Real-time News

On February 22, the Afghan Ministry of Defense issued a statement saying that Pakistan had once again violated Afghan territory, launching airstrikes on multiple civilian areas in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces. The attacks resulted in dozens of civilian casualties, including women and children. The Ministry of Defense strongly condemned Pakistan's blatant violation of Afghan territorial sovereignty, considering it a serious breach of international law and the principle of good neighborliness. The Ministry warned that it would respond appropriately and carefully at the right time.

February 22nd - According to Shanghai Railway Group, the Yangtze River Delta railway network is experiencing a peak in return passenger traffic on February 22nd, with an estimated 3.19 million passengers transported today, a year-on-year increase of 15.3%. Yesterday, 2.913 million passengers were transported, a year-on-year increase of 18.3%. Since the start of this year's Spring Festival travel rush, the average daily passenger volume has been approximately 2.595 million. The railway department is increasing capacity on key routes and during peak hours to actively cope with the passenger flow peak, planning to add 584 passenger trains (378 through trains and 206 local trains) and expand the fleet of high-speed trains by 366.

February 22nd - According to data from the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Border Inspection Station of the Zhuhai Border Inspection General Station, since February 15th (the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month), as of February 21st (the fifth day of the first lunar month), the number of Hong Kong and Macau single-license plate vehicles entering and exiting through the Zhuhai Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge has exceeded 100,000, reaching 114,000. On February 21st (the fifth day of the first lunar month), the number of Hong Kong and Macau single-license plate vehicles inspected by the border inspection department exceeded 20,000 for the first time in a single day, setting a new historical high since the implementation of the "Macau vehicles traveling north" and "Hong Kong vehicles traveling north" policies.

February 22 – Ahmed Altom, Director General of the Geological Research Authority of Sudan, stated on February 21 that the armed conflict in Sudan has caused approximately $7 billion in economic losses to the country's mining industry. Altom said that the conflict has severely damaged Sudan's mining infrastructure, reducing government-led mining activities from 18 states to 6. Geological surveys, exploration operations, and mining production have all been significantly affected, resulting in a sharp decline in related fiscal revenue.

On February 22, US President Trump approved emergency aid to Washington, D.C., to address the aftermath of a leak that released at least 250 million gallons (approximately 940 million liters) of untreated sewage into the Potomac River. On January 19, a decades-old sewage pipe in Maryland ruptured, causing over 900 million liters of wastewater to flow into the Potomac River. This river flows west of Washington, D.C., and is a major source of drinking water for the capital region. The incident became one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history. On February 18, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency and requested federal resources from President Trump to help the city deal with the sewage system leak.

February 22nd - NIO's official Weibo account announced that on February 21st, 2026 (the fifth day of the Lunar New Year), NIO's battery swap service reached a record high of 175,976 transactions. This marks the fourth consecutive day of record-breaking performance since the start of the Year of the Horse.

February 22nd - According to data from Maoyan Professional Edition, the total box office (including pre-sales) for the 2026 Spring Festival film season has exceeded 4.6 billion yuan, with "Pegasus 3", "Silent Assassination", and "The Legend of the Swordsman" ranking in the top three.

The China Earthquake Networks Center officially determined that a magnitude 4.0 earthquake occurred in Qinghe County, Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang, at 09:29 on February 22, with a focal depth of 10 kilometers.

February 22nd - According to data from Maoyan Professional Edition, the movie "Night King" has grossed over 40 million yuan in just three days since its release.

On February 22, the 10th National Assembly election in Laos officially commenced. Voting across the country began at 8:00 AM local time (9:00 AM Beijing time). The newly formed National Assembly will elect a new President and Prime Minister, among other national leaders, and approve a new cabinet. The Lao National Assembly is the highest organ of state power and the legislative body, with each term lasting five years.

On February 22, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an investigation into Netflix's (NFLX.O) proposed $72 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD.O), examining the streaming giant's market conduct and whether it exerted anti-competitive influence on creators during negotiations to acquire programming rights. The Justice Department is seeking to determine whether the deal "could materially reduce competition or be designed to create a monopoly, thereby violating Section 7 of the Clayton Act or Section 2 of the Sherman Act." According to sources familiar with the matter, the request has been sent to an independent film studio. This is the first clear indication that the Trump administration is no longer simply following standard procedures in its investigation of the acquisition, but rather employing a more in-depth investigative approach. This contradicts Netflix's claims in recent weeks that the government has not engaged in any procedures outside of normal procedures.

February 22 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he plans to hold talks with European partners next week to ensure Europe plays a role in the negotiations on the Ukraine crisis and to continuously strengthen its influence. He indicated that he has instructed the head of the Ukrainian negotiating team, Mikhail Umerov, to continue strengthening cooperation with Turkey and other countries. The previous day, after receiving a briefing from the Ukrainian negotiating team, Zelenskyy stated that it had been agreed to hold another round of talks on the Ukraine crisis within the next 10 days.

On February 22, the Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on February 21, designating the navies and air forces of all EU member states as "terrorist organizations," in reciprocal action to the EU's designation of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a "terrorist organization." The statement indicated that this move was made by the Islamic Republic of Iran in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, in response to the blatant violations of international law by European governments. On February 19, the Council of the European Union issued a statement formally deciding to add the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the list of "terrorist organizations."

German Chancellor Merz: The tariff burden on the German economy is expected to ease.

German Chancellor Merz: We will coordinate with each other within the EU and form a very clear European position on this issue.

February 21 - It was learned on the 21st that the US military has begun withdrawing from the Kasruk military base in Hasakah province in northeastern Syria. Several US officials previously stated that the US military had recently completed its withdrawal from the Tanf military base near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders and the Shadadi military base in northeastern Syria, and will withdraw from its remaining bases in Syria within the next two months.

Iranian diplomatic sources have confirmed that nuclear materials will not be transferred out of Iran.

The Ukrainian military stated: "Our troops attacked a Russian gas processing plant in the Samara region and caused a fire."

The Ukrainian military says that a Ukrainian Flamingo missile struck a Russian ballistic missile manufacturer in the Udmurt region.

On February 21st, St. Louis Federal Reserve President Konstantin Mussalaim, a 2028 FOMC voting member, stated in an interview with Fox Business on Friday that his view on the economic outlook would not change significantly if the Trump administration maintained most tariffs through other means. He also indicated that he wanted to know whether businesses would receive tariff refunds and, if so, how much. When asked about the possibility of an interest rate cut this year, Mussalaim stated that the Fed's benchmark interest rate is currently at or below the so-called "neutral rate" level—a level that neither stimulates nor inhibits economic growth. This level is well-suited to handle any direction the Fed's mission may take.