Wikipedia:ITN archives/2010/February

(Archive begins here and is to be continued from here forward).








 * In football, Egypt beats Ghana 1–0 to win the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, claiming their third successive title, while Togo is excluded from the next two editions of the tournament.
 * Singer Taylor Swift wins Album of the Year for Fearless and rock band Kings of Leon wins Record of the Year for "Use Somebody" at the 52nd Grammy Awards.
 * The medical journal The Lancet issues a full retraction of a paper that caused a controversy over alleged links between the MMR vaccine and autism.
 * Burials begin for 250 British and Australian World War I soldiers at Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery, the first new Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery for over 50 years.
 * The sculpture L'Homme Qui Marche I (pictured on a Swiss franc banknote) by Alberto Giacometti sells in London for £65 million, a new world record auction price.
 * In sumo, the controversial Mongolian yokozuna Asashōryū Akinori (pictured) announces his retirement.
 * The extinction of Aka-Bo language, one of the world's oldest languages, is announced.
 * The Iranian Space Agency announces that a rocket was launched living organisms onboard and returned to earth unharmed.
 * A blizzard strikes the eastern United States, producing 2–3 feet (60–90 cm) of snow in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.
 * In American football, New Orleans Saints defeat the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. with Drew Brees earning the game's most valuable player award.
 * Laura Chinchilla of the centre-left National Liberation Party is elected President of Costa Rica.
 * NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission carrying the Tranquility and Cupola modules to the International Space Station.
 * The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning confirms that several Irish republican paramilitary groups, including the Irish National Liberation Army, have decommissioned all of their weapons.
 * Viktor Yanukovych of the Party of Regions is elected President of Ukraine, with runner-up Yulia Tymoshenko saying that she will contest the result.
 * English fashion designer Alexander McQueen is found dead at his home in London at the age of 40.
 * Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan is named Acting President in place of Umaru Yar'Adua, who has been ill since November.
 * The recently-elected President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa dissolves the country's parliament one day after the arrest of Sarath Fonseka.
 * China passes Germany as the world's largest exporter.
 * NASA launches the Solar Dynamics Observatory on a five-year mission to observe the Sun.
 * The 2010 Winter Olympics open in Vancouver, BC Link to Chronological summary of the 2010 Winter Olympics later added.
 * NATO-led ISAF forces in Afghanistan launch Operation Moshtarak, the largest offensive against the Taliban insurgency since 2001.
 * A bombing at a bakery in Pune, India, kills nine people and injures more than 45 others.
 * A truce signed by the Huthi rebels in Yemen ends six months of fighting during Operation Scorched Earth.
 * BMW Oracle Racing (yacht pictured) of the United States defeats Alinghi of Switzerland 2–0 at the 33rd America's Cup in Valencia, Spain.
 * High-voltage electrical cables strike two buses in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, electrocuting many of their passengers.
 * Two trains collide near Halle, Belgium, killing and injuring several people and causing widespread disruption to high speed rail services.
 * Afghan Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar is captured by CIA and ISI agents during a covert operation in Karachi, Pakistan.
 * Libya stops issuing visas to citizens of the 25 countries in the Schengen Area, following the blacklisting of 188 high ranking Libyan officials by Switzerland.
 * Dozens of Naxalite rebels ambush an army camp in West Bengal, India, killing 24 soldiers and abducting several others.
 * Interpol places on its wanted list 11 people suspected of carrying out the murder of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.
 * Guamanian Governor Felix Perez Camacho signs an executive order changing the official name of Guam to the Chamorro-language Guahan.
 * An avalanche buries a village in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 40 people.
 * A group of soldiers ambush the Nigerien presidential palace, capture President Tandja Mamadou, and establish a military junta.
 * A 400-year-old minaret collapses at a mosque in Meknes, Morocco, just before prayer, killing at least 38 people and injuring more than 70 others.
 * IUPAC officially names the element with atomic number of 112 as copernicium in honour of Nicolaus Copernicus (pictured).
 * The government of the Netherlands, led by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, resigns after disagreements between coalition members over a possible extension of the Dutch military mission in Afghanistan.
 * Flooding on the Portuguese island of Madeira kills at least 32 people and paralyzes many basic services in the regional capital Funchal.
 * Alexander Haig, former US Secretary of State and White House Chief of Staff, dies at the age of 85.
 * The African Union suspends Niger's membership following the recent military coup in the country.
 * Bal wins the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival, the first Turkish film to win that award since 1964.
 * Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar becomes the first player to hit a double century in a One Day International.
 * The discovery of the sauropod genus Abydosaurus is announced.
 * An 8.8 magnitude earthquake hits near the city of Concepción, Chile. A tsunami-warning went into effect for Chile and Peru.
 * The Constitutional Court of Thailand finds Thaksin Sinawatra guilty of policy corruption and orders the seizing of US$1.3bn (46bn bahts) of his assets.
 * Manmohan Singh becomes the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Saudi Arabia since 1982.