Portal:Current events/2023 February 12

Armed conflicts and attacks

• High-altitude object events in 2023
  • 2023 Lake Huron high-altitude object
    • A United States Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon shoots down an unidentified flying object over Lake Huron near the Canada–United States border. The Department of Defense describe the object as octagonal and flying at roughly 20,000 feet. (Forbes)
    • The Pentagon holds a press briefing on the shootdowns with NORAD Commander Glen D. VanHerck stating it is currently unclear how the objects were "staying aloft", and "we're calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason". (Bharat Times)
  • 2023 Shandong high-altitude object
    • China says that it has detected an unidentified flying object over the Yellow Sea, and warns that it is prepared to shoot down the object. The Qingdao Marine Development Bureau issues an alert to fishermen in the waters to be "on alert" and "avoid risks". (South China Morning Post)

Disasters and accidents

• 2022–23 South Pacific cyclone season
  • Thousands of people are left without power as Cyclone Gabrielle makes landfall over North Island, New Zealand. The regions of Northland and Auckland are currently under a state of emergency. (BBC News)

Law and crime

• Censorship in Cambodia
  • Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen orders the closure of one of the country's last independent news outlets, The Voice of Democracy, saying that its publications have hurt him and his son Hun Manet. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2023 Cypriot presidential election
  • In a run-off election, Nikos Christodoulides is elected as President of Cyprus, defeating Andreas Mavroyiannis. (Reuters)
• NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg announces that he will not extend his mandate to serve a fourth term and is expected to step down in October. (AFP via South China Morning Post)

Science and technology

• Asteroid impact prediction
  • Researchers at the Konkoly Observatory in Hungary discover 2023 CX1, a 1-metre (3.3-foot) asteroid predicted to fall harmlessly as a fireball over the English Channel at 03:00 UTC, making it the seventh asteroid to be discovered before impacting Earth. (JPL Center for NEO Studies)

Sports

• 2022 NFL season
  • The Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 38–35 in Super Bowl LVII, winning their third Super Bowl in franchise history. (CNBC)
• 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake
  • 2022–23 Süper Lig
    • Gaziantep becomes the 2nd club (after Hatayspor) to withdraw from the top division of Turkish football due to the earthquake. (Turkish Football Federation)