Portal:Current events
Topics in the news
- Swiss bank UBS announces its intention to acquire its competitor Credit Suisse in a government-brokered deal.
- The International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Russian president Vladimir Putin (pictured) and Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova for the abduction of children from Ukraine.
- At the Academy Awards, Everything Everywhere All at Once wins seven awards, including Best Picture.
- Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to re-establish diplomatic relations, seven years after they were severed.
March 21, 2023
(Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Somali Civil War
- The Somali National Army and pro-government militants kill 30 al-Shabaab jihadists and injure scores of others while defending a military base in the south of the country. (Xinhua)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Hindu Kush earthquake
- An earthquake strikes Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province, killing at least 10 people, mostly in neighboring Pakistan. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- LGBT rights in Uganda
- The parliament of Uganda approves a bill with harsher provisions against homosexual relationships. The bill includes the charges of "aggravated homosexuality" and "attempted homosexuality" with penalties of up to 10 years in prison. (AP)
Health and environment
- Tanzania reports that five people have died from an outbreak of Marburg virus. The Health Ministry added that three others are being treated and that 161 people are being tracked by authorities, though it dismissed any serious concern for the country. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
March 20, 2023
(Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- The European Union approves a €2 billion plan to supply 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine. (The Washington Post) (Kyiv Post)
- Southern Ukraine campaign
- Ukraine's Ministry of Defence says that a Russian shipment of Kalibr cruise missiles was blown up as it was being transported by rail in Dzhankoi, Crimea. At least one person is reportedly injured. (Reuters)
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
Arts and culture
- Scientists discover a pearling town near Umm Al Quwain, United Arab Emirates. The town is considered to be the oldest ever found in the country, dating back to the 6th century. (Khaleej Times)
International relations
- China–Russia relations
- 2023 visit by Xi Jinping to Russia
- Chinese president Xi Jinping visits Russia in his first international trip since being re-elected, meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow. (Reuters)
- 2023 visit by Xi Jinping to Russia
- North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea conducts drills simulating a nuclear counterattack in response to joint amphibious landing exercises by the United States and South Korea. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- War crimes in Afghanistan
- Brereton Report
- A 41-year-old Australian former soldier is arrested and charged with the murder of an Afghan man while he was deployed in Afghanistan, becoming the first Australian military member to be charged following the release of the report. (CNN)
- Brereton Report
- XXXTentacion murder trial
- Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome, and Dedrick Williams are found guilty of first-degree murder for the 2018 shooting of rapper XXXTentacion. (The New York Times)
- More than 100 Sikh separatists are arrested during a three-day hunt by police in Punjab, India. The group's leader Amritpal Singh is still wanted. (Al Jazeera)
- South Africa prepares for a "nationwide shutdown" as the military is deployed ahead of protests by the Economic Freedom Fighters. (The Independent)
- The British government bans far-right Danish activist Rasmus Paludan from entering the United Kingdom over a threat to burn a Quran in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. (BBC News)
- Explosive devices disguised as USB flash drives are sent to least five news organizations in Ecuador; one journalist at Ecuavisa in Guayaquil suffers minor injuries. (The Guardian)
March 19, 2023
(Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Central African Republic Civil War
- Nine Chinese nationals are killed and two others are injured when suspected rebels storm the Chinese-run Chimbolo gold mine in Ouaka, Central African Republic. (AP)
Business and economy
- Acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS
- UBS Group AG, supported by the Swiss government, reaches a deal to merge with Credit Suisse as the latter faces imminent insolvency. (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- At least 19 people are killed and 25 others are injured when their bus falls into a ditch in Madaripur District, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. (WION)
Politics and elections
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian president Vladimir Putin visits Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, in Russian-occupied Ukraine, for the first time since the invasion began. (AP)
- 2023 Montenegrin presidential election
- Incumbent president Milo Đukanović wins the first round and will face Jakov Milatović in the runoff on 2 April. (Reuters)
- 2023 Kazakh legislative election
March 18, 2023
(Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian forces shell Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, with cluster munitions, killing at least two civilians and injuring five others. (Ukrinform)
- Attacks on civilians in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Guayas earthquake
- A 6.8 earthquake strikes the Ecuadorian province of Guayas, damaging buildings and killing at least sixteen people, including one in neighboring Peru. (The Guardian)
Law and crime
- Shah Cheragh attack
- A court in Iran sentences two men to death over the October 2022 mass shooting at the Shah Cheragh mosque in Shiraz, which killed 15 people. (Al Arabiya)
March 17, 2023
(Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- Slovakia announces that it will donate its MiG-29 fighter jets, and supply part of its Kub air-defense system to Ukraine. (Reuters)
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- Islamic State–Taliban conflict
- The Taliban kill several Islamic State – Khorasan Province insurgents and seize weapons and ammunitions during raids at hideouts in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province. (Xinhua)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Turkish floods
- Fourteen people are killed and at least 12 others are injured by a roof collapse at a cold storage warehouse in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, India. (Metro)
- Ten people are killed and three others are injured by a house fire in Kohistan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (AP)
International relations
- Enlargement of NATO
- Finland–Turkey relations
- Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces that Turkey will begin the process of ratifying Finland's membership of NATO without Sweden, which Turkey accuses of supporting the PKK. (Yle)
- Finland–Hungary relations
- Hungary announces that a vote on Finland's membership application will take place on March 27. Fidesz parlimentary group leader Máté Kocsis says that Sweden's application will be considered at a later date. (AFP via Barron's)
- Finland–Turkey relations
Law and crime
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, presidential commissioner for children's rights, for alleged war crimes involving the abduction and forced adoption of children from Ukraine. (AP)
Science and technology
- Censorship of TikTok, Internet censorship in New Zealand
- New Zealand bans the use of Chinese-owned video sharing app TikTok on all government devices. (The Guardian)
March 16, 2023
(Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- Poland announces that it will deliver four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, becoming the first NATO member state to send warplanes to Ukraine. (Sky News)
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Two militants including Islamic Jihad and Hamas commanders and two civilians are killed and five others are injured during a raid by Israeli security forces in the Jenin refugee camp, in the West Bank. (The Jerusalem Post) (Al Jazeera)
- Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Eight militants and two civilian children are killed during a military operation by the Pakistan Army in Zinghara, South Waziristan. (Xinhua)
- Libyan Crisis
- The Libyan National Army says that it has found about two and a half tonnes of uranium ore contained in ten drums, near the border with Chad, that was reported missing by the International Atomic Energy Agency. (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- 2022–23 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Cyclone Freddy
- The death toll from Cyclone Freddy increases to over 300, with most of the deaths occurring in Malawi. (Al Jazeera)
- Cyclone Freddy
Law and crime
- Two police officers are killed by a 16-year-old gunman while responding to a domestic dispute call at an apartment complex in Inglewood, Edmonton, Canada. The perpetrator kills himself after seriously wounding his mother. (CBC News)
- Over 220 Brazilian National Guardsmen are deployed to the northeastern states of Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba after riots caused by imprisoned gang members result in three deaths and class cancellations in both states. (AP)
Politics and elections
- 2023 French pension reform strikes
- French President Emmanuel Macron invokes a Constitutional amendment allowing him to circumvent the National Assembly in order to pass a controversial reform bill raising the retirement age in the country from 62 to 64, without the bill going to a vote. (The New York Times)
- The Moldovan parliament approves a law that formally declares the country's official language as Romanian. (Reuters)
Science and technology
- Censorship of TikTok, Internet censorship in the United Kingdom
- The British government bans the use of Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok on all government devices, citing security concerns. (Sky News)
March 15, 2023
(Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- A man accused of being the perpetrator of an explosion at the Megiddo Junction which injured a civilian two days ago is shot and killed by Israeli soldiers. The man is believed to have crossed into northern Israel from Lebanon. (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- 2022–23 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Twenty-one people are killed by a coal mine explosion in Sutatausa, Cundinamarca, Colombia. (El País)
- 2023 Turkish floods
- Twelve people in Şanlıurfa and two in Adıyaman, Turkey, are killed by floods caused by heavy rain. (BBC News)
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