Editing 1990 (section)

=== February ===
* February/March – 100,000 [[Kashmiri Pandits]] leave their homeland in [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]'s Valley after being targeted by [[Islamic extremism|Islamist extremists]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ACMe9WBdNAC&pg=PA120|title=Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace|first=Sumantra|last=Bose|date=June 1, 2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-02855-5|page=120}}</ref>
* February – [[Smoking]] is banned on all cross-country flights in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-27-me-173-story.html|title=Case Against Smoker on Airline Ends in Mistrial|work=Los Angeles Times|date=July 27, 1991|access-date=February 20, 2020|archive-date=March 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305204349/http://articles.latimes.com/1991-07-27/local/me-173_1_airline-ends|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[February 2]] – [[Apartheid]]: [[F. W. de Klerk]] [[Speech at the Opening of the Parliament of South Africa, 1990|announces]] the unbanning of the [[African National Congress]] and promises to release [[Nelson Mandela]].
* February 5 – The Roman Catholic [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington|Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.]] excommunicates [[George Augustus Stallings Jr.|George Augustus Stallings]] for starting the controversial [[Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation|Imani Temple]] congregation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ayres |first=B. Drummond |date=February 6, 1990 |title=Ouster of Priest is Explained |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/06/us/ouster-of-priest-is-explained.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[February 7]]
** The [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] votes to end its monopoly of power, clearing the way for multiparty elections.
** In the [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic|Tajik SSR]], [[1990 Dushanbe riots|rioting breaks out]] against the settlement of [[Armenians|Armenian]] [[refugee]]s there.
* [[February 9]] – [[ADtranz low floor tram]] world's first completely [[low-floor tram]] introduced in [[Bremen]].
* [[February 10]]
** [[Las Cruces bowling alley massacre]]: 2 people walked into the 10 Pin Alley in [[Las Cruces, New Mexico]], (known then as the Las Cruces [[Bowl]]) and shot seven people, four of whom were killed. The case is currently unsolved.
** As the German chancellor [[Helmut Kohl]] is on a state visit in Moscow, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] assures him that the Germans have the right to choose reunification. While the question of the membership of a reunited Germany in the existing military alliances is still unresolved, this is seen as a major breakthrough. 
* [[February 11]] – [[Nelson Mandela]] is released from [[Victor Verster Prison]], near [[Cape Town]], South Africa, after 27 years behind bars.
* [[February 12]] – Representatives of [[NATO]] and the [[Warsaw Pact]] meet in [[Ottawa]] for an [[Treaty on Open Skies|"Open Skies" conference]]. The conference results in agreements about [[superpower]] troop levels in Europe and on [[German reunification]].
* [[February 13]]
** [[German reunification]]: An agreement is reached for a two-stage plan to reunite [[Germany]].
** [[Drexel Burnham Lambert]] files for bankruptcy protection, [[Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11]].
* [[February 14]]
** The [[Pale Blue Dot]] photograph of [[Earth]] is sent back from the ''[[Voyager 1]]'' probe after completing its primary mission, from around 5.6 billion kilometers (3.5 billion miles) away.
** [[Indian Airlines Flight 605]], an [[Airbus A320-231]] registered as VT-EPN, crashes shortly before landing killing 92 out of the 146 occupants onboard.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=Accident Airbus A320-231 VT-EPN, Wednesday 14 February 1990 |url=https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/326092 |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=asn.flightsafety.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Airbus A320-231 {{!}} Federal Aviation Administration |url=https://www.faa.gov/lessons_learned/transport_airplane/accidents/VT-EPN |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250221201028/https://www.faa.gov/lessons_learned/transport_airplane/accidents/VT-EPN |archive-date=2025-02-21 |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=www.faa.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Crash of an Airbus A320-231 in Bangalore: 92 killed {{!}} Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives |url=https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-airbus-a320-231-bangalore-92-killed |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=www.baaa-acro.com}}</ref>
* [[February 15]]
** The [[United Kingdom]] and [[Argentina]] restore diplomatic relations after 8 years. The UK had severed ties in response to Argentina's [[Falklands War|invasion]] of the [[Falkland Islands]], a [[British Overseas Territories|British Dependent Territory]], in [[1982]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Great Britain. Diplomatic Service Administration Office|title=The Diplomatic Service List|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tw7wAAAAMAAJ|year=2005|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office|isbn=978-0-11-591781-3|page=130}}</ref>
** In [[Cartagena, Colombia]], a summit is held between [[President of the United States]] [[George H. W. Bush]], [[President of Bolivia]] [[Jaime Paz Zamora]], [[President of Colombia]] [[Virgilio Barco Vargas]], and [[President of Peru]] [[Alan García]]. The leaders pledge additional cooperation in fighting international drug trafficking.
*[[February 21]] – [[Religion in Spain|Spain]] grants [[Protestantism]] and [[Judaism]] legal equality with the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 25, 1990 |title=Spain Extends Guarantees to Jews and Protestants |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/25/world/spain-extends-guarantees-to-jews-and-protestants.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[February 25]] – The [[Sandinistas]] are defeated in the [[Nicaragua]]n [[1990 Nicaraguan general election|elections]], with [[Violeta Chamorro]] elected as the new [[president of Nicaragua]] (the first elected woman president in the Americas), replacing [[Daniel Ortega]].
* [[February 26]] – The [[Soviet Union]] agrees to withdraw all 73,500 troops from [[Czechoslovakia]] by July, [[1991]].
* [[February 27]] – [[Exxon Valdez oil spill|Exxon ''Valdez'' oil spill]]: [[Exxon]] and its shipping company are indicted on 5 criminal counts.
* [[February 28]] – President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega announces a cease-fire with the U.S.-backed [[contras]].