Portal:Current events/2009 February 18

{{Current events|year=2009|month=02|day=18|content=

• Stefane & 3G will represent Georgia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow with "We Don't Wanna Put In", a song allegedly against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. [https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE51I36820090219 (Reuters)]
• A Columbian mammoth is discovered in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California. [https://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE51H7R220090219 (Reuters)]
• Switzerland's UBS AG will pay the United States federal government US$780 million in fines and restitution after admitting to helping American clients avoid taxes. [http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/18/news/companies/ubs/index.htm?postversion=2009021818 (CNN)]
• A Eurocopter Super Puma carrying 18 people ditches into the North Sea. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/north_east/7898093.stm (BBC)]
• Israel will not negotiate with Hamas unless war prisoner Gilad Shalit is released. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7896506.stm (BBC)]
• Israel's Securities Authority arrests Poalim Capital Markets CEO Nir Burnstein on suspicion of insider trading. [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304817473&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull (Jerusalem Post)]
• Iran announces it has built an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of traveling 620 miles (1,000 kilometers). [https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aW5zRmh_fzbA&refer=home (Bloomberg)]
• Lawyers representing the entertainment industry defend their compensation claims of US$13 million against The Pirate Bay. [http://www.thelocal.se/17670/20090218/ (The Local)]
• A GEO Television reporter is killed in Pakistan's war-torn Swat Valley. [http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hkiMxbHNH0BqgpWA2ZG6VD6wVTmAD96E319G1 (AP via Google News)]
• Verizon Wireless selects Alcatel-Lucent as its primary vendor of fourth-generation wireless communications. [http://uk.reuters.com/article/UK_SMALLCAPSRPT/idUKLI34523020090218 (Reuters)]
• Swedish Minister of Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson criticizes General Motors for "abandoning" the struggling automaker Saab Automobile. [http://www.thelocal.se/17668/20090218/ (The Local)]
• The Czech Republic's Chamber of Deputies approves the Treaty of Lisbon. [http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/czech-lower-house-passes-lisbon-treaty/361057 (CTK)]
• General Motors will cut 47,000 jobs throughout 2009. [http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/General-Motors-Car-Giant-GM-To-Cut-47000-Jobs-In-2009-Around-The-World/Article/200902315224896?lpos=Business_Second_World_News_Article_Teaser_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15224896_General_Motors%3A_Car_Giant_GM_To_Cut_47%2C000_Jobs_In_2009_Around_The_World (Sky News)]
• South Korea says North Korea will face United Nations sanctions if it proceeds with a threatening long-range missile test. [https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE51H0H820090218 (Reuters)]
• Russia's Border Guard Service sinks a Hong Kong-owned merchant vessel, killing eight people. [http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090218/120196388.html (RIAN)]
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and European Space Agency will continue with their Europa Jupiter System Mission and Titan Saturn System Missions. [http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/20090218.html (NASA)]

}}