Portal:Current events/2018 March 20

March 20, 2018 (2018-03-20) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian Civil War
  • A rocket fired from rebel-held Eastern Ghouta strikes a popular market in Damascus, killing at least 35 people, according to Syrian state TV SANA. (Reuters) (Channel News Asia)
• Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tells Parliament DNA testing on remains in a mass grave in Iraq confirms 39 Indian nationals believed to have been kidnapped by ISIL have been killed. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

• Weinstein effect
  • After a series of allegations of sexual misconduct against co-founder Harvey Weinstein, The Weinstein Company files for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company also states that it will release all employees from a non-disclosure agreement which could prevent them from coming forward regarding the alleged misconduct of Weinstein. (CNN)
• Economy of India
  • Aircel, India's fifth-largest wireless provider, declares bankruptcy. (CNN)

Disasters and incidents

• RAF Valley Red Arrow crash
  • A Red Arrows jet crashes in North Wales, killing an engineer. (The Scotsman)
• History of autonomous cars
  • Toyota pulls all its self-driving cars off U.S. roads in the wake of a fatal accident involving an Uber vehicle. (The Verge)
• The World Health Organisation says a listeria outbreak spread via infected food responsible for 200 deaths in South Africa may have spread to Namibia. The organisation reaches out to 16 African nations it assesses as at risk. (CBC)
• A bus fell off a bridge in Occidental Mindoro, Philippines, killing at least 19 people and injuring 21 others. (Rappler)

International relations

• 2017–18 North Korea crisis
  • Delegations from North Korea, South Korea, and the United States meet in the outskirts of Helsinki, Finland. (Reuters)
• China–Japan relations, China–South Korea relations, Japan–South Korea relations
  • Japan, China, and South Korea agree in principal to hold a trilateral summit in May. (SCMP)
• South Korea–United States relations
  • South Korea and the United States announce that the Foal Eagle and Key Resolve military drills will start on April 1 and last for four weeks. (ABC News)
• United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel
  • Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas insults U.S. Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman, calling him a "son of a dog" when he says Israeli settlers build on their land in the occupied West Bank. The U.S. warns Abbas to "choose between hate and peace". (The Kuwait Times) (Jerusalem Online) (The Telegraph)
• Cyprus problem
  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asserts his nation will secure Northern Cyprus' access to natural hydrocarbon resources off the Cypriot coast. The comments come amid disputes as to sovereign rights and access to offshore resources on the island. (The Daily Sabah)
• Brexit negotiations
  • The Court of Session allows an appeal by a cross-party group of Scottish politicians seeking court permission for a referral to the European Court of Justice. The group wish for a ruling that the UK can abandon Brexit without permission from the European Union's other member states. A lower court will examine the claim. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

• Austin serial bombings
  • A bomb detonates overnight at a FedEx facility in San Antonio, Texas, United States. The FBI believes the bombing is linked to the other bombings in the area. The ATF reports that there were no serious injuries. Both the bomb's point of origin and intended destination were in Austin. (CNN) (NPR)
  • A second package presumed to have been sent by the bomber is discovered in a FedEx facility near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. (New York Times)
  • Another bomb explodes at a Goodwill store in Austin, injuring one person. (ABC)
• School shootings in the United States
  • A shooting occurs at Great Mills High School in Great Mills, Maryland. Two students are reported injured; the shooter is killed by police. (CNN)
• Crime in France
  • Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is held for up to 48 hours and questioned by police in Nanterre over allegations that he illegally accepted €50 million from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to finance his bid in the 2007 presidential election. (NPR)
• Shooting of Justine Damond
  • Minneapolis Police formally charge Mohamed Noor with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the shooting death of Justine Damond. (Star Tribune)
• Human rights in Turkey
  • The United Nations issues a report calling for an end to the nation's state of emergency, claiming it has been used to violate human rights. Turkey responds, calling the report "biased" and "unacceptable". (al-Jazeera)
  • The European Court of Human Rights says that Turkish authorities violated the rights of journalists Mehmet Altan and Sahin Alpay when they were arrested in the aftermath of a failed coup. The court ruled the men, one of whom is now serving life, were innocent and had had their rights to freedom of expression and to liberty had been violated. (Euronews)
• Legal status of cryptocurrencies
  • U.S. President Donald Trump issues an executive order banning U.S. entities from trading in the Venezuelan Petro cryptocurrency. Trump calls the digital currency, launched last month, an "attempt to circumvent U.S. sanctions". (al-Jazeera)

Politics and elections

• Norwegian justice minister Sylvi Listhaug resigns amid controversy over remarks on human rights and national security. (The Guardian)
• Protests continue in Slovakia after last week's collapse of the government, which included the resignation of Prime Minister Robert Fico. (NPR)

Science and technology

• Eschatology in Norse mythology
  • Analysis of ancient ice cores extracted from Greenland dates an eruption on Eldgjá volcano in Iceland. Iceland's largest eruption in the last 2,000 years was described in ancient poem Völuspá. (Infosurhoy)
• Extinction threshold
  • Sudan, the last known male Northern white rhinoceros, dies in captivity, leaving two females as the only surviving members of the subspecies. (BBC)
• ESA missions
  • The European Space Agency announces a mission to study the atmospheres of exoplanets. Known as ARIEL, it is expected to launch in 2028. (BBC)
• Japan announces a fund worth US$940 million to encourage the foundation of new companies involved in space exploration. (CNBC)

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