Top News Stories –

Cumberbatch upsets Cumberbitches by getting married –
Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch has married his fiancé Sophie Hunter at a private ceremony at the 12th century St Peter & St Paul Church, near Brighstone on the Isle of Wight.

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Demonstrators in Tokyo have marched against capitalism, chocolates and St Valentine’s Day in a demonstration against the commercialisation of February 14 by men who are unable to find a partner. The protest was organised by a group called Kakuhido, which translates roughly as the Revolutionary Alliance of Men that Women Find Unattractive.

Michele Ferrero dies –
Michele Ferrero, whose chocolate product company made him Italy’s wealthiest man, dies aged 89. His company makes Ferrero Rocher chocolates, Kinder eggs, Tic Tac sweets and hazelnut Nutella spread. Mr Ferrero’s father, a pastry manufacturer, developed the forerunner to Nutella in 1946, called Giandujot, combining cocoa and hazelnuts to make a spreadable paste.

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Donbass
  • Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko warns of a threat to a planned ceasefire tonight from heavy fighting today and accuses Russia of “significantly increasing” its offensive. In a live interview he ordered all Ukrainian forces to cease fire after midnight. (BBC)
• Internal conflict in Burma
  • Myanmar launches air strikes against rebels in the Kokang area as dozens of soldiers have been killed and dozens more wounded in fightings in recent weeks. (AFP via France 24)
• 2015 Copenhagen attacks
  • Danish Police seek a gunmen who fired an automatic weapon at a free speech seminar in Copenhagen, Denmark, killing documentary maker Finn Nørgaard and injuring Swedish artist Lars Vilks known for controversial drawings of the prophet Mohammed. Among the injured are also three police officers who had been guarding the seminar. (BBC News), (The Guardian),(CBC)

Arts and culture

• Pope Francis appoints twenty new cardinals resulting in a majority of members of the College of Cardinals being from outside Europe for the first time ever. (BBC)
• At the 65th Berlin International Film Festival, the film Taxi by Iranian director Jafar Panahi wins the Golden Bear. (BBC)
• French film and television actor Louis Jourdan (Gigi) dies at the age of 93. (People)

Disasters and accidents

• There is a blizzard warning in place for eastern Massachusetts in the northeastern United States. (Boston.com)

Health

• Twelve people die of swine flu in the Indian state of Gujarat taking the death toll to 136 since January with 130 new cases reported. (IBN live)

International relations

• Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
  • The United Arab Emirates suspends its embassy operations in Yemen due to security concerns surrounding the recent Shiite Houthi rebel take over of the country. (AFP via France 24)

Law and crime

• The Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott issues a last-minute plea for Bali Nine drug smugglers Andrew Chan andMyuran Sukumaran facing the death penalty in Indonesia. (The Australian)
• Former President of Chad Hissène Habré will stand trial in Senegal for alleged war crimes, torture and crimes against humanity. (BBC)
• A motorcycle gunman shoots and kills a journalist in the Philippines who had been critical of local officials’ alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade. The murder of the journalist is the 34th since the regime of Benigno Aquino IIIbegan in 2010. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
• Canadian Police foil a planned Valentines Day massacre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Reuters via News24), (CBC)

Sport

• The 2015 Cricket World Cup begins with New Zealand playing Sri Lanka at Christchurch‘s Hagley Oval and Australiaplaying England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. (The Guardian) (ABC News Australia)
• The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announces the first five members of its 2015 induction class. Louie Dampier and John Isaacs will be inducted as players, Lindsay Gaze and Tom Heinsohn as coaches, and George Raveling as a contributor. Heinsohn, already a member as a player, will become the fourth person enshrined as both a player and a coach. Other members of the induction class will be announced on April 6. (ESPN)

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