for health insurance. (CNBC)
Democratic National Committee chairmanship election, 2017
- Voting takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, to elect a new Chair of the Democratic National Committee. Candidates include Sally Boynton Brown, Keith Ellison, Jehmu Greene and former United States Secretary of Labor Tom Perez. (CNN)
- In a second round of voting, Tom Perez is elected Chair of the DNC with 235 votes. Perez names Congressman Keith Ellison Deputy Party Chair. (NBC News) (The Washington Post)
Presidency of Donald Trump
- Donald Trump announces he will not attend the 2017 White House Correspondents' Dinner, following recent friction between his administration and various news organizations. (BBC News)