Top News Stories –

Salesmen warned not to knock on George Clooney’s door –
Doorstep traders have been ordered to stay away from the luxury country mansion home of Hollywood star George Clooney. Residents in the River Thames-side village of Sonning have decided to put a stop to unwanted door-to-door salesmen by becoming a No Cold Calling Zone. Sonning-on-Thames is the first village in Berkshire to be declared a designated No Cold Calling Zone after families living there joined forces with Wokingham and West Berkshire Trading Standards officers and Thames Valley Police. Clooney, 54, and his human rights lawyer wife Amal paid £10 million for the 17th Century Grade II-listed Georgian mansion 15 months ago and workmen have been busy adapting it to their specifications. [Daily Telegraph]
Clooney is set to run the London Marathon 2016 after losing bet with model Christy Turlington.
George Clooney

Samsung brings back water resistance and microSD with the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge –
As expected (thanks to numerous leaks in the weeks leading up to Mobile World Congress), Samsung revealed the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge today in Barcelona. This time around, though, the standard and curved screen variants of Samsung’s flagships are two different sizes. The Galaxy S7, like last year’s GS6, has a 5.1-inch Quad HD screen. The Galaxy S7 edge, though, is at least as much of a sequel to the Galaxy S6 edge+ phablet as it is to the smaller Galaxy S6 edge. The S7 edge has a 5.5-inch QHD display – the same screen size as (but with sharper resolution than) Apple’s iPhone 6s Plus. The Galaxy S7 and S7 edge go up for pre-order on February 23, ahead of a March 11 US release date. Early orders will get a free Gear VR along with a six-game bundle, along with the phone purchase. [Gizmag]

Denny Hamlin beats Martin Truex Jr. in closest Daytona 500 finish ever –
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Denny Hamlin made a daring late-race pass, moving from fourth to first in the final two turns to beat Martin Truex Jr. to the checkered flag by 0.010 seconds (or about a foot) to win the Daytona 500. It’s the closest finish in the 58-year history of the historic race. The four Joe Gibbs Racing cars, plus the affiliate car of Truex, were the class of the field throughout Sunday’s race. Hamlin led the most laps, but had ceded the lead to teammate Matt Kenseth, who led the field for 40-straight laps. He paced the field down the backstretch on the final lap. That’s when Hamlin made his move. After sitting in line as the laps ticked off, Hamlin moved to the outside in front of Kevin Harvick. Hamlin passed teammate Kyle Busch for third as the field entered Turn 3. As Kenseth went up to block, Hamlin darted to the middle. Kenseth’s car started to slide but he saved it, leaving Hamlin and Truex to battle for the win. Truex looked to have the advantage as the two headed to the tri-oval but Hamlin inched ahead at the finish line. [Yahoo News]
Denny Hamlin

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian Civil War
  • February 2016 Homs bombings
    • Twin bomb blasts hit the Syrian city of Homs with at least 57 people reportedly killed and more than 100 injured. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility. (Reuters) (AFP viaDaily Mail) (BBC)
  • February 2016 Sayyidah Zaynab bombings
    • At least 83 people are killed and 178 injured in a series of bombings in the Damascus suburb Sayyidah Zaynab, Rif Dimashq Governorate. ISIL again claims responsibility. (AFP via Yahoo! News)(CNN)
• Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
  • The Libyan National Army says it has taken control of the town of Ajdabiya and several areas of Benghazi following heavy clashes with Islamist militant groups. (Reuters)
• 2016 Pampore stand-off
  • A group of Islamic terrorists exchange fire with Indian Armed Forces troops for the second consecutive day in Pampore, Jammu and Kashmir, India. At least five soldiers and one civilian have been killed.(ABC News) (UPI)
• A Hindu priest is hacked to death and two devotees, who tried to intercede, are wounded in a temple in the Panchagarh District in northern Bangladesh. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility. (BBC) (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• 2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season
  • Cyclone Winston
    • At least five people are reported dead and entire villages have been flattened after Cyclone Winston hits Fiji. (New Zealand Herald)

International relations

• European migrant crisis
  • Greece claims that Macedonia has closed its borders to migrants from Afghanistan. (AP via New York Times)
• Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
  • Germany is considering sending troops to Tunisia to help train the Tunisian Army in the fight against Islamist militants, particularly ISIL who control territory in neighboring Libya. (FRANCE 24)
• Syrian Civil War peace process
  • U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says a tentative ceasefire agreement reached with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is now being presented to the opposing forces. (CBS News) (Reuters viaThe Australian Financial Review)
• Japan–United States relations
  • Thousands protest outside the Japanese parliament in Tokyo against the relocation of a U.S. military base on Okinawa Island. Residents cite noise, pollution, and crime as reasons for not wanting a new base built. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• 2016 Kalamazoo shootings
  • Kalamazoo County, Michigan authorities say last evening’s shooting spree resulted in six deaths with two others seriously wounded. Each victim was shot multiple times. Police acknowledge that an earlier report that a 14-year-old girl died is incorrect; she is alive, but “severely, gravely” injured. The suspect, a 45-year-old man who is a Uber driver without a prior criminal record, was taken into custody without a struggle. (USA Today) (CNN)
• Terrorism in Malaysia
  • Australia issues a security alert, warning that terrorists may be planning attacks in and around the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. It also recommended that Australians avoid travel to the coastal region of eastern Sabah, where the beaches and islands are popular with foreign tourists. (Reuters via Daily Mail)
• Pope Francis calls for a worldwide ban on the death penalty and urges Christian leaders to work to stop executions as part of the church’s Holy Year of Mercy. (UPI)

Politics and elections

• Comorian presidential election, 2016
  • Voters in Comoros go to the polls for a presidential election with 25 candidates standing. (Mail and Guardian)
• Nigerien general election, 2016
  • Voters in Niger go to the polls for a general election. (France 24)
• North Korean state media confirms that Ri Myong-su is the new chief of the General Staff Department of the Korean People’s Army replacing Ri Yong-gil who was executed. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
• United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
  • In what is seen as a major boost for the “Vote Leave” campaign, Mayor of London Boris Johnson announces he will be campaigning for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. (Sky News)
• Ashraf Rifi resigns as the Minister for Justice for Lebanon in protest at Hezbollah domination of the government which he claims is harming relations with Arab nations. (AP)
• Macedonian parliamentary election, 2016
  • The European Union and the United States advise interim Macedonian Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev to postpone elections scheduled for April 24, 2016. (Balkan Insight)
• Bolivian constitutional referendum, 2016
  • According to exit polls, Bolivian voters reject a constitutional amendment that would have permitted President Evo Morales to stand for a fourth term in office. His current term expires in 2020. (BBC)
• Philippine presidential election, 2016
  • The debate series, PiliPinas Debates 2016, kicks off in Cagayan de Oro. (Nikkei Asian Review)

Sports

• Denny Hamlin wins the 2016 Daytona 500 by 0.011 seconds, the closest margin in the history of the race, and the 13th-closest in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history. (Yahoo! News)

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