Wikipedia:In the news/Candidates

This page provides a place to discuss new items for inclusion on In the news (ITN), a protected template on the Main Page (see past items in the ITN archives). Do not report errors in ITN items that are already on the Main Page here – discuss those at the relevant section of WP:ERRORS.

This candidates page is integrated with the daily pages of Portal:Current events. A light green header appears under each daily section – it includes transcluded Portal:Current events items for that day. You can discuss ITN candidates under the header.

Rob Jetten A military conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan escalates as the countries exchange cross-border strikes. Rob Jetten (pictured) is sworn in as the prime minister of the Netherlands, leading a minority government. One Battle After Another wins Best Film at the British Academy Film Awards. Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, is killed by the Mexican Army. Ongoing: Russo-Ukrainian war timeline Sudanese civil war timeline Recent deaths: Antonio Tejero Joanne Bland Roger von Gunten Fredrick Brennan Leila Shahid Eric Dane view — page history — related changes — edit

Glossary Blurbs are one-sentence summaries of the news story. Altblurbs, labelled alt1, alt2, etc., are alternative suggestions to cover the same story. A target article, bolded in text, is the focus of the story. Each blurb must have at least one such article, but you may also link non-target articles. Articles in the Ongoing line describe events getting continuous coverage. The Recent deaths (RD) line includes any living thing whose death was recently announced. Consensus may decide to create a blurb for a recent death. All articles linked in the ITN template must pass our standards of review. They should be up-to-date, demonstrate relevance via good sourcing and have at least an acceptable quality. Nomination steps Make sure the item you want to nominate has an article that meets our minimum requirements and contains reliable coverage of a current event you want to create a blurb about. We will not post about events described in an article that fails our quality standards. Find the correct section below for the date of the event (not the date nominated). Do not add sections for new dates manually – a bot does that for us each day at midnight (UTC). Create a level 4 header with the article name (==== Your article here ====). Add (RD) or (Ongoing) if appropriate. Then paste the {{ITN candidate}} template with its parameters and fill them in. The news source should be reliable, support your nomination and be in the article. Write your blurb in simple present tense. Below the template, briefly explain why we should post that event. After that, save your edit. Your nomination is ready! You may add {{ITN note}} to the target article's talk page to let editors know about your nomination. The better your article's quality, the better it covers the event and the wider its perceived significance (see WP:ITNSIGNIF for details), the better your chances of getting the blurb posted. Headers When the article is ready, updated and there is consensus to post, you can mark the item as (Ready). Remove that wording if you feel the article fails any of these necessary criteria. Admins should always separately verify whether these criteria are met before posting items marked (Ready). For more guidance, check WP:ITN/A. If satisfied, change the header to (Posted). Where there is no consensus, or the article's quality remains poor, change the header to (Closed) or (Not posted). Sometimes, editors ask to retract an already-posted nomination because of a fundamental error or because consensus changed. If you feel the community supports this, remove the item and mark the item as (Pulled). Voicing an opinion on an item Format your comment to contain "support" or "oppose", and include a rationale for your choice. In particular, address the notability of the event, the quality of the article, and whether it has been updated. Please do... Pick an older item to review near the bottom of this page, before the eligibility runs out and the item scrolls off the page and gets abandoned in the archive, unused and forgotten. Review an item even if it has already been reviewed by another user. You may be the first to spot a problem, or the first to confirm that an identified problem was fixed. Piling on the list of "support!" votes will help administrators see what is ready to be posted on the Main Page. Tell about problems in articles if you see them. Be bold and fix them yourself if you know how, or tell others if it's not possible. Please do not... Add simple "support!" or "oppose!" votes without including your reasons. Similarly, curt replies such as "who?", "meh", or "duh!" are not helpful. A vote without reasoning means little for us, please elaborate yourself. Oppose an item just because the event is only relating to a single country, or failing to relate to one. We post a lot of such content, so these comments are generally unproductive. Accuse other editors of supporting, opposing or nominating due to a personal bias (such as ethnocentrism). We at ITN do not handle conflicts of interest. Comment on a story without first reading the relevant article(s). Oppose a recurring item here because you disagree with the recurring items criteria. Discuss them here. Use ITN as a forum for your own political or personal beliefs. Such comments are irrelevant to the outcome and are potentially disruptive. Suggesting updates There are two places where you can request corrections to posted items: Anything that does not change the intent of the blurb (spelling, grammar, markup issues, updating death tolls etc.) should be discussed at WP:Errors. Discuss major changes in the blurb's intent or very complex updates as part of the current ITNC nomination.

Structure

This page contains a section for each day and a sub-section for each nomination. Eight days of current nominations are maintained – older days are archived.

To see the size and title of each section, please expand the following section size summary.

• Archives of posted stories

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February 27

Portal:Current events/2026 February 27

February 27, 2026 (2026-02-27) (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Gaza war
  • Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip
    • Israeli air and drone strikes kill at least five people and injure several others in central and southern Gaza, despite an ongoing United States-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas. (AFP via The Hindu)
• 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan war
  • Clashes break out on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Pakistan launching airstrikes on several locations in Afghanistan, including the capital of Kabul, targeting Taliban government forces directly, in what Pakistani defense minister Khawaja Asif describes as "open war". (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

• 2025 Pertamina corruption case
  • A court in Jakarta, Indonesia, sentences nine individuals, including two former chief executives of subsidiaries of state-owned energy company Pertamina, to prison terms ranging from nine to 15 years in a corruption case involving alleged unlawful oil terminal leasing and crude oil imports that prosecutors say caused significant state losses. (Reuters)
• A Tunisian court sentences former prime minister Ali Laarayedh, who has been detained since 2022, to 24 years in prison for facilitating the travel of Tunisian nationals to Syrian conflict zones during his premiership, while seven co-defendants, including former interior ministry officials, receive prison terms ranging from three to 24 years. (Reuters)

Science and technology

• Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei rejects a U.S. Department of Defense request to loosen security safeguards on the Claude large language model, despite potential consequences. (BBC) (SRF)

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Article: 2026 Afghanistan-Pakistan war (talk · history · tag)
Ongoing item nomination (Post)
News source(s): [1]
Credits:

• Nominated by DangoDino (talk · give credit)

Nominator's comments: Quickly escalating war that started this year. Updates still happen on a criteria-meeting basis. 🍡 DangoDino 🍡 (talk) 13:39, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

February 26

Portal:Current events/2026 February 26

February 26, 2026 (2026-02-26) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan war
  • Afghanistan announces attacks against Pakistani military positions along their shared border in response to Pakistani air strikes launched in the week prior. Pakistan, in turn, says its forces have responded. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Zona da Mata floods
  • The death toll from the floods across Minas Gerais, Brazil, rises to 54 people, with fourteen more still missing. (AFP via France 24)

Law and crime

• 2022 Greek surveillance scandal
  • A Greek court sentences four individuals, including Intellexa's Israel-based founder Tal Dilian, to eight years in prison for breaching data and violating privacy laws after they deployed the Predator spyware, targeting the mobile phones of more than 90 politicians, journalists, businesspeople, and military officials in 2022. (AFP via Times of Israel)

Politics and elections

• 2026 Danish general election
  • Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen calls a snap election for March 24 amid the Greenland crisis. (AP via NBC News)
• Corruption in Albania
  • Albanian prime minister Edi Rama dismisses deputy prime minister and infrastructure minister Belinda Balluku after anti-corruption prosecutors indicted her on suspicion of interfering in the award of two public construction contracts worth more than €200 million. (Reuters)

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(Posted conflict) Afghanistan–Pakistan war

Articles: Afghanistan–Pakistan war (talk · history · tag) and Afghanistan–Pakistan clashes (2024–present) (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The military conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan escalates as the countries exchange cross-border strikes. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ A major escalation in the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan leads to cross-border airstrikes and clashes.
Alternative blurb II: ​ Following cross-border airstrikes and clashes, Pakistan declares war on Afghanistan.
News source(s): CNN, Reuters, AP
Credits:

• Nominated by Trepang2 (talk · give credit)
• Created by 4-RAZOR 01 (talk · give credit)

Nominator's comments: Looks like a major escalation in a recent conflict, more events expected soon. Trepang2 (talk) 19:49, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

Comment The article is receiving frequent updates. If more events happen soon, this could be more suitable for Ongoing than a blurb. --MtPenguinMonster (talk) 23:39, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Support on notability, waiting on quality Per the accompanying sources, it is clear that international coverage of the conflict exists, which meets notability requirements. The bolded article is undergoing restructuring so I will wait on the quality before giving a later decision. CastleFort1 (talk) 01:48, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

Support I was considering nominating this earlier, but opted against it because I couldn't see any coverage on large-scale attacks expected from such a conflict. Now, it appears coverage is materializing. Strong oppose on quality: serious copyediting and link formatting necessary, in addition to administrator's eyes as to protection. Departure– (talk) 02:38, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

• Strong support & I suggest changing the article to now better reflect the updated article name (Afghanistan–Pakistan war). TwistedAxe [contact] 03:51, 27 February 2026 (UTC)
• Strong support the rhetoric at least seems to have escalated and large-scale airstrikes on major Afghan cities are hardly "clashes". Juxlos (talk) 04:02, 27 February 2026 (UTC)
• Strong support There's a declaration of war now. ArionStar (talk) 04:31, 27 February 2026 (UTC)
• Wait We've been here before with these two countries. Many many times there's a flare up for a few days and then it goes away, and its not a story (eg from last October). I know the open war declaration is new, but I would say wait until we know that this is more than a few days of armed conflict. Masem (t) 05:08, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

  I think that an official declaration of war is already a "historical event", even if the war lasts only a few days. Trepang2 (talk) 05:49, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

  Its not an official declaration of war, as noted below. One statement by one cabinet level official is not sufficient. We have to be very careful of jumping at hyperbole, and the fact the article was moved to a "war" title is a bad, early step. Masem (t) 12:21, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support alt blurb 2 Clearly significant. A formal declaration of war is as rare as they come. Gotitbro (talk) 06:22, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

  There hasn't been a formal declaration of war, Khawaja Asif has simply used the phrase "open war", as such we should be careful with our wording. Salmon Of Ignorance (talk) 09:12, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

  Replied below. But to reiterate, declarations can range anywhere from signing of docs, to mere speech acts and acknowledgements. In this case major sources like Al Jazeera also treat it the same in their coverage: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/2/27/live-kabul-bombed-as-pakistan-declares-open-war-on-afghanistan Gotitbro (talk) 11:21, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

  This and your other message make sense, I suppose I didn't take an X post as seriously as I should have. Salmon Of Ignorance (talk) 11:25, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

  Yes, the content rather than the medium of the statement is important here and that is how sources are treating it. And we should not forget that Twitter diplomacy very much exists. Gotitbro (talk) 11:40, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

  I would be more swayed by how sources are treating it as I do think it's possible for politicians to misuse a word. Salmon Of Ignorance (talk) 12:35, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

  I think the verdict is pretty clear on that. Beyond Al Jazeera, we have:

  • WaPo: Pakistan says it is in ‘open war’ with Afghanistan as nations exchange strikes
  • NYTimes: Pakistan Strikes Afghanistan in ‘Open War’ Against Taliban Government
  • AP: Pakistan is in ‘open war’ with Afghanistan after latest strikes, defense minister says
  • Reuters: Pakistan bombs targets in Afghan cities, minister calls it 'open war'
  • AFP: Pakistan bombs Kabul in 'open war' on Afghanistan's Taliban government

  Gotitbro (talk) 13:15, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support per above. Blurb first and then ongoing once it rolls off. Davey2116 (talk) 07:03, 27 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support alt blurb 2 when quality is decent. A declaration of war in this day and age is not a thing to be taken lightly. -GhostStalker (Got a present for ya! / Mission Log) 07:14, 27 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support Significant development, widely covered, article in decent shape. Yakikaki (talk) 08:43, 27 February 2026 (UTC)
• Ongoing This is an escalation of an existing and long-running conflict for which the main article seems to be Afghanistan–Pakistan clashes (2024–present). And, before that, see graveyard of empires, which shows the long history of unrest in the region. The "declaration of war" turns out to be use of the phrase "open war" by a Pakistan minister in a tweet, which doesn't seem to be a formal diplomatic declaration. It's not clear where this is going but my impression that both sides are in a tit-for-tat mode and, now that they've asserted themselves, the season of Ramadan will encourage a period of negotiation and attempts to restore the ceasefire. An entry in Ongoing might be the best way of keeping up with this. Andrew🐉(talk) 08:46, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

  Graveyard of empires for Afghanistan is a historically dubious phrase and barely of any utility when employed to speak of current events (might as well chalk up the recent US attacks in the Americas to Manifest destiny, though much more truer but wouldn't take away the notability of those recent events either).

  One can specify this to the Afghan conflict, but then again no one would deny that this broad term would overwhelm significant communist, USSR, US, Taliban and other major escalations.

  the season of Ramadan will encourage a period of negotiation and attempts to restore the ceasefire

  This is WP:CRYSTAL and barely impinges on the notability of this event.

  An entry in Ongoing might be the best way of keeping up with this

  This has always been a problematic argument for me, if its good enough for ongoing it should be good enough for a blurb especially when we haven't an item yet. Roll on (from blurbs) ongoing items is where I hedge it. Gotitbro (talk) 09:56, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

  The reference to Ramadan comes from sources such as the NYT which says The clashes on Friday come during the holy month of Ramadan, which United Nations officials hoped would promote peace between the two countries. Similar mediation efforts by Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia led to a cease-fire in October, but the truce has been undermined by frequent border clashes. Note that this cites "frequent clashes" and that's why it's best presented as an ongoing conflict rather than something completely new. Andrew🐉(talk) 11:00, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

• Comment With regard to Alternative blurb II, has there been an official declaration of war? I know the defense minister of Pakistan said "Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you." on X, but that's not an official declaration surely.

Salmon Of Ignorance (talk) 09:10, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

Declaration of war:

The declaration is a performative speech act (or the public signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national government ...

Gotitbro (talk) 09:59, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

Pakistan's constitution lays out who has the power to declare war. It seems that

Under the new framework, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet have the authority to decide on matters of war, but the 27th Amendment consolidates decision-making power under the newly formed CDF (Army Chief). The President holds the formal power to declare war and peace on the advice of the Prime Minister.

So, it seems that the Minister of Defence is fairly junior to the President, PM and CDF, and so we should consider his words de facto rather than de jure. Andrew🐉(talk) 11:43, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

Not to get into the technical weeds of this. But by virtue of this, Israel still hasn't declared a war on Hamas. But we know how the declaration of military operations against Hamas by the Israeli prime minister/cabinet has been treated by sources.

In this case too, most sources treat the statement by the minister of defence as well and good a declaration of war. Gotitbro (talk) 12:44, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

Most reputable sources seem to quote the minister using quote marks for the phrase 'open war' in their headlines to indicate that it is attributed rather than their own words. Andrew🐉(talk) 13:03, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

• Strong support - The war is officially declared. DonDragonWilson99 (talk) 09:53, 27 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support, a significant event. Ur frnd (talk) 10:18, 27 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support Although war has been declared, it is difficult to predict events. But the situation is serious and we must pay attention. I think the article could be expanded, but it is in good shape. _-_Alsor (talk) 10:40, 27 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support altblurb 2 on the basis that the strikes so far are highly significant in the context of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, and are the most significant news story to come out of Afghanistan since the Taliban took control (despite being still unrecognised as Afghanistan's government) after the Fall of Kabul in 2021. If the daily reporting holds up and escalations continue, this article would be a strong candidate for inclusion in ITN Ongoing. Oppius Brutus 10:47, 27 February 2026 (UTC)
• Not ready. Admin comment: The thrust of arguments here, particularly in relation to Altblurb 2, seems to be that war has broken out between the two parties. However, despite a page move, the article has not been updated to that effect and I'm not seeing coverage anywhere on the page indicating that reliable sources regard it as a war. The term war appears exactly once on the page, in the domestic reactions section, in quotes. That's not a sufficient update and I think work is needed before I'd be ready to post it.  — Amakuru (talk) 11:50, 27 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support - notable event M1a1n dee $

It's the general understanding that an event which has its own article is notable. That's what the site's policy for inclusion means. But that's not the criterion for inclusion on ITN. See WP:ITNSIGNIF. Simply saying 'it's notable' does not constitute an argument for inclusion on the homepage, and indeed, the use of 'notable' in policy documents has rendered it almost useless as a descriptive word on this site, both in talk page discussions and in body text. GenevieveDEon (talk) 12:20, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support original or alt1 blurb, oppose alt2. This is a major escalation in a long-running conflict. Casualties are unclear but seemingly in the hundreds. It's worth posting as a blurb. The article is short but referenced and sufficiently detailed to post. However, no formal declaration of war has been made, so alt2 is highly misleading. A social media post using the phrase 'open war' does not constitute a declaration of war, especially when the politician who issued it doesn't have the legal authority to do so. Modest Genius ^talk 12:33, 27 February 2026 (UTC)
• Posted original blurb (although I've amended to "A military conflict" as readers may not yet know that it exists). There's broad consensus already to post something, albeit, as I note above, the content doesn't yet support the ALT2 wording of a declaration of war. If that situation later changes the blurb can always be revised.  — Amakuru (talk) 13:33, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

(Closed) Claude

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Articles: Anthropic (talk · history · tag) and Claude (language model) (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The US Department of War threatens Anthropic with sanctions unless it allows its AI, Claude, to monitor the US population and control lethal autonomous weapons. (Post)
News source(s): Al Jazeera, BBC, The Conversation, DW, FT, NYT, Politico, Reuters, Telegraph, Time, Times of India
Credits:

• Nominated by Andrew Davidson (talk · give credit)
• Updated by Alenoach (talk · give credit), Artem.G (talk · give credit) and Placeholderer (talk · give credit)

Article updated

Nominator's comments: Anthropic's Claude was used by the Pentagon for the Maduro raid and is the only AI trusted for classified work. They like it because it's so good but it has ethical safety principles built in to it which they don't like and so they are pressing Anthropic to remove its conscience. It's a "Don't be evil" or Skynet moment of decision. See also existential risk from artificial intelligence – somewhat more significant than the spelling of Kerala, eh? Andrew🐉(talk) 15:55, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose. A vague threat and a highly opinionated blurb proposal. Even if that was replaced with a purely factual blurb, politicians saying that one government department might stop using a particular product is not significant enough for ITN. Modest Genius ^talk 16:06, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

  Modest Genius misrepresents the issue. It's more than terminating a contract. Hegseth is threatening to declare them a "supply chain risk" which means that other suppliers would have to boycott the company too. He's also threatening to forcibly seize the product on national security grounds. Please read the sources. Andrew🐉(talk) 16:13, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

  I may support posting iff there's a well publicized seizure. Otherwise this is another TACO trade moment in the making Omnifalcon (talk) 17:08, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose this is a story in development, so absolutely not appropriate for ITN which should only feature which actual change happens. It's also veryuch an internal US military and Anthropic matter, where the effects on nearly anyone else as a direct result of whatever happens will only affect these two entities. Masem (t) 16:09, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

  According to the BBC, "Anthropic had until Friday evening to comply". That's more time than ED-209's "20 seconds to comply" but we may get a result of some sort tomorrow. Andrew🐉(talk) 16:20, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

  This was pushed far earlier in the week than today, at least as much as five days ago [2], and posdible was even in the works since that raid. Masem (t) 16:57, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

  The dispute has been escalating. An ultimatum was issued on Tuesday and the deadline is Friday. The news coverage has been escalating accordingly and so it is increasingly "in the news". Andrew🐉(talk) 17:37, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Strong oppose and close: are we putting every threat on ITN? Last time I checked, Anthropic was just a company, and rejection won't mean anything world-shaking. All that's at stake is a few contracts. Departure– (talk) 16:24, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: It's name is the Department of Defense until Congress renames it. ~2026-12744-61 (talk) 16:27, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

  I was just thinking this. We're an encyclopaedia, not a Trump fanpage. Our article for the department is quite rightly United States Department of Defense. What's the point being made here by the nom? AusLondonder (talk) 16:51, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Strong oppose and close: There is extremely biased language in this blurb. A "threat" isn't meant for ITN. Guz13 (talk) 17:04, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose The opinionated, Fox News style blurb using the unofficial MAGA name for the United States Department of Defense and making claims not backed up by sources, the complete lack of global significance, the sarcastic comments about Kerala. There's nothing positive or productive in this nomination. I actually think the name of an Indian state of 30 million people is a lot more significant than a government contract dispute. AusLondonder (talk) 17:28, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

February 25

Portal:Current events/2026 February 25

February 25, 2026 (2026-02-25) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2026 Cuban crisis
  • 2026 Cuban boat incident
    • The Cuban coast guard trades fire with an American marked speedboat registered in Florida 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) off of Cuba. According to Cuban government sources, the boat's occupants fired on coast guard personnel who approached it for identification, and injured a coast guard commander in the shootout, with returning fire killing four and injuring six unidentified gunmen. (CBS News)

Business and economy

• Economy of South Korea
  • South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index surpasses 6,000 points for the first time, crossing the threshold shortly after the opening of trading. (AFP via BSS)

Disasters and accidents

• A Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashes in western Turkey, killing the pilot. (NOS)

International relations

• Cuba–United States relations
  • 2026 Cuban crisis
    • The United States announces that it will ease certain restrictions to permit Venezuelan oil exports to Cuba's private sector for commercial and humanitarian purposes amid an energy shortage. (Reuters)
• India–Israel relations
  • Israel's Knesset speaker Amir Ohana awards Indian prime minister Narendra Modi the newly established Medal of the Knesset to honor him for his "significant contributions to the State of Israel and the Jewish people." (Times of Israel)

Law and crime

• Assassination of Marielle Franco
  • The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil sentences former Rio de Janeiro legislators Chiquinho and Domingos Brazão to 76 years and three months in prison each for ordering the 2018 killing of city councilor Marielle Franco and her driver, convicting them of double aggravated homicide, participation in an armed criminal organization, and attempted murder. (AFP via France 24)

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(Closed) Renaming of Kerala

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article: Kerala (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The Indian cabinet approves the renaming of the state of Kerala to Keralam. (Post)
News source(s): Times of India, The Guardian
Credits:

• Nominated by Khuft (talk · give credit)

Article updated

Nominator's comments: Encyclopaedic news. Article updated with a section on the renaming. Still has to be approved by Parliament, but it's in the news now, with Modi's cabinet having approved the renaming. Khuft (talk) 20:53, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

• oppose 1. this is not itn worthy in terms of significance (subdivision change, not even national) 2. the change has not been made yet Ion.want.uu (talk) 21:58, 25 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose: The article lead states, "Kerala, officially Keralam," yet the body of the article states "after being passed, the state's name will officially become Keralam," contradicting itself. Additionally, if this name change is in the news and is notable enough to post, it would stand to reason that the article would be titled "Keralam" per WP:NAMECHANGES, which is not currently the case. --Leviavery (talk) 22:28, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

This is not always the case. For example, our article on the country officially called Türkiye is titled Turkey, and Czechia is titled Czech Republic. WP:COMMONNAME is also a consideration on how we name articles on Wikipedia. Natg 19 (talk) 23:29, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

For Czech Republic, both names are official, the first one being a shortened version. Pavlor (talk) 06:28, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• Strong Oppose: Not only is this just a subdivision change, as Ion.want.uu stated, but the change itself is so minor that I can't see a reason to post this Elisecars727 (talk)☺ 00:45, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Oppose it's only a subdivision. Scuba 02:01, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• Question If Texas changed their name, would we blurb it? AusLondonder (talk) 02:30, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

  Maybe, Texas is significant even outside of the US. ~2026-51002-1 (talk) 07:56, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• ITN rushed to post the renaming of Mount McKinley but remained curiously silent when it was changed back by Executive Order 14172. See Denali–Mount McKinley naming dispute. Andrew🐉(talk) 08:09, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose Despite the name change, most news reports still seem to call it Kerala. Note also, WP:COMMONNAME. The official name of a subdivision is not sufficiently important for inclusion at ITN. Chorchapu (talk | edits) 02:44, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Oppose on significance and reasons given above. SnowyRiver28 (talk) 03:08, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Oppose Not even officially done. Still needs approval per our article (unless its not updated, in which case that's a quality problem). Masem (t) 03:13, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Oppose - on significance, could see it as a DYK article once the change is official Elizaofchaos (talk) 03:50, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

DYK requires articles to be new, 5x expanded, or recently promoted to GA. The Kerala article would not be eligible. Chorchapu (talk | edits) 03:56, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

oppose - insignificant 🐈Cinaroot  💬 04:20, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Currently the subsection on the name change is duplicated in the article, which is a novel way to try to get through the significant update requirement. ~Maplestrip/Mable (chat) 07:54, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• very weak support It isn't the most significant change out there, but in plenty of regions, it can be. I have no idea if we can go on with popularity, but Kerala is quite popular. I'm leaning on support.

~2026-51002-1 (talk) 07:56, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose - hasn't even happened. And seems trivial. Bonus points though if this is trolling USA-centrism here! Nfitz (talk) 09:58, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Oppose and request SNOW close Doesn't meet notability for a post on ITN. CastleFort1 (talk) 13:04, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose a one-letter spelling change for a sub-national entity. No real impact, and hasn't actually happened yet. Modest Genius ^talk 11:23, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Oppose, as it's ony a small change to reflect pronunciation than a bonafide change of name. For an American comparison, renaming State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations to State of Rhode Island comes to mind. Departure– (talk) 14:22, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

2026 Zona da Mata floods

Article: 2026 Zona da Mata floods (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Floods in the Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais, Brazil, leave at least 59 people dead and thousands displaced. (Post)
News source(s): CNN Brasil France24
Credits:

• Nominated by ArionStar (talk · give credit)
• Created by Vitorperrut555 (talk · give credit)

 ArionStar (talk) 19:49, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

• Neutral on significance, but this article is currently not ready for posting; just a stub. Natg 19 (talk) 20:10, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

Not ready need some work, but after that Suport on notability Porfal3 (talk) 04:17, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: the article is too short and undeveloped to make an assessment. It's tagged as a stub and mostly lists rainfall values, with only a single sentence on impacts - giving a lower death toll than the nominated blurb. This is woefully incomplete and in no state to even consider posting on the Main Page. The article needs to be written before making an ITN nomination. Modest Genius ^talk 18:37, 26 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose on quality as article simply isn't ready to post. The Kip ^(contribs) 18:46, 26 February 2026 (UTC)
• @Natg 19, Porfal3, Modest Genius, The Kip: the article has been improved. ArionStar (talk) 01:16, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

RD: Giorgio Mammoliti

Article: Giorgio Mammoliti (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): CP24
Credits:

• Nominated by Rushtheeditor (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

Nominator's comments: Article updated --Rushtheeditor (talk) 18:45, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• Weak support Orange tagged but I don't see any problems myself, I don't know if I missed anything. Interesting to see this death right after I watched that new Rob Ford documentary. --SpectralIon 18:57, 26 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose multiple paragraphs missing citations. Also, we do not post orange tagged articles to the main page. Natg 19 (talk) 19:05, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Oppose Article has multiple issues. TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 02:23, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

(Posted) RD: Antonio Tejero

Article: Antonio Tejero (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Ilsole
Credits:

• Nominated by TDKR Chicago 101 (talk · give credit)
• Updated by Strattonsmith (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

Nominator's comments: Article well sourced and updated --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 19:05, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

Support Article is of sufficient quality for ITN. --MtPenguinMonster (talk) 20:15, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

Comment Coincidentally, he died on the same day that some of the documents relating to the coup were declassified. There are lots of articles with interesting details. I think the section on the coup could be expanded with that content and the obituaries that are appearing. @TDKR Chicago 101 can you do that? I can contribute from Friday onwards. _-_Alsor (talk) 20:34, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support: Well-referenced and good in overall quality. NeoGaze (talk) 21:49, 25 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support Article is well-referenced, long enough. Yakikaki (talk) 23:08, 25 February 2026 (UTC)
• Posted to RD. Spencer^T•C 20:30, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

(Ready) RD: Sondra Lee

Article: Sondra Lee (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): The Associated Press
Credits:

• Nominated by TDKR Chicago 101 (talk · give credit)
• Updated by BradyBunchFan (talk · give credit) and Connormah (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

Nominator's comments: Article well sourced and updated. Death announced on this date. --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 18:14, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

Support Article is of sufficient quality for RD. --MtPenguinMonster (talk) 01:10, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

February 24

Portal:Current events/2026 February 24

February 24, 2026 (2026-02-24) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Nuclear risk during the Russo-Ukrainian war
    • The Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia accuses France and the United Kingdom of preparing to supply Ukraine with a nuclear weapon, prompting the Russian foreign ministry to warn that such a move would lead to a direct conflict between NATO states and Russia. (TRT World) (Reuters)
• Myanmar Civil War (2021–present)
  • Conflict in Rakhine State (2016–present)
    • Myanmar Air Force airstrikes on suspected rebel targets kill at least 17 in Rakhine state. (Al Jazeera)
• Syrian conflict
  • Three Saraya al-Jawad gunmen and a soldier are killed in a shootout in Latakia, Syria. (Al Jazeera)
• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Five police officers are killed by the Pakistani Taliban during two ambushes in Kohat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (AP)
  • Four police officers are killed and three civilians injured in a suicide bombing at a checkpoint in Bhakkar District, Punjab, Pakistan. (Xinhua)
• Terrorism in Russia
  • Two people are killed, including the suspect, and two others are injured in a suicide bombing targeting a police car near the Savyolovsky railway station in Moscow, Russia. (AFP via Arab News) (Xinhua)

Business and economy

• AI boom, 2024–present global memory supply shortage
  • American technology company Meta agrees to purchase millions of artificial intelligence chips from AMD, with AMD committing to supply up to six gigawatts of graphics processing units and issuing Meta warrants convertible into 160 million shares as part of a long-term partnership. (AFP via The Peninsula Qatar)

Disasters and accidents

• Thirty people are killed, 39 others are reported missing and at least 440 are displaced from their homes after heavy rain triggers flash flooding in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. (AFP via France 24) (Reuters)
• Four people are killed and several others are injured when an Islamic Republic of Iran Army Aviation Bell AH-1 SuperCobra helicopter crashes into a fruit market in Dorcheh, Isfahan province, Iran. (Reuters) (JFeed)
• Four people are killed and another is critically injured from carbon monoxide poisoning at an apartment building in Kursk Oblast, Russia. (Xinhua)
• The death toll from an explosion and fire at a six-story residential building in Chattogram, Bangladesh, rises to three. (News.Az)

International relations

• Bolivia–United States relations
  • Bolivia resumes operational cooperation with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to combat drug trafficking and organized crime after a 17-year suspension. Bolivia says the renewed collaboration will include efforts to address money laundering linked to the illicit drug trade. (Reuters)
• Guinea–Sierra Leone relations
  • Sierra Leone says that Guinea has detained several of its army and police personnel and seized their ammunition during construction work on border facilities in Sulima Chiefdom, Falaba District. (Reuters)
• Hungary–Ukraine relations
  • Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán announces that Hungary has ended all support for Ukraine, including through European Union framework, until Ukraine resumes oil transfers via the Druzhba pipeline. (AA)

Politics and elections

• Denisse Miralles is sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Peru, succeeding Ernesto Álvarez Miranda. (Andina)

Science and technology

• The United Kingdom's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) fines American social media network Reddit £14.5m for "using the data of children under the age of 13 unlawfully", and potentially exposing them to "inappropriate and harmful content", including pornography. (The Guardian)

---

RD: Ann Godoff

Article: Ann Godoff (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): NY Times
Credits:

• Nominated by Thriley (talk · give credit)
• Updated by MissLizy1223 (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

 Thriley (talk) 21:45, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Weak oppose No mention of death in article body aside from lead. TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 02:22, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

RD: Oliver "Power" Grant

Article: Oliver "Power" Grant (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Hot 97, The Guardian
Credits:

• Nominated by Abcmaxx (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

Nominator's comments: American entrepreneur, producer, and actor, best known as a close associate of the Wu-Tang Clan. Passed away 23 February but reported 24 February. Article needs only slight improvements. Abcmaxx (talk) 09:31, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Weak oppose Three cn tags in the article. TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 02:22, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

(Removed) Remove ongoing: Olympics

Article: 2026 Winter Olympics (talk · history · tag)
Ongoing item removal (Post)

Nominator's comments: While the decision on closing ceremony nomination is not there yet, it's now safe and overdue to remove Olympics that closed two days ago from Ongoing. Brandmeister ^talk 18:09, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support I disagreed with the decision to re-add Olympics in the first place, as the Olympics already ended on Sunday. Natg 19 (talk) 18:11, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support It's time. -Ad Orientem (talk) 18:21, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support The Olympics have ended. Guz13 (talk) 18:27, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support Didn't realize this was still here! The Olympics are over, this is an obvious removal. --SpectralIon 19:10, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support Per WP:ONGOING, Ongoing is only for events that are still happening but the olympics is not still happening now – the flame has been put out and it is officially closed. Andrew🐉(talk) 19:34, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

  For the record, this is not technically true. We could have an ongoing on an event that has concluded but is still regularly in the news. The full sentence quoted is "articles are not posted to ongoing merely because they are related to events that are still happening." Though also this line might be removed soon for not adding any useful guidance anyway. ~Maplestrip/Mable (chat) 15:03, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

  For an event with a clear hard end like Olympics or World Cup, the ongoing only makes to keep for a few days after that end if there is otherwise no final blurb posted. It's for events with soft endings, like with the Gaza conflict and the ceasefire, that it makes sense to keep it ongoing until we are certain the events coverage has drastically waned. Masem (t) 15:18, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: I don't know why the closing blurb hasn't been posted, that discussion seems to have petered out but there's enough of a consensus to post alt3. We should post that blurb and remove the event from ongoing simultaneously. Modest Genius ^talk 19:36, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support per above. TwistedAxe [contact] 19:50, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Removed Stephen 22:23, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

(Closed) February 2026 North American blizzard

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

---

Article: February 2026 North American blizzard (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ A blizzard impacts the Northeastern United States dropping 2-3 feet of snow. (Post)
News source(s): WVCB
Credits:

• Nominated by Interstellarity (talk · give credit)

Nominator's comments: A major blizzard leaving thousands without power. Interstellarity (talk) 13:45, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Weak oppose - I'm all for weather blurbs (particularly ones in the US which are usually victims of the anti-US bias at ITNC) but this blizzard isn't particularly impactful. 2 deaths (yes, MINIMUMDEATHS, whatever), but I've seen arguably worse events not be posted. The difference with the January 23–27, 2026 North American winter storm is both the death, monetary, power outage count, and very widespread impact, from Mississippi to Ohio. This one also isn't even the biggest in the NYC metro, and not even top 5. ^EF₅ 13:57, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

Oppose - while there's a lot of power outages, there isn't too much damage. Especially when compared to the January 23–27, 2026 North American winter storm which took a whole entire campaign just to get it posted. Onegreatjoke (talk) 14:12, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose. _{Duly signed,} ⛵ WaltClipper -(talk) 14:33, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose it's still winter in the US, snows going to fall. Unless there are significant damages or deaths from it, this is a routine event, and begs if we even need an article. Masem (t) 14:39, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose Beyond records in places I've never heard of, the article doesn't specify why this blizzard of all blizzards was any worse than any others. 600,000 power outages doesn't mean anything unless there's wider impacts that said outages cause, like 2021 Texas power crisis where the whole grid went down. Sounds like business as usual to me. I know I used expected outages and damages in my rationale for the last snowstorm blurb, but this one's already passed and it doesn't seem like we're going to see much from here. Departure– (talk) 14:47, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose - The blurb would need to establish why this is histroically significant or noteworthy. Guz13 (talk) 16:30, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose just because it happens in the USA it isn't notable. Nfitz (talk) 18:43, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Comment I've re-opened discussion on this entry because I have concerns that the closure (@Chorchapu: at 18:52 UTC, revision) was invalid. While there are seven !votes, I see one that's blank without rationale and a second that sounds like a WP:POINT vote that begs for review. In addition, the wording this is not near the size of last month's blizzard in the closure itself suggests a supervote, given everything else. The discussion was only open for five-and-a-half hours, and I personally think closing this at only four full-strength oppose !votes, none even strong, after not even half a day's discussion warrants a re-opening. In my opinion, the consensus built does not yet constitute WP:SNOW being invoked, especially counting the nomination as a support !vote as we typically do. Departure– (talk) 21:32, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose As routine weather per WP:NOTNEWS. FYI, here's a map of yesterday's snow cover. Notice that most of Canada, Russia, Eastern Europe, Mongolia and the Nordic countries were covered in snow. Notice also that the article is entitled "North American" but that the blurb only mentions the "Northeastern United States". US snow is not special. Andrew🐉(talk) 21:47, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

RD: Éliane Radigue

Article: Éliane Radigue (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): [[3]]
Credits:

• Nominated by DrowssapSMM (talk · give credit)
• Updated by CurryTime7-24 (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

Nominator's comments: French composer. Death announced on this date. Drowssap 20:00, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

Oppose discography and surrounding sections are direly uncited. Departure– (talk) 22:22, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

February 23

Portal:Current events/2026 February 23

February 23, 2026 (2026-02-23) (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Mexican drug war
  • 2026 Jalisco operation
    • The death toll among Mexican National Guard troops in Jalisco rises to at least 25 with dozens more wounded amid clashes with Jalisco New Generation Cartel gunmen. (BBC News)
    • Hugo César "El Tuli" Macías Ureña, a right-hand man of El Mencho, who coordinated attacks after his death, is confirmed killed in a shootout with authorities. (The Guardian)
    • At least six soldiers and National Guards were wounded after an ambush in the Zamora–Carapan highway, Zamora Municipality, Michoacán. (Quadrantin)
• Operation Southern Spear
  • United States strikes on alleged drug traffickers during Operation Southern Spear
    • Three people are killed in an airstrike by the United States Southern Command on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean Sea. (Al Jazeera)
• Religious violence in Nigeria
  • Islamic extremism in Northern Nigeria
    • Nigerian Army troops kill five suspected Lakurawa insurgents near Mayama Hill, Kebbi State, Nigeria, and recover a cache of weapons. (Channels TV)
• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Russian attacks on civilians in the Russo-Ukrainian war
    • Russian forces launch a wave of missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, killing four people, including two civilians in Odesa. (Al Jazeera)
• Sudanese civil war
  • Chad–Sudan relations
    • Chad closes its border with Sudan after five Chadian soldiers and three civilians are killed, and 12 others are injured, in clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and militia groups affiliated with the Sudanese government. (Reuters)
  • Darfur campaign
    • At least 28 people are killed and 39 others are injured in an attack by the Rapid Support Forces in Misteriha, North Darfur, Sudan. (AP)
• Ecuadorian conflict
  • In Ecuador, seven people are killed in a mass shooting in a rural area in Jama, while two people are killed at a seaside resort of San Vincente. (Xinhua)
• Jonglei clashes (2025–present)
  • 2026 Jonglei offensive
    • Militiamen suspected to be loyal to the South Sudanese government reportedly lure a dozen civilians from their homes with the promise of humanitarian aid and then shot them dead. (AP)
• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Three security personnel are killed and six others are injured, including some seriously, in an ambush on ambulances by unidentified gunmen in Karak District. (AA)
• Syrian conflict
  • Four security personnel and an Islamic State gunman are killed in a shootout at a checkpoint in Raqqa, Syria. (AFP via Asharq Al-Awsat)

Business and economy

• Panama's canal authority assumes control of the Balboa and Cristóbal ports on the Panama Canal after the Supreme Court annulled the concessions held by Hong Kong–based CK Hutchison, with an 18-month transition period and a new international tender process planned. (AFP via France 24)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Redbird Airways Beechcraft King Air crash
  • Seven people are killed when a Beechcraft King Air air ambulance crashes in Chatra district, Jharkhand, India. (Hindustan Times)
• Electricity sector in the Dominican Republic
  • A nationwide power outage occurs in the Dominican Republic, which the Ministry of Energy and Mines attributes to a transmission line switch malfunction that triggered system protection mechanisms. Power generation begins to recover later in the day, reaching about 30 percent of normal capacity. (AFP via Jamaica Observer) (Reuters)
• A bus plunges off a mountainous section of the Prithvi Highway near Benighat, Nepal, killing 19 people and injuring 25 others. (BBC News) (AP)
• A Mil Mi-17 helicopter of the Peruvian Air Force that went missing the previous day is found crashed near Chala, Peru. All 15 people on board are confirmed dead. (AFP via Gulf News)
• Six people are killed in a fire at a three-story residential building in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India. (Hindustan Times)
• Five people are killed and 45 others are injured when a double-decker bus overturns on the Purvanchal Expressway in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. (NDTV)
• A body of one of the three people that were reported missing after a garbage mound collapsed at a landfill in Rodriguez, Rizal, Philippines, three days ago, is recovered. The claims of up to 50 people missing are dismissed. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Health and environment

• Brazil announces that it will revoke a decree expanding the waterways in the Amazon rainforest under a federal privatization program following protests by Indigenous groups. (Reuters)

International relations

• Slovakia–Ukraine relations
  • 2026 Slovak–Ukraine oil dispute
    • Slovak prime minister Robert Fico announces the suspension of emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine amid the Russo-Ukrainian war unless oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline resumes, following a disruption that Slovakia attributes to Ukraine. (Al Jazeera)
• France–United States relations
  • France restricts United States ambassador Charles Kushner's direct access to government ministers after he skipped a meeting requested by foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot to address comments concerning the killing of Quentin Deranque. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Connections of Jeffrey Epstein
  • British politician Peter Mandelson is arrested on charges of misconduct in public office related to his links to convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. (BBC News)
  • Canadian-American author and former researcher Peter Attia resigns from CBS News following backlash after lewd messages between him and Jeffery Epstein were released. (CNN)
• Crime in Ukraine
  • Seven police officers are injured, including two seriously, in a seperate bombing targeting police vehicles at a filling station in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 1981 Spanish coup attempt
  • Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez announces the declassification of the documents relating to the attempted coup that took place in the Congress of Deputies in 1981. (Reuters)
• 2025–2026 Dutch cabinet formation
  • Rob Jetten is sworn in as the new prime minister of the Netherlands, becoming the country's youngest and its first openly gay prime minister. (Politico) (BBC News)
• Hernando de Soto is announced as the new prime minister of Peru. (Gestión in Spanish)

---

RD: Robert Carradine

Article: Robert Carradine (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): [4]
Credits:

• Nominated by Muboshgu (talk · give credit)
• Updated by ItsShandog (talk · give credit) and Andrew Davidson (talk · give credit)

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

 – Muboshgu (talk) 04:26, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Needs work Another perfunctory update like Eric Dane which raises more questions than answers. Andrew🐉(talk) 10:21, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

  While there still is sourcing to be done, unless we are blurbing him (which no I am not suggesting we do) we do not have to go into details of the bipolar disorder or why that led to his death by suicide for an RD. That gets far too much into celebrity rumor mongering if major sources reporting on his death aren't going into more detail as well. Masem (t) 14:41, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• WP:ITNQUALITY does not say "except RD" and so such articles do not get a free pass. Andrew🐉(talk) 18:25, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

  ITNQUALITY says "minimally comprehensive". The current content about his bipolar disorder and suicide is sufficient. What more would you want, especially understanding the family's desire for privacy? – Muboshgu (talk) 17:32, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

  The statement says "At this time we ask for the privacy to grieve this unfathomable loss." My understanding of this is that they don't want to be bothered by reporters and other unwelcome contacts. They go on to say "the family wanted all to know about what he called his brother’s valiant struggle with bipolar disorder." So, they seem to be fine with us writing in detail about this provided that we don't try contacting them.

  I've done some work on sourcing the filmography as I happened to find a comprehensive source. My impression is that there's a lot of schlock there and that it's not very interesting as there aren't linked articles about the TV movies and direct to video movies. I'd like the article to say more about the details that appear in the source listed in the nomination. This includes the car racing, the music and his personal life. I'm not seeing a lot about his condition but it seems connected with his brother's mysterious death. And I'm wondering what the authorities make of the suicide and whether there will be an inquest.

  With the article better developed, the lead should be expanded. It currently doesn't say anything about his condition or death.

  Andrew🐉(talk) 23:20, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

  Given that he was 71 years old, the cause of his death isn't necessarily something we'd put in the lead anyways. I'm not convinced that it's a defining characteristic of his public life. Jahaza (talk) 20:22, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: Filmography mostly unreferenced. Spencer^T•C 15:15, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

  Improved, but still a good amount unsourced, despite tags being removed. —Bagumba (talk) 08:05, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

(Posted) Rob Jetten sworn in as prime minister of Netherlands

Article: Rob Jetten (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Rob Jetten (pictured) is sworn in as Prime Minister of the Netherlands. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ In the Netherlands, a new cabinet is sworn in with Democrats 66 leader Rob Jetten serving as prime minister.
Alternative blurb II: ​ In the Netherlands, a new cabinet is sworn in with Rob Jetten serving as the country's first openly gay prime minister.
Alternative blurb III: ​ In the Netherlands, a minority government is sworn in with Rob Jetten as prime minister.
Alternative blurb IV: ​ Rob Jetten is sworn in as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, heading a minority government.
News source(s): [5], [6]
Credits:

• Nominated by PtolemyXV (talk · give credit)

The nominated event is listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post. Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article and update meet WP:ITNCRIT, not the significance.

Nominator's comments: ITN/R event. PtolemyXV (talk) 17:44, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Question – When was he elected PM? Because we usually post elections and we did post the results of the election. However, I can see that maybe we should post his election as well, since that may be ITN/R. However, I just want to make sure it is timely before we debate whether it is ITN/R. --- C&C (Coffeeandcrumbs) 18:01, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  @Coffeeandcrumbs: We posted Dick Schoof and his cabinet being sworn-in months after we posted the 2023 Dutch general election. TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 18:08, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  Sounds good. Support with preference for Alternative blurb.--- C&C (Coffeeandcrumbs) 18:19, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support altblurb While we posted the election, the formal election of the head of government is also notable especially given how long government formation talks lasted. We posted Schoof and his cabinet being sworn-in in July 2024 while also posting the 2023 general election results months before. Should we also make note that Jetten is the first openly gay PM/country's youngest PM? --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 18:07, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Alt3 him being gay is not relevant, it being a minority government (unusual for NL) is This post was made by orbitalbuzzsaw gang (talk) 18:48, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support Alt 3 That the politicians try to use a minority government to handle the growing number of relevant parties is more notable than him being gay. It also nicely foreshadows that the Netherlands will have new elections in a year or two when the VVD leaves the coalition. Rolluik (talk) 19:55, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
  • Edit: Support Alt 4 Rolluik (talk) 08:17, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support Alt 3 Succinct and with the highest density of relevant information. The leading prepositional phrase is stilted (though commonly used in ITN blurbs), but it’s the best of the quartet. Dr Fell (talk) 20:38, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
  • Edit: Support Alt 4 Dr Fell (talk) 21:24, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Comment Proposed an alt 4 that makes things less awkward. ~2025-39726-97 (talk) 21:15, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

Support altblurb IV The sexual orientation of a leader, at least in Europe, is no longer noteworthy. The article is in good condition and we publish the election results but without mentioning the person who led the winning candidacy, as it is a parliamentary system, so now is the time to post about Jetten's inauguration. _-_Alsor (talk) 21:21, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

Did you mean to say his sexual orientation, rather than his political orientation? I'd have thought his political orientation (only mentioned in Alt1) was extremely relevant. GenevieveDEon (talk) 23:56, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

yes! my bad, thanks. Mistake fixed. _-_Alsor (talk) 11:36, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

Comment I've adjusted ALTIV from "heading a a minority government" to "heading a minority government". Departure– (talk) 21:36, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support Alt1 The objection to including his sexual orientation is understandable, but his political orientation is very much relevant. It's a parliamentary system. The governing political party is almost as important as the Prime Minister. Flip^andFlopped ㋡ 00:21, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

Alt3 unnecessary to add gay . Shadow4dark (talk) 01:51, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Switching my support to 4 due to cleaner phrasing This post was made by orbitalbuzzsaw gang (talk) 06:51, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support Alt1 or Alt4 - Either of those would be fine. After a long period of formation, I think this is well worth posting. GenevieveDEon (talk) 07:38, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Comment Looking at the article, I was struck by the subject's youth and sources typically point out that he's the youngest person to become the Dutch PM, which makes an interesting contrast with the elderly leaders found elsewhere. His party, D66, is not familiar and it seems to be progressive. But it's a three-party coalition which has taken four months to form and still doesn't have a majority so it's likely to be short-lived like the last government. This seems to be the key point. Andrew🐉(talk) 08:57, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

  Suprisingly, four months is relatively short for Dutch politics — TheThomanski | t | c | ^{please ping me if you want me to respond!} 10:35, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

Support Alt IV, most concise. — TheThomanski | t | c | ^{please ping me if you want me to respond!} 10:29, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support Alt IV – I'm sorry we keep taking so long to form governments. Article looks good, an appropriate feature. Is there a way we could feature 2025–2026 Dutch cabinet formation as well? Seems like the main article we've been working on for this subject. ~Maplestrip/Mable (chat) 11:07, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

  That article about the cabinet formation seems quite informative and explains the process well for foreign readers. Andrew🐉(talk) 12:27, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

support altblurb Focus of the blurb should be the new cabinet, not the new PM. In the Netherlands PM is not elected. Age and orientation of the PM are hence trivial and not ITN worthy. ~2026-12185-74 (talk) 13:56, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Posted Stephen 22:43, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

2025–2026 Iranian protests (Ongoing)

Article: 2025–2026 Iranian protests (talk · history · tag)
Ongoing item nomination (Post)
News source(s): NY Times, The Guardian, BBC, Reuters
Credits:

• Nominated by Ronnnaldo7 (talk · give credit)

Nominator's comments: Separate nomination for the Ongoing section as the protests are currently ongoing as per the article and the above WP:RS. Ronnnaldo7 (talk) 06:08, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

Support Target article is receiving frequent updates. --MtPenguinMonster (talk) 09:27, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support – Article quality is appropriate and updates are very regular. ~Maplestrip/Mable (chat) 09:53, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support Removal in the first instance was probably premature. In any event, to the extent that this article was no longer receiving frequent updates, that is no longer the case. Protests have resumed and the article is being updated. The WP:ONGOING criteria are met. Flip^andFlopped ㋡ 15:03, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support The protests appear to have restarted, and this time the US is poised to intervene. --SpectralIon 16:15, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose on quality for now. While perhaps the protests' second wave is notable and important enough for a feature, the article still overwhelmingly focuses on the first wave, with only about 3 sections this time around. As this would be a major update, and the second wave is distinct from the first, given that the article is over 300,000 bytes in size, I think a good benchmark for my support would be a WP:SPLIT proposal discussion happening, as the article is also at 14,500 words, near the upper bound of what Wikipedia:Article size outlines as long enough to where a split is reasonable. Departure– (talk) 16:33, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose – I find it interesting that while the US gathers the largest military might to surround Iran, we are discussing posting about protests. Can we please think critically when evaluating sources? --- C&C (Coffeeandcrumbs) 17:42, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  Related but distinct events. You are free to nominate the buildup. Also, the last bit comes off as a personal attack against the nominator. Their criteria may differ to yours, but there's no reason to suggest they were not thinking critically when making this nomination. Dr Fell (talk) 20:45, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  What is this WP:POINT supposed to mean? ITN is not a critical collection of articles designed to send some message for or against the United States, the Iranian Regime, or any other entity. These protests are being covered in the reliable news sources, resulting in ongoing updates to the article. Critical commentary on whether covering the protests is 'appropriate', is not encyclopedic and certainly not suitable for the main page. The fact of the news coverage is all that matters. Flip^andFlopped ㋡ 00:26, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

  We are not robots counting what receives the most coverage and posting it. If that was true, then we be posted meaningless drivel all day. --- C&C (Coffeeandcrumbs) 04:36, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose The current scale of protests is nowhere near sufficient for ongoing. EvansHallBear (talk) 19:42, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support The protests have restarted and the U.s. is in the region to intervene. Guz13 (talk) 20:30, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support based on the first comments. --NoonIcarus (talk) 23:56, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

If only the USA would intervene in places that didn't have huge oil reserves (I don't think the Iranian protests have anything to do with the protests - unless it's to take advantage of the strife. Nfitz (talk) 23:58, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support - I'm not sure why we removed it. Nfitz (talk) 23:58, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose There was overwhelming consensus to remove these from ongoing last time around due to these being largely over (violently suppressed etc.), I don't see anything that has changed since then (including the new sproadic non-significant flare-ups and unrelated US shenanigans withstanding). Gotitbro (talk) 04:23, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose – Not at the same scale, nor receiving the same coverage, as it was receiving in January. It should be blurbed first if anything. Nice4What (talk · contribs) – (Thanks ♥) 04:29, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Weak oppose per Departure–. If the recent student protests are notable enough and ongoing it should probably be split into its own article (like 2026 Iranian student protests). I still think the article Reactions to the 2025–2026 Iranian protests would be a better candidate for Ongoing (once basic article quality issues are addressed there). ^Falling_Gravity 04:41, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose The latest student protests don't stand out from other news about Iran such as today's helicopter crash. Andrew🐉(talk) 08:18, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose Per Gotitbro; recent protests have been more muted compared to initial protests for which this was posted to Ongoing. Spencer^T•C 15:08, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose I think we've gotten a little lackadaisical on enforcing the standard for Ongoing. The things that are happening now need to be fairly significant. GreatCaesarsGhost 16:11, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose while some protests have sprung up again, they're not to the prior scale, and not to a scale we'd normally post. The Kip ^(contribs) 01:19, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

(Closed) 2025–2026 Iranian protests

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article: 2025–2026 Iranian protests (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Protests continue in Iran weeks after the violent crackdown by security forces left thousands dead. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ Protests reignite across Iran weeks after the mass killings left thousands dead.
Alternative blurb II: ​ Nationwide protests resume in Iran weeks after a government crackdown left thousands dead.
News source(s): NY Times, The Guardian, BBC, Reuters
Credits:

• Nominated by Ronnnaldo7 (talk · give credit)

 Ronnnaldo7 (talk) 06:08, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Comment - The blurb here should focus on the significance of the current protests. We already reported on the massacres; this makes it sound a bit like it's trying to borrow the significance of the past event for the current one. GenevieveDEon (talk) 07:49, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose The new protests don't seem to be on the scale of the previous ones and it's hard to pick them out in the suggested target article which is dominated by the earlier events that we have already posted. Andrew🐉(talk) 07:53, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose – Nice work on continuously improving this article, but the two paragraphs added in the past week don't warrant a blurb. Update is not significant enough. ~Maplestrip/Mable (chat) 08:12, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose - The "ongoing" item will cover it better. Guz13 (talk) 20:39, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose per Guz13. Dr Fell (talk) 20:46, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose For the same reasons for the (duplicated) ongoing item above. Non-significant aftermath of the largely over protests. Gotitbro (talk) 05:22, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose both blurb and ongoing; concur with Gotitbro. Spencer^T•C 15:08, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

(Closed) Kim Jong-Un re-elected

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article: 9th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Kim Jong Un (pictured) is re-elected as the general secretary of North Korea's Workers' Party of Korea. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ North Korea's Workers' Party of Korea re-elects Kim Jong Un (pictured) as general secretary, the most powerful position in the one-party state.
News source(s): Al Jazeera
Credits:

• Updated and nominated by Nice4What (talk · give credit)

Article needs updating
The nominated event is listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post. Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article and update meet WP:ITNCRIT, not the significance.

Nominator's comments: This is ITN/R, so comments should focus on quality and not notability. I have updated the article, but please feel free to add more. Nice4What (talk · contribs) – (Thanks ♥) 02:27, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support He is a major world figure. ← Metallurgist (talk) 02:40, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose - this may be ITNR, but that still allows for rejecting events that don't serve the project well. To prominently call such a farce an election makes Wikipedia look silly. There is no rule that ITNR items must (or should even) be posted. Nfitz (talk) 02:41, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  Let the election article discuss commentary from other sources that call it a sham election, but it's not WP's to frame it as such per NPOV, nor does ITN have the space to provide the context for that. We can of course look at subtle rewording of the blurb, if necessary, to make sure that we're not treating it as a normal democratic election. eg we are not saying "Kim Jong Un wins his election..." as we know that's not really true. Masem (t) 02:44, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  Or we could apply common sense and simply not post it. Unless you can identify a rule, @Masem, that says we must post it? Nfitz (talk) 05:51, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose maybe this isn't the right place to say it, but in such an absolute totalitarian dictatorship, is this even notable? I mean, It'd definitely be news if he WASN'T elected, but this is just essentially saying that the election happened. This will have exactly 0 effect on the outside world, and honestly will also have 0 effect on North Korea either. Gaismagorm (talk) 02:42, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  "Is this even notable?" Yes, per ITN/R: "The nominated event is listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post". Nice4What (talk · contribs) – (Thanks ♥) 02:51, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Comment I've added the altburb, which is styled after the one for Tô Lâm's re-election as general secretary around a month ago. It should both make it clear this wasn't a democratic election ("one-party state"), and also won't conflate both the WPK congress and state & local elections in the DPRK. V. L. Mastikosa (talk) 03:16, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Weak oppose per others. Technically an election, but N Korea is functionally a dictatorship with no real electorate. Natg 19 (talk) 03:28, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Comment: From what I can see, we didn't do this in May of 2016 or in January of 2021 when the 7th and 8th Congress occurred. (The 6th was held back in October 1980.) If "each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post" as stated, then it is weird that this will be the first occurrence that we are posting. --Super Goku V (talk) 03:34, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Comment: More amused with the nomination of blurb. But this felt like "durr, of course, who else would be elected?" Unlike communist Vietnam, whose leadership still changed. Also, the position is kinda ceremonial since he's more known as the country's "Supreme Leader".--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 03:36, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose per Super Goku V and others. No precedent as this was not posted either of the past two times the congress was convened, and the election is unlikely to meaningfully affect anything inside or outside North Korea. MidnightMayhem (talk) 04:13, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Comment I am not sure this is ITN/R. ITN/R is for "general elections". This election was an internal election within a party, voted on not by the country's population but by a couple thousand party members. On "reelections or reappointments in the holder of the office which administer the executive", while that party is legally enshrined as the ruling party, the formal relationship of its leader to the symbolic head of state position has varied and I am not sure if it is fixed for head of government either. We don't actually know what the Constitution currently is to my understanding, it has not been made public. The North Korean legislative elections would meet ITN/R by my reading, but who knows if/when they'll happen. CMD (talk) 04:29, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  There's two possible pathways in ITN/R, the other path is Changes, reelections or reappointments in the holder of the office which administer the executive of their respective state/government. Under this path it definitely qualifies. ✨  4 🧚‍♂am KING  04:56, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  See the second part of my comment, we don't even have a constitution that clarifies this. CMD (talk) 07:24, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

Oppose The outcome was never in doubt, was it? Were electors even allowed to dissent? No numbers are provided in the article and it's not a democracy, so there was really nothing to have won. Kim Jong Un remains in power--nothing notable about that. Not to open another can of worms, but not every election of a head of state ought to be considered notable, anyway, at least not by the high standards other events are held to here. Ryan Reeder (talk) 05:03, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Procedural Oppose The nomination is not in fact ITNR as Mr. Kim was "elected" as the party General Secretary. Although that is the most powerful position within the party, it is technically neither head of state nor head of government. That title is President of the State Affairs Commission, which Mr. Kim also holds. The two titles are always held by the same individual, but are technically separate. Propose speedy close of good faith nomination. -Ad Orientem (talk) 05:35, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose Just like we didn't run Hong Kong's sham election, no point when its fairly obvious who will win due to the way their system is structured. The C of E God Save the King! (talk) 07:23, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose As explained above, the General Secretary is not the most powerful position. Andrew🐉(talk) 07:32, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

(Posted) 79th British Academy Film Awards

Article: 79th British Academy Film Awards (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ One Battle After Another (Best Director winner Paul Thomas Anderson pictured) wins the Best Film at the British Academy Film Awards. (Post)
News source(s): USA Today
Credits:

• Nominated by Moraljaya67 (talk · give credit)

The nominated event is listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post. Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article and update meet WP:ITNCRIT, not the significance.

 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗷𝗮𝘆𝗮𝟲𝟳 (talk). 01:35, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose It's ITNR of course, but currently is very much lacking in prose. All tables, with very little on the event itself. Chorchapu (talk | edits) 01:38, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support There seems to be plenty of prose about various aspects of the presentation and the movie mentioned is a major one. I don't get the impression that the reader will think that something is missing. Andrew🐉(talk) 07:30, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support. While I wish the article wasn't so heavy on the tables, there is a substantial prose description of the ceremony and its well referenced. Good enough to post. Modest Genius ^talk 12:22, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

Support. BilboBeggins (talk) 13:29, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

Also Support. RetroRave (talk) 20:07, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Posted Stephen 03:03, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

February 22

Portal:Current events/2026 February 22

February 22, 2026 (2026-02-22) (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Mexican drug war
  • 2026 Jalisco operation
    • Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), and six other gunmen are killed during a security operation carried out by the Mexican Armed Forces near Tapalpa, Jalisco. In response, CJNG members launched coordinated retaliatory attacks, including road blockades involving burning vehicles and improvised checkpoints across multiple states. (N+) (AP)
    • At least seven National Guard troops are killed in clashes with CJNG forces in Western Mexico. (AP)

Arts and culture

• 79th British Academy Film Awards
  • At the 2026 BAFTA Awards, the American film One Battle After Another wins the most awards with six, including Best Film. Hamnet became the most-nominated film by a female director and Sinners became the most-nominated film by a Black director in BAFTA history. (AP) (Rolling Out) (The Hollywood Reporter)

Disasters and accidents

• February 2026 North American blizzard
  • In the United States, a major nor'easter snowstorm hits the East Coast, causing blizzard conditions and major transportation disruptions. (CNN)
• Search and rescue operations begin for three individuals who have been reported missing after a collapse of a landfill in Rodriguez, Rizal, Philippines, two days prior. There are other claims that up to 50 people are feared missing from the incident. (Kahleej Times) (Manila Bulletin)

International relations

• Iran–Russia relations
  • The Financial Times reports that Iran had signed a confidential €500 million (US$589 million) arms agreement with Russia in December 2025 to buy 500 9K333 Verba man-portable air-defense systems and 2,500 associated missiles, with deliveries scheduled between 2027 and 2029 under a contract negotiated between Iran's defence ministry and the Rosoboronexport. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Secret Service and police officials kill an armed 21-year-old man who entered Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's estate in Palm Beach, Florida, United States. (BBC News)
• A suspect is injured in a shootout with a United States Border Patrol agent near the Canada–United States border in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, United States. The Federal Bureau of Investigation says they are investigating. (CTV News)

Politics and elections

• 2026 Laotian parliamentary election
  • Laotians vote in a parliamentary election to elect the 175 members of the tenth National Assembly. The only legal party in Laos contesting the election is the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. (AFP via France 24)
• 9th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea
  • North Korea's supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, is re-elected as the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, the most powerful position in the one-party state. (AFP via France 24)

Sports

• 2026 Winter Olympics
  • 2026 Winter Olympics closing ceremony
    • The Winter Olympics conclude with Norway as the highest-ranked team in the medal table. The Olympic flag is handed over to the organizers of the 2030 Winter Olympics to be held in the French Alps. (France 24)
  • Ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics
    • The United States defeats Canada 2–1 during overtime, winning gold in the men's tournament in ice hockey for the first time since 1980, exactly 46 years after the Miracle on Ice. (KNBC-TV)

---

(Ready) RD: Shinya (musician)

Article: Shinya (musician) (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): https://realsound.jp/2026/02/post-2314230_short.html
Credits:

• Nominated by Onegreatjoke (talk · give credit)
• Updated by Xfansd (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

Nominator's comments: Japanese musician. From what i can tell his death was announced on this date. Only thing missing is some citations in the discography. Onegreatjoke (talk) 03:46, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support Article quality is sufficient. The guidelines say that one or two CN tags do not need to hold up an article, and most of the discography is sourced, so I'm willing to forgive the few entries that aren't. QuicoleJR (talk) 14:25, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support Well-cited and reliable source for date of death. --- C&C (Coffeeandcrumbs) 18:14, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Comment Idk how these things work exactly, but just to clarify; he died on February 17, but it was not revealed to the public until February 23 Japan time. Not February 22. Xfansd (talk) 22:22, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  I would assume we work in UTC, making the correct date 22 Feb. Chorchapu (talk | edits) 00:26, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

  My understanding is items are nominated based on their occurrence in their local time zone, i.e. if a notable sports game in Los Angeles concludes late on February 25, it'll be nominated under the 25th, even if it was the 26th in UTC. Departure– (talk) 00:33, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

  Well then, I suppose I'm wrong. Thanks for letting me know. Chorchapu (talk | edits) 00:34, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support Article is of sufficient quality for ITN. --MtPenguinMonster (talk) 11:49, 25 February 2026 (UTC)
• Comment None of the five entries under "Home videos" at Shinya (musician) § Discography are sourced.—Bagumba (talk) 08:00, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

  I just cited a source for all but one. Xfansd (talk) 22:27, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics

Article: 2026 Winter Olympics closing ceremony (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics is held at the Verona Arena (amphitheatre pictured) in Verona, Italy. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ The 2026 Winter Olympics close at the Verona Arena (arena pictured) in Verona, Italy.
Alternative blurb II: ​ The 2026 Winter Olympics closes, with Norway setting a Winter Olympics record for most gold medals won at a single Winter Games. (closing ceremony venue pictured)
Alternative blurb III: ​ The Winter Olympics conclude in Verona, Italy (Verona Arena pictured).
News source(s): AP
Credits:

• Nominated by CastleFort1 (talk · give credit)

The nominated event is listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post. Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article and update meet WP:ITNCRIT, not the significance.

Nominator's comments: Article could require updates, and the ongoing can be removed as well. CastleFort1 (talk) 21:38, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

• False start The article is currently a work-in-progress as the event is still underway. It's certainly not ready yet. Andrew🐉(talk) 21:49, 22 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose - covered by ongoing. That there'd be a closing ceremony doesn't seem to be unexpected. Nfitz (talk) 22:14, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

  It’s ITNR. Chorchapu (talk | edits) 22:19, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

  Interesting - I'm not sure why this of all things seems to be an exception to ongoing. I disagree, but this isn't the forum for that. Withdrawn. Nfitz (talk) 02:36, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  I suppose this is removed from ongoing once posted as a blurb. Howard the Duck (talk) 02:40, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  That's pretty much it. Like with the World Cup when that starts, it will start in ongoing (there's no opening ceremony), and then a blurb to announce the winners will be used while the ongoing is removed. This is how we should handle ongoing events that have a known endpoint with limited duration. Most other ongoing, we have no idea what the end mark is. Masem (t) 02:46, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  That makes sense, @Masem. Nfitz (talk) 20:54, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Not ready Needs a lot of work before it can be posted. Natg 19 (talk) 22:31, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

Support alt when ready. No need to highlight Norway. Natg 19 (talk) 03:31, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Not ready Will obviously eventually be posted, but I think a mention that Norway won the most medals or having set a winter gold record should also be referenced. Maybe edit the blurb along the the lines of: The 2026 Winter Olympics closes, with Norway setting a Winter Olympics record for most gold medals won at a single Winter Games. (closing ceremony venue pictured) RPH (talk) 22:47, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

  I strongly oppose any mention of the medal table, which is a nationalist take on what are often individual contests. It also weights sports is very uneven ways - there are many more medals available in some niche sports (like luge or curling) than in hugely popular ones (like ice hockey). There were more events at this Winter Olympics than any previous one (as usually happens), so it's not a meaningful record anyway. Modest Genius ^talk 17:30, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support per ITN/R when expanded and fully referenced. I prefer mentioning Verona Arena as the venue for the closing ceremony and Norway as the most successful participating nation, but I don't think mentioning the new record in the number of gold and total medals is necessary (note that they broke their own record from the previous Winter Olympics and benefited the most from Russia's suspension as they lost the primary competitor in men's cross-country skiing). --Kiril Simeonovski (talk) 00:27, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• @Admins willing to post ITN: the closing ceremony article looks far from ready at the moment, but can an admin remove "Winter Olympics" from ongoing in the meantime? The Olympics are no longer ongoing. Natg 19 (talk) 06:50, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  Ongoing means that the article is still getting regular updates, not necessarily that the event is still occurring. (It certainly could be that the article is not being updated, just noting the distinction) 331dot (talk) 10:51, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  Its already been removed but it shouldn't have been - readers might still be wanting to see the last day or two of results. Past mid-week, sure, or once the closing ceremony is added, but removing it immediately after the end is a bit too premature. Masem (t) 12:24, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  I've re-added it for now and we can remove in a few days. - Fuzheado | Talk 16:57, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  +1 I agree with the re-adding. Chorchapu (talk | edits) 17:04, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: my understanding was that we post two blurbs for the Olympics: one at the time of the opening and the other at the closing. Not that the ceremonies themselves are the bold articles. How have we handled this in previous Olympics? To me, it would make more sense for 2026 Winter Olympics to be the bold link; our readers will care about the outcome of the sporting contests, not the dances and music held at a formal ceremony. Modest Genius ^talk 17:26, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  Yea, we bold link the main article. --- C&C (Coffeeandcrumbs) 18:34, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  Thanks. Support alt3 then. Modest Genius ^talk 18:54, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support – Only if Alternative blurb III is used. --- C&C (Coffeeandcrumbs) 18:38, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Comment The closing (and the opening also) of the Paris Olympics was not posted, due to sourcing issues. Not sure if we should follow this precedent. Natg 19 (talk) 19:18, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  A precedent of having sourcing issues? I don't see how this is relevent. Chorchapu (talk | edits) 19:22, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

My question is whether we should post what Modest Genius and C&C are proposing - the alt 3 blurbs which unbold the closing ceremony. Natg 19 (talk) 19:24, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

I think that, if we post anything, it should be the closing ceremony in bold. The Olympics themselves are under Ongoing. Chorchapu (talk | edits) 19:29, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

People are misunderstanding why we post at the beginning and at the end of the Olympics, and keep it at ongoing during the duration. We do that because each medal event is worthy of a post. However, we can't do that because that would weeks of endless Olympic medal posts one after the other. So, a consensus was reached to post the main article at the beginning of the Olympics and when it rolls of the template to put it in ongoing. When the Olympics concludes we again post as a blurb as an ending.

The opening and closing ceremonies themselves are not ITN worthy. The Olympics is dozens of times over. --- C&C (Coffeeandcrumbs) 04:24, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• It's over It's not a good look to be running the Olympics in Ongoing now that's it's over. It makes ITN and Wikipedia look incompetent which is explicitly contrary to WP:ITNPURPOSE: To emphasize Wikipedia as a dynamic resource. Get on with it! Andrew🐉(talk) 10:31, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

  I'm not sure why having it in two places for two different purposes is a problem. In fact, one could argue that supporting these two modalities reinforces the idea of being a "dynamic resource." - Fuzheado | Talk 18:08, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support The Olympics ended, and we should put this up since the ongoing will be taken down. --SpectralIon 19:39, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

  But there are still quality issues. For example, the many paragraphs of the body of the article are not cited. Andrew🐉(talk) 19:51, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support I don't see any quality issues with the article as it stands. ~2025-39726-97 (talk) 20:37, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Comment Closing ceremony article is still not ready. There is very few details on the performances in the ceremony, and the Proceedings section is very thin. Natg 19 (talk) 00:21, 25 February 2026 (UTC)
• Not ready based on quality. The only prose in the article is on preparations and "Olympic flag handover ceremony". Compare to the prose summary of Proceedings in the 2022 Winter Olympics article. Spencer^T•C 03:20, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

(Blurb posted) RD/Blurb: Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes & 2026 Jalisco operation

Articles: Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (talk · history · tag) and 2026 Jalisco operation (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination
Blurb:  Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (pictured), leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, is killed by the Mexican Army (Post)
News source(s): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/world/americas/jalisco-new-generation-cartel-leader-killed.html
Credits:

• Nominated by Onegreatjoke (talk · give credit)

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

Nominator's comments: Notorious mexican drug lord. Onegreatjoke (talk) 17:53, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support when updated A few things seem to be missing, but other than that I might possibly argue for a blurb. He's one of the most notorious drug lords out there right now. ~2026-11781-04 (talk) 18:34, 22 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support RD for sure. The most wanted in his country and even one of the most wanted in the United States as well. I would say this deserves a blurb. Bloxzge 025 (talk) 18:55, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

  An article about the operation has been created Bloxzge 025 (talk) 19:37, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support RD, meets notability for a potential blurb The killing of El Mencho is a significant development in Mexico's drug war, and it meets notability because international sources (such as AP, NYT, and Reuters) are covering both the death and the retaliatory attacks by CJNG. CastleFort1 (talk) 19:19, 22 February 2026 (UTC)
• Weak oppose Sourcing is pretty good but it needs updating and tense fixes. Chorchapu (talk | edits) 17:55, 22 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support (when ready) Huge impact in Mexico. There are numerous reports of arson and violence against bystanders across the country. It's gotten bad enough that Canada has issued warnings to their citizens and Air Canada has suspended their flights (CTV, CBC, Reuters). The overall situation is escalating and could become blurbworthy once civilian casualties are reported by major media. Unfortunately, I know that the quality of articles on the Mexican Drug War and Mexican topics in general is rather mediocre, so a lot of work will be needed. --~2026-11802-77 (talk) 18:49, 22 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support blurb It sounds like the death is the story here. The NYT source listed above confirms that there's an aftermath and other effects and says "This is a developing story". Note also that the list of ongoing armed conflicts has the Mexican drug war as one of the world's major wars, up there with the worst of them but ITN has been ignoring it. Andrew🐉(talk) 18:59, 22 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support and blurb if reprisal attacks get worse. --FelineHerder (talk) 18:55, 22 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support blurb or merge with 2026 Jalisco operation when that article is ready. Clearly an event that is going to have significant consequences. –DMartin (talk) 22:48, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

Support blurb in principle as per above, but the article currently has one CN tag. --MtPenguinMonster (talk) 23:17, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

Which article? Bloxzge 025 (talk) 23:45, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

Update The sole CN tag on the bolded article has been resolved with a CBS News reference. CastleFort1 (talk) 00:23, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support blurb - Mencho has been a leading figure in Mexico's drug war at least for the past decade so its a major development and deserves a blurb. Morogris (✉ • ✎) 00:23, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

Support and change blurb The event is of utmost importance in Mexico and the consequences and changing the blurb to "Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (pictured), leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, is killed by the Mexican Army.", to highlight the article about the operation. Farcazo (talk) 00:57, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

Support blurb Marked ready. El Mencho's article is in good shape and is ready for posting. 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗷𝗮𝘆𝗮𝟲𝟳 (talk). 01:43, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

Support and blurb as per -DMartin, and possibly add his alias "El Mencho" to the blurb as well? RoyalSilver 01:44, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

Support - Though we may want to include the violence in Mexico that has followed this event. Guz13 (talk) 01:49, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support blurb, and I would also suggest the operation article is also ready to go to be bolded in the link. Masem (t) 02:42, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
• Posted Stephen 03:01, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

Post-Posting Support always great to see justice being delivered Ion.want.uu (talk) 03:21, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Comment Again, I think the operation article should also be bolded, I'm reading there's significant violence across Mexico in the wake of this operation. Masem (t) 04:33, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  I agree that it should be bolded as well. In a defense, when I made the nomination the article of the operation hadn't even existed yet. Onegreatjoke (talk) 06:15, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  Stressing again that the operation article needs to be here. 25 Mexican national guard members killed in retaliatory strikes afterwards Masem (t) 14:50, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  Supporting this. His death and the reactions/unrest to it is the main story here. PolarManne (talk) 21:15, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Captured The reporting says that El Mencho was captured and then died from his injuries so perhaps the blurb should reflect this? Andrew🐉(talk) 07:36, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  If he had not been injured in the battle to capture him, he would still be alive, so "killing" seems reasonable. 331dot (talk) 09:26, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  No, the current blurb makes it sound like a targeted killing but the capture shows that it was a more respectable law enforcement operation. Andrew🐉(talk) 10:06, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  I don't believe the Mexican Army is a law enforcement agency. 331dot (talk) 10:50, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  No more so than the US military. If Maduro had died of his wounds en route to the US I think it would have been appropriate to say he was killed by the US military. As it is, I think we might have used "kidnapped" or "abducted" to describe his forcible, involuntary relocation. ~2025-39726-97 (talk) 15:47, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  Technically the US Military escorted DEA agents to Maduro; the DEA arrested him, not the US military. If that's what happened here, too, okay. 331dot (talk) 09:10, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• @Admins willing to post ITN: Could we get the operation article bolded now? There seems to be pretty clear consensus and quality looks good. Chorchapu (talk | edits) 21:20, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  Better: "Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, is killed by the Mexican Army, sparking violent clashes across the country." ArionStar (talk) 01:39, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

  @Admins willing to post ITN: ArionStar (talk) 15:14, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

Done by Stephen. (02:52, 24 February 2026) Natg 19 (talk) 18:15, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

2026 Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan

Article: 2026 Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ At least 18 people were killed in Pakistani airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan. (Post)
Credits:

• Nominated by Ainty Painty (talk · give credit)

 Ainty Painty (talk) 14:20, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

Weak oppose on quality: a few uncited sentences, and the lede sentence is a run-on, but otherwise covers about everything it should. No comment on notability at this time. Departure– (talk) 15:38, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose Tit-for-tat attacks seem common in this region and, for a military operation, this seems too small to merit a blurb. Andrew🐉(talk) 17:07, 22 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose There is perpetual tension in that area of the world that doesn't ever escalate to a war. Far too common to be a news item. Masem (t) 17:39, 22 February 2026 (UTC)
• Weak Support: Airstrikes conducted by one sovereign state within the territory of another in the absence of a sustained armed conflict, a situation which is generally notable. The article is in fair shape and the strikes are being covered by most major news outlets. However, the similar 2025 Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict was not posted in October, and it is unclear whether these strikes have received enough in-depth coverage for posting. --Leviavery (talk) 18:57, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

Oppose on qualtiy for now per Departure as there is a few sentences without sources. Bloxzge 025 (talk) 18:56, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

(Posted) RD: Fredrick Brennan

Article: Fredrick Brennan (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): I'm from the Internet (podcast)
Credits:

• Nominated by Toadspike (talk · give credit)
• Updated by Stanheight (talk · give credit) and NamelessRumia (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

Nominator's comments: Brennan died in January, but his death was first publicized today, so I'm using that as the event date. He was also a Wikipedian under Psiĥedelisto. Toadspike [Talk] 10:26, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

Disclosure: I've posted a note on his user talk page about this nomination. Toadspike [Talk] 10:46, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support, detailed and well-sourced. I checked sources up to 21. Two offer security risk, Al Jazeera is gone (but the video is there), source 20 results in 404. Perhaps check further, and better someone who is familiar with the topics. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:42, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

  Thanks for catching that, I've now marked source 20 as dead, so the first link that displays is the Internet Archive link. Thankfully, it does seem to support all the content it's cited for. Toadspike [Talk] 16:29, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support --benlisquare_T•C•E 18:15, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support Article looks well sourced - do we have details on how he died? Salmon Of Ignorance (talk) 09:05, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  @Salmon Of Ignorance I haven't listened to the whole podcast episode (linked above). It's possible it contains further details. However, I wouldn't be surprised if his family chose not to share that information. Toadspike [Talk] 15:10, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• Comment Should we remove "hotwheels" from the article as per the discussion at Talk:8chan § WP:COI WP:ER in re "Hotwheels" or specify it was a name given to him rather than one he chose himself. I understand now it's difficult as he started the discussion and he is no longer here to defend his position. Salmon Of Ignorance (talk) 09:18, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

He didn't use the username, but he wrote his userbase and the media called him that. It probably deserves some passing mention. Guz13 (talk) 20:38, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

Looks like it's been removed now. Salmon Of Ignorance (talk) 10:37, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

• @Admins willing to post ITN: I think we have consensus here. Toadspike [Talk] 15:13, 24 February 2026 (UTC)
• Posted Stephen 22:52, 24 February 2026 (UTC)

February 21

Portal:Current events/2026 February 21

February 21, 2026 (2026-02-21) (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Attacks in Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war
    • Ukrainian forces launch long-range FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles, striking the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant in Votkinsk, Udmurtia, Russia. Another missile strikes a natural-gas processing plant in Samara Oblast. (The Telegraph) (DW)
  • Eastern front of the Russo-Ukrainian war
    • Russian forces capture the village of Karpivka in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, as they attempt to advance towards Lyman. (Devdiscourse)
• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict, 2026 Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan
    • Pakistan conducts intelligence-based strikes on seven locations along the Durand Line in the Nangarhar and Paktika provinces of Afghanistan targeting alleged camps of the Pakistani Taliban and an affiliate of the Islamic State, resulting in dozens of fatalities and injuries. (NDTV) (AFP via The Straits Times)
  • Two soldiers and five militants are killed in a shootout in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (Reuters)
• Jonglei clashes
  • Up to 22 people are killed, including women and children, and several others are injured when Agwelek Forces gunmen open fire on villagers in Ayod County, Jonglei State, South Sudan. (CTV News)
• Syrian conflict
  • The Islamic State claims responsibility for two attacks on security personnel in northern and eastern Syria, in which a soldier and a civilian were killed. (Reuters)
• Terrorism in Ukraine
  • A policewoman is killed and at least 15 others are injured, including some seriously, in two explosions at a shop in Lviv, Ukraine. The attacks are being treated as terrorism. (TRT World)

Arts and culture

• 76th Berlin International Film Festival
  • At this year's Berlin Film Festival, İlker Çatak's Yellow Letters wins the Golden Bear. (AFP via The Philippine Star)

Business and economy

• Tariffs in the second Trump administration
  • United States president Donald Trump raises the global tariff on imports from 10% to 15% under emergency powers that permit the measure for up to 150 days after the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a 1977 law does not authorize the imposition of his earlier country-specific tariffs. The administration states that the new rate applies broadly, with exemptions for certain sectors and goods covered by existing trade agreements. (AFP via France 24)

Disasters and accidents

• 2025–26 Australian bushfire season
  • The state emergency service of Victoria, Australia, issues the highest-level emergency evacuation warning for areas surrounding the A1 Mine Settlement of Gaffneys Creek, as an uncontrolled bushfire burns the settlement. (Reuters)
• Libyan crisis
  • At least five bodies of refugees wash ashore near Tripoli, Libya. Residents also observe a child's body carried back to sea by strong waves, prompting a coast guard search operation. (Reuters)
• Six people are killed, including a five-year-old, and three others are injured when a boat capsizes and sinks on the Grande River in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Xinhua)
• The death toll from the truck explosion on a highway in Santiago, Chile, on Thursday, rises to six, with 15 others still hospitalized with serious injuries. (Xinhua)

---

RD: Svein Jarvoll

Article: Svein Jarvoll (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Klassekampen forfatterforeningen
Credits:

• Nominated by ~2026-12524-49 (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

Nominator's comments: Death announced 21 February ~2026-12524-49 (talk) 02:49, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

RD: Maxi Shield

Article: Maxi Shield (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): [7], [8]
Credits:

• Nominated by Happily888 (talk · give credit)
• Updated by WikiEditor73 (talk · give credit)

Article needs updating
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

 Happily888 (talk) 22:33, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

RD: Mark Kennedy (musician)

Article: Mark Kennedy (musician) (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): https://www.noise11.com/news/mark-kennedy-legendary-australian-drummer-dies-aged-74-20260222
Credits:

• Nominated by Onegreatjoke (talk · give credit)
• Updated by NotoriousFKB (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

Nominator's comments: Australian musician. Article looks good. Onegreatjoke (talk) 18:22, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support Appropriate depth, fully referenced. Marking "ready". Spencer^T•C 20:32, 26 February 2026 (UTC)
• Not ready, as neither date nor place of birth are referenced. Schwede66 23:00, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

  Ref added. Spencer^T•C 02:45, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

RD: Syed Salman Gilani

Article: Syed Salman Gilani (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): GEO TV
Credits:

• Nominated by Ainty Painty (talk · give credit)
• Updated by Khaatir (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

 Ainty Painty (talk) 14:09, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

2026 Berlin International Film Festival

Articles: Yellow Letters (talk · history · tag) and 2026 Berlin International Film Festival (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Yellow Letters (director İlker Çatak pictured) wins the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. (Post)
Alternative blurb II: ​ Yellow Letters (director İlker Çatak pictured) wins the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival
News source(s): Reuters
Credits:

• Nominated by Moraljaya67 (talk · give credit)

One or both nominated events are listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post. Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article and update meet WP:ITNCRIT, not the significance.

 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗷𝗮𝘆𝗮𝟲𝟳 (talk). 03:38, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

• Comment the film article is in need of improvement. The festival itself has historically been the bolded article (or at least according to the comments under the last time it was posted, in 2023). That article is also not yet ready, though it is closer. 1brianm7 (talk) 05:19, 22 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support All linked articles are in good shape. The Letters article is missing a plot summary, but as it hasn't been publucly released I think we'll be fine wihtout one. –DMartin (talk) 05:25, 22 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support The target article is of sufficient quality for ITN. --MtPenguinMonster (talk) 06:21, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

Disruptive; Andrew has been warned countless times against this.

• Oppose The article is too stubby and has zero prose about the film's critical and commercial reception. The new movie that has been getting most attention lately is Wuthering Heights. That article is much more substantial with over ten times more prose. But I notice that our article about the original novel is doing even better. My impression is that readers are googling the title and ending up at the article about the novel, which is the primary topic, rather than the movie, which is more difficult to find as there have been many adaptations. Per WP:ITNPURPOSE, ITN is supposed to help with such navigational issues but that outcome may be a good result for the encyclopedia as that article about the novel is level-4 vital, graded B-class and so big that it has been split. But going back to Yellow Letters, that is graded start-class, is not vital and is comparatively tiny. Andrew🐉(talk) 08:07, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

Andrew, you have been repeatedly warned that your obsession with page views is not germane to discussions on this page, and is frequently - as in this case - disruptive. This nomination is about Yellow Letters and the Berlin Film Festival. Please address that on its merits (as you do in your first sentence); this nomination is nothing to do with Wuthering Heights, and it is frankly ridiculous that you are suggesting that a novel published in 1847 is more in the news that a newly released film which has won a major international award. GenevieveDEon (talk) 09:14, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

I think it's best to focus on the merits of the nominated article rather than ranting about the pageviews and grades of unrelated articles. –DMartin (talk) 09:46, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose Insufficient prose update and depth in the target article at present. Outside of the lede and a table in the accolades section, the Golden Bear award is not mentioned anywhere in the body of the article. A title of one of the cited sources is "Ilker Çatak’s ‘Yellow Letters’ Wins Berlin Golden Bear in Politically-Charged Ceremony" but what was "politically charged" is not mentioned in the article. Additionally, the single sentence "premise" section does not effectively summarize the plot of the movie. Spencer^T•C 23:54, 22 February 2026 (UTC)
• Comment: this is only ITNR if the award ceremony is the bold link. You can't dodge article quality issues by making a different article the bold link target. Altblurb added. Modest Genius ^talk 12:26, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  It doesn't apply here but there are a few awards where the awarded topic is the one bolded, but that is generally for cases where there is no large ceremony that is covered in detail, things like the Nobels. Those cases are typically already noted in ITNR. Masem (t) 12:30, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

  We have done both in the past for the Berlinale. See 73rd and 74th. Then we failed to reach consensus in the 75th. --- C&C (Coffeeandcrumbs) 18:50, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

(Posted) RD: Rondale Moore

Article: Rondale Moore (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): WLKY
Credits:

• Updated and nominated by Engineerchange (talk · give credit)
• Updated by SkylarGarriott (talk · give credit) and ThatGuyDylan314 (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

Nominator's comments: NFL wide receiver Engineerchange (talk) 01:50, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

• Almost ready The College section has a few unsourced parts, but this'll be ready once those are fixed. QuicoleJR (talk) 04:14, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

  Support. No issues and decent sourcing. Bloxzge 025 (talk) 05:59, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

• Posted -Ad Orientem (talk) 22:54, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

(Posted) RD: William Q. MacLean Jr.

Article: William Q. MacLean Jr. (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): WBSM
Credits:

• Updated and nominated by QuicoleJR (talk · give credit)
• Updated by Kelisi (talk · give credit) and 1brianm7 (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

Nominator's comments: Death announced on this date. Massachusetts politician, article is long enough and fully sourced. QuicoleJR (talk) 21:21, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

Fully sourced yes, but I'm not yet happy with the lead. I don't think school and studies are even lead material, but would like to read there why we have an article about him ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:48, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

@Gerda Arendt: Fixed. QuicoleJR (talk) 22:12, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

Thank you. Now please fix the dupl ref, - I see three with the same title, but can't open that link, it also should not be all-caps. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:24, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

@Gerda Arendt: Thanks, missed that. Fixed that too. QuicoleJR (talk) 01:17, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

Support, meets criteria --Gerda Arendt (talk) 06:20, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

Support Article is of sufficient quality for RD. --MtPenguinMonster (talk) 06:22, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: Article appears imbalanced. Outside of election results, article has 2 sentences in the body about his legislative contributions, with four paragraphs dedicated to his COI conviction. Could use additional depth regarding his work as representative. Spencer^T•C 14:31, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

  @Spencer: I'm struggling to find anything on him outside of election results and the COI. Even the obituary only touches on those two things. If I could add more, I would, but I can't with the sources currently available to me. QuicoleJR (talk) 16:48, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

  @QuicoleJR: I am working on adding more detail of his house career with stuff I found via newspapers.com. I'd recommend you check out The Wikipedia Library, which gives me free access to newspapers.com and a bunch of other stuff just because I edit 10 times a month. 1brianm7 (talk) 18:06, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

  Yeah, I had that for a while, but my newspapers.com access expired in January and I haven't gotten around to re-requesting it. QuicoleJR (talk) 18:09, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

  @Spencer: I hope I have resolved the legislative contributions issue. It looks like it is now 1.5 times larger than the COI conviction. 1brianm7 (talk) 23:13, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support I have greatly improved the political career section. 1brianm7 (talk) 23:13, 22 February 2026 (UTC)
• Posted to RD. Nice work with the expansion. Spencer^T•C 23:48, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

RD: Willie Colón

Article: Willie Colón (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): NBC
Credits:

• Nominated by Thriley (talk · give credit)
• Updated by BradyBunchFan (talk · give credit)

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY.

Nominator's comments: American salsa musician and social activist. Thriley (talk) 18:45, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose Several unsourced paragraphs, and the entire discography is unsourced. QuicoleJR (talk) 19:42, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

Oppose article needs a lot of work. _-_Alsor (talk) 21:19, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

Support once the quality issues are solved. One of the most prominent salsa musicians of all time. --NoonIcarus (talk) 11:51, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

NoonIcarus, would you mind reading the instructions that come with every RD nomination? "Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNQUALITY." All RDs will be posted once quality is up there; there is no point repeating that. Your role is to assess the article in its current state. Schwede66 22:57, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

(Closed) Killing of Quentin Deranque

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

---

Article: Killing of Quentin Deranque (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The killing of a student by the Jeune Garde Antifasciste shifts political sentiment in France (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ The killing of a student during demonstrations in France leads to political clashes.
News source(s): Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN, DW, France24, NYT, Reuters, Times of India
Credits:

• Nominated by Andrew Davidson (talk · give credit)
• Created by Historycaliz (talk · give credit)
• Updated by Borgenland (talk · give credit) and Aldorwyn of Rivendell (talk · give credit)

Article updated

Nominator's comments: I noticed this story at the top of the Most Read list at BBC News and wondered what it was. It seems quite similar to the Charlie Kirk story which ITN blurbed, iirc. It's obviously quite political but we ought to consider it too as it seems to be having quite a big impact there. Andrew🐉(talk) 09:26, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose I don't see any similarly to the Kirk killing, which was a targeted assassination. This was a brawl between groups of neo-fascist and far-left demonstrators in which a member of the former was killed. Personally I wouldn't have blurbed Kirk's killing either, but it was at least heavily covered outside the USA. Also, you need to fix the proposed blurb - there have been some arrests but no-one has even been charged with a crime yet, so we can't say that the people responsible for the death were definitely members of one group or another (yet). Black Kite (talk) 09:40, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

• I noticed this in a British news source and have added an American one. And it's obviously getting lots of coverage in France. So, that seems to be plenty of international coverage already. Andrew🐉(talk) 09:51, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

• I (and you) were comparing Kirk, though - there's clearly nothing like that amount of coverage. Black Kite (talk) 09:53, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

• And I've just noticed that this happened a week ago. Black Kite (talk) 09:56, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

It seems to be the political impact that is making news now and I suppose that has taken time to develop -- the international sources are dated more recently. US news will tend to have a more immediate impact because other news sources seem to echo it automatically. For other countries in other languages like France, it will take more time. Andrew🐉(talk) 10:13, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose I edited it a bit because I saw serious POV issues but got reverted fast. I would rather not touch it anymore. Yesterday I looked at it and had issues; today I looked at it and still has serious issues. I recommend more experienced editors with extremely touchy political issues to neutralize it before it can be promoted anywhere. It is extremely political charged and very likely to carry away editors emotionally. I put a warning, but it got removed. Don't want to enter an edit war. Aldorwyn of Rivendell (talk) 11:52, 21 February 2026 (UTC)
• Comment The killing happened on 14 February. It seems the biggest individual day-to-day updates took place between 14-17 February, not 21 February: keep that in mind before this item potentially goes stale. Departure– (talk) 13:36, 21 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose Killing on 14th Feb. If there was to be any impact, news sources would have reflected it by now. I see no headline coverage anywhere of this nor of any major clashes, protests and the like stemming from it. Gotitbro (talk) 13:59, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

  There are protest marches happening today in tribute today in France and there are international headlines about this and Macron’s call for calm. So, that’s continuing coverage. Andrew🐉(talk) 15:09, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose Kirk was different because he was already a notable figure. This is not significant enough and is also quite stale. QuicoleJR (talk) 15:33, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

  See How the death of far-right activist Quentin Deranque became France’s ‘Charlie Kirk moment’ Andrew🐉(talk) 19:00, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

  I still don't think it's the same, because Kirk was a targeted assassination of a prominent (and notable) political figure, while this was not. IMO the killing of Laken Riley would be a more applicable ITN precedent, and she wasn't blurbed. This is also stale, since this happened a while ago. QuicoleJR (talk) 19:39, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose - This is a far-right talking point dressed up as a news story, and Wikipedia should not participate in its promotion. GenevieveDEon (talk) 17:41, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

  Your comment is rather biased. The murder of an extremist activist is newsworthy because of the consequences it is having: protests, political reactions, headlines around the world. The fact that he was far right and his killer was far left is no reason to downplay it. _-_Alsor (talk) 18:15, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose There is a world of difference with Kirk. The reactions are natural in response to an event of political violence of this kind, especially when we all know that coverage tends to differ depending on the political ideology of the victim and the perpetrator. Besides, it's stale. It's not ITN-worthy for now. _-_Alsor (talk) 18:20, 21 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support It is in the news in various non francophone media, showing international interest. Rolluik (talk) 18:47, 21 February 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose: Kirk was the head of TPUSA, which can be described as the GOP's youth league, while Deranque was not notable at all beforehand, and the battle he died in was not an assassination. Plus, this was a week ago. Aaron Liu (talk) 19:51, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

  @Aaron Liu em...people don't die suddenly in a fight, but from wounds inflicted “by someone“. In fact, the detainees are being held for “murder probe.” Please read this. _-_Alsor (talk) 20:19, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

  I think the difference is(disregarding the victim's notability) that with Kirk it was a premeditated, planned attack targeting him specifically. –DMartin (talk) 20:28, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

  Yes, I'm agree. And that's why I opposed the nomination. _-_Alsor (talk) 20:38, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose Two people got into a fight, one of them ended up dead. Tragic, but routine. This wasn't a planned or even calculated attack. Not mainpage worthy. –DMartin (talk) 20:23, 21 February 2026 (UTC)
• Comment The attack was nine days ago, and the victim died 6-7 days ago depending on your time zone. Not technically stale, but very much on the turn. –DMartin (talk) 20:25, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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