Portal:Current events/2018 February 23

February 23, 2018 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Rif Dimashq offensive
  - Syrian government warplanes carry out a sixth day of airstrikes in the rebel-held Ghouta suburbs east of Damascus, killing 32 people as the death toll from a week of bombardment reaches over 400. (U.S. News & World Report)

International relations

Law and crime

Mueller special counsel investigation
- Rick Gates pleads guilty to charges of conspiracy against the United States and making false statements, and agrees to cooperate with the Special Counsel investigation. (NPR)

Politics and elections

Politics of Australia
- Barnaby Joyce announces his resignation as Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party, following scandals involving an affair with a staffer and a sexual harassment allegation. The party, a junior partner in the Coalition government, will vote for his successor on February 26. (The Guardian)

Sports

2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball corruption scandal
- Documents obtained through legal discovery filings during the ongoing FBI probe into college basketball corruption reveal potential current and retroactive NCAA rules issues for at least 20 Division I programs and more than 25 players. In addition to programs named when federal criminal charges were first revealed in September 2017, among the programs potentially implicated in the new documents are Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina. (Yahoo! Sports)