Historical timeline for February 16

Five thousand people gathered in the town of Kherrata, Bejaia Province to mark the second anniversary of the Hirak protest movement. Demonstrations had been suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Algeria.

A bomb blast at a market in Hazara Town, Quetta, Pakistan kills more than 80 people and injures 190 others.

The last Mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army.

The National Hockey League cancels the entire 2004–05 regular season and playoffs.

The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia.

Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17 crashes near Sacramento Mather Airport in Rancho Cordova, California, killing all three aboard.

China Airlines Flight 676 crashes into a road and residential area near Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taiwan, killing all 196 aboard and six more on the ground.

A Chicago-bound Amtrak train, the Capitol Limited, collides with a MARC commuter train bound for Washington, D.C., killing 11 people.

Nicaraguan Contras leader Enrique Bermúdez is assassinated in Managua.

China Airlines Flight 2265 crashes into the Pacific Ocean near Penghu Airport in Taiwan, killing all 13 aboard.

The Soviet liner MS Mikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.

Hezbollah is founded.

Iran launches Operation Dawn 5, a major offensive during the Iran–Iraq War targeting the Basra–Baghdad highway, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.

The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia kill 75.

The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago).

In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service.

Civil Air Transport Flight 010 crashes near Shongshan Airport in Taiwan, killing 21 of the 63 people on board and one more on the ground.

Flooding in the coastal areas of West Germany kills 315 and destroys the homes of about 60,000 people.

The Great Sheffield Gale impacts the United Kingdom, killing nine people; the city of Sheffield is devastated, with 150,000 homes damaged.

Explorer program: Explorer 9 (S-56a) is launched.