March 2023 was the third month of that common year. The month, which began on a Wednesday, ended on a Friday after 31 days.
This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from March 2023.
March 1, 2023 (Wednesday)
Disasters and accidents
- Two people are killed when a boat carrying around 30 migrants capsizes near the coast of Kos, Greece. (AP)
International relations
- Havana syndrome
- A two-year investigation by seven U.S. intelligence agencies concludes it is "very unlikely" that Russia or another country was responsible for the "Havana syndrome" that affected U.S. diplomats and spies. Instead, "medical, environmental and social factors can explain" many symptoms. (AP) (Reuters)
- Enlargement of NATO
- Finland–NATO relations
- The Finnish Parliament votes 184–7 to formally approve the country's accession to NATO, and to adopt the military alliance's founding documents. Hungary and Turkey have yet to approve Finland's membership. (Euractiv)
- Finland–NATO relations
Law and crime
- Disappearance of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon
- Constance Marten and Mark Gordon's baby's remains are found hidden in a shed two days after the couple were found and arrested. The couple are charged with gross negligence manslaughter. It is believed the baby was dead for some time before it was found. (BBC News)
Politics and elections
- Tempi train crash
- Greek Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigns in response to last night's train wreck in Tempi that killed more than 50 people. (ABC News)
Science and technology
- Thousands of users of Twitter worldwide report issues on using the social media platform including the inability to view new posts on their main timelines. (BBC News)
- Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă unveils an AI-run "honorary advisor" named Ion, which will synthesize submissions by Romanians relating to their "opinions and desires". Ciucă says that this makes Romania the first country in the world to have an AI government advisor. (Politico.eu)
March 2, 2023 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022–23 Western Russia attacks
- Attacks on civilians in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the city of Zaporizhzhia kills three civilians and injures at least four others, according to Ukrainian police. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- Six people are killed and five others are injured by a methane explosion in Harnai District, Balochistan, Pakistan. (AP)
- Twenty people are injured by severe turbulence on a Condor flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Mauritius. (AP)
International relations
- Brazil–Israel relations
- Israel criticizes the government of Brazil for allowing two Iranian warships to dock in Rio de Janeiro and urges Brazil to send the warships away calling it a "dangerous and regretful development". (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Vietnamese presidential election
- The National Assembly of Vietnam elects Võ Văn Thưởng as the country's new president, succeeding Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. (Nikkei Asia)
March 3, 2023 (Friday)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Plumpang oil depot fire
- Seventeen people are killed and fifty others are injured in a fire at a fuel storage station in Koja, Jakarta, Indonesia. (Reuters)
- Sixteen people are killed when a pipeline explodes in Emohua, Rivers State, Nigeria. (AP)
- One person is killed in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States, and more than 310,000 people are left without power across five states due to a system of storms affecting the area. (WAPT-TV) (CNN)
Law and crime
- A court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, sentences opposition figure Kem Sokha to 27 years in prison on charges of "collusion with foreigners" and treason. (The Guardian)
- A court in Minsk, Belarus, sentences human rights activist and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski to 10 years in prison on charges of "financing actions violating public order" and smuggling. (AP)
March 4, 2023 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Battle of Bakhmut
- Heavy street fighting takes place between Russian and Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast. The city's deputy mayor Oleksandr Marchenko says that "not a single building" has remained untouched by fighting, and that the city is "almost destroyed". (BBC News)
- In a rare high-level visit to the Donbas, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is filmed inspecting troops in "the eastern military district in the south Donetsk direction". (The Guardian)
- Battle of Bakhmut
- Kivu conflict
- Burundi deploys 100 troops to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to help the country fight insurgencies by militias, including M23. (AFP via The East African)
Disasters and accidents
- Seven people are killed and 17 others are injured in a fire and subsequent explosion at an oxygen plant in Sitakunda, Bangladesh. (Dhaka Tribune)
- Twenty-one people are injured in a bus crash in Corps, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. (AP)
- A Norfolk Southern train derails in Clark County, Ohio, United States, with local residents advised to shelter in place. The derailment comes just over one month after the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio. However, no hazardous materials are known to be involved in the Clark County derailment. (WDTN-TV)
International relations
- United Nations member states finalize the text of the High Seas Treaty, which aims to declare 30% of the world's oceans marine protected areas by 2030. (BBC News)
Law and crime
- Assassination of Roel Degamo
- Nine people, including Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo, are killed by unknown gunmen in Degamo's home in Pamplona, Philippines. (AFP via The Bangkok Post) (SunStar)
March 5, 2023 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- Three Armenian police officers and two Azerbaijani soldiers are killed during border clashes near the Lachin Corridor. Both countries accuse the other of opening fire first. (DW)
- Yemeni civil war
- Jihadist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula acknowledges that a senior leader was killed in a recent airstrike by the United States Air Force in Yemen. (WION)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Kutupalong refugee camp fire
- More than 2,000 shelters are destroyed in a fire in Kutupalong refugee camp, Ukhia, Cox's Bazar, Chittagong Division, Bangladesh. (BBC News)
- Two people are killed and nine others are injured in a human stampede at a GloRilla concert in Rochester, New York, United States. (AP)
Politics and elections
March 6, 2023 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Insurgency in Balochistan, Terrorism in Pakistan
- Bolan suicide bombing
- At least nine police officers are killed and 16 other people are injured in Sibi District, Balochistan, Pakistan, when a separatist suicide bomber riding on a motorcycle rams a police vehicle. (DW)
- Bolan suicide bombing
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Five Palestinians are injured by Israeli settlers attacking a family on a street in Huwara, in the West Bank. Twenty-five Palestinians are injured by tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers during the attack. (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Serasan landslide
- Eleven people are killed and an estimated 50 others are missing when a landslide buries houses in Natuna Regency, Riau Islands, Indonesia. (Reuters)
International relations
- Canada–China relations
- 2019 Canadian Parliament infiltration plot
- Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau appoints an independent special rapporteur to investigate alleged foreign electoral intervention by the Chinese government in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)
- 2019 Canadian Parliament infiltration plot
- Japan–South Korea relations
- South Korea agrees to pay compensation to citizens who were forced to work in Japanese factories during World War II. (BBC News)
Law and crime
- A court in Belarus sentences five opposition politicians after a trial in absentia. Pavel Latushka is sentenced to 18 years, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to 15 years, and Maryya Maroz, Volha Kavalkova and Siarhei Dylevski to 12 years each. (AP)
Politics and elections
- 2023 transport strike in the Philippines
- Operators of traditional public jeepneys and minivans that are opposed to the implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program organize a weeklong nationwide strike in the Philippines. (Rappler)
- 2023 Turkish presidential election
- The Republican People's Party, Turkey's main opposition party, nominates its leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as its candidate in the upcoming election. (The New York Times)
March 7, 2023 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war
- Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war
- Israeli warplanes strike Syria's Aleppo International Airport with air-to-surface missiles, damaging the runway and putting the airport out of service. The Syrian transport ministry says that the delivery of humanitarian aid to Idlib will be rerouted to Bassel Al-Assad International Airport in Latakia Governorate following the strike. (Al Jazeera)
- Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- At least six members of the Palestinian militant group Jenin Brigades are killed by Israeli soldiers during a raid in Jenin, West Bank. Among those killed is the killer of two Israeli settlers last month. (AFP via France 24)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Gulistan explosion
- At least 18 people are killed and more than 140 others are injured by an explosion at a commercial seven-story building in Gulistan, Dhaka, Bangladesh. (AFP via VOA)
- 2022–23 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Cyclone Freddy becomes the longest lasting tropical cyclone on record, breaking the record previously held by Hurricane John (1994) which lasted 31 days.(CNN)
- A Piper J-3 Cub and Cherokee Piper 161 collide in midair over Lake Hartridge in Florida, United States, killing four people. (AP via KCBD-TV)
Law and crime
- 2023 Georgian protests
- Violent protests occur in Georgia in opposition to a new law regarding foreign agents. Police are reported to be using water cannons and tear gas to control the protesters. (ABC News)
- 2023 Matamoros kidnappings
- Two Americans are found dead, and two alive, after they had been kidnapped in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, four days earlier. (BBC News)
- Argentine President Alberto Fernández announces the deployment of hundreds of federal security forces to the city of Rosario after an increase in violence between rival drug gangs. (AP)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Micronesian parliamentary election
- Citizens in the Federated States of Micronesia head to the polls to elect the 14 members of the Congress. (RNZ)
- 2023 transport strike in the Philippines
- Transport groups in the Philippines decide to end a one-week strike on its second day, following a meeting with Palace officials in relation to the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program. (The Philippine Star)
Science and technology
- English architect David Chipperfield wins the 2023 Pritzker Architecture Prize. (CNN)
March 8, 2023 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Kivu conflict
- Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- Mukondi massacre
- Allied Democratic Forces jihadist insurgents use machetes to kill about 40 people in the village of Mukondi, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters)
- Mukondi massacre
- Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- Syrian civil war
- Iranian involvement in the Syrian civil war
- A drone strike on a Iranian-backed weapons factory by an unknown attacker in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria, kills seven people and injures 15 others, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which describes the dead as three Afghan fighters, three Syrian civilians and one unidentified Syrian. (Arab News)
- Iranian involvement in the Syrian civil war
Business and economy
- March 2023 United States bank failures
- American commercial bank and cryptocurrency services provider Silvergate Bank winds down its operations and liquidates its assets. (CNBC)
Law and crime
- Foreign nationals detained in Iran
- Killing of Breonna Taylor
- The United States Department of Justice finds "reasonable cause to believe" that the Louisville Metro Police Department violated citizens' civil rights. The investigation was started in response to the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor. (BBC News)
March 9, 2023 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022–2023 Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- Russia launches cruise missiles at targets across Ukraine. Buildings and critical infrastructure are damaged, and at least five civilians were killed in Lviv Oblast when a missile destroyed their home, according to the region's governor Maksym Kozytskyy. (BBC News)
- 2022–2023 Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- Afghanistan conflict
- Islamic State–Taliban conflict
- Daud Muzamil, the Taliban-appointed governor of Balkh Province, is killed by an Islamic State suicide bomber at his office in Mazar-i-Sharif. Two civilians are also killed during the attack and four others wounded. (TOLO News) (Al Arabiya)
- Islamic State–Taliban conflict
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Three Palestinian Islamic Jihad members are killed by Israeli special units during a operation in Jenin, West Bank. (Al Jazeera) (The Times of Israel)
- Three people are wounded by a shooting on Dizengoff Street, in Tel Aviv. The perpetrator is killed by police. (Al Jazeera)
- Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
- Eleven people are killed and four others are injured during an operation to retake territory in northeast Burkina Faso. (Reuters)
- Boko Haram insurgency
- At least 25 people are killed when Boko Haram gunmen storm a fishing village in Dikwa, Borno, Nigeria. (Reuters)
Business and economy
- The Belgian government announces a ban on gambling advertising, citing an increase in gambling addiction. Beginning in 2028, gambling companies will also no longer be able to sponsor professional sports clubs. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- Six people are killed and at least 79 others are injured in a collision between a train and a bus transporting civil servants to work in Lagos, Nigeria. (BBC News)
- The wreckage of a Cessna 206 that was reported missing on January 24 in Isabela, Philippines, is found in Divilacan, with all six people aboard confirmed dead. Retrieval operations are ongoing. (Manila Bulletin)
- Three people are killed when a mine tunnel collapses in Catalonia, Spain. (AP)
- Fourteen people are killed and 54 others are rescued after a boat carrying migrants sinks off the Tunisian coast. (AP)
Law and crime
- 2023 Hamburg shooting
- Six people and an unborn baby are killed, and eight others are injured, in a mass shooting at a Jehovah's Witnesses centre in Hamburg, Germany. The perpetrator kills himself after the shooting. (The Guardian)
- 2023 Georgian protests
- Georgia's ruling party announces that it will withdraw a controversial bill concerning foreign agents which had prompted days of protests across the country. (MSN)
- 2023 Matamoros kidnappings
- Mexico's Gulf Cartel surrenders five purported perpetrators of last weekend's kidnapping of four U.S. citizens in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and offers an apology to the victims, their families, and society in general. (BBC News)
- LGBT rights in Uganda
- The parliament of Uganda begins debate on a proposed bill that would criminalize people identifying as part of the LGBTQ community with up to 10 years in prison. The bill would also criminalize the "promotion" of homosexuality and "abetting" or "conspiring" to engage in same-sex relations. (Reuters)
- Capital punishment in Belarus
- President Alexander Lukashenko signs a bill into law which allows the use of the death penalty on officials and military servicemen convicted of high treason.(CNA)
Politics and elections
- 2023 French pension reform strikes
- The French Senate votes 201–115 to raise the legal retirement age in France from 62 to 64 despite mass strikes against the change. (Reuters)
- 2023 Nepalese presidential election
- Ram Chandra Poudel, of the Nepali Congress party, is elected president of Nepal by the Electoral College, succeding Bidya Devi Bhandari. (Reuters)
- Petr Pavel is inaugurated as the fourth president of the Czech Republic. (Reuters)
March 10, 2023 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A Palestinian man is shot dead by an Israeli settler near a farm in Karnei Shomron, in the West Bank. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claims that the Palestinian man was armed at the time. (Al Jazeera)
- Kivu conflict
- Angola announces that it will deploy troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the failure of a ceasefire between government forces and M23 rebels in North Kivu. (BBC News)
Arts and culture
- Prince Edward is named as the new Duke of Edinburgh by King Charles III. The title was previously held by his father, Prince Philip. (BBC News)
Business and economy
- March 2023 United States bank failures
- Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank
- American commercial bank Silicon Valley Bank is forcibly shut down by regulators for the U.S. state of California, and its assets controlled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, after the bank failed to raise enough capital and a subsequent bank run occurred. With assets totalling US$209 billion, the bank's closure is the second-largest bank failure in American history. (CNN) (The Independent)
- Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank
Disasters and accidents
- Ten people are killed and nine others are missing after a tractor-trolley falls into a canal in Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab, Pakistan. (AP)
International relations
- Iran–Saudi Arabia relations
- Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to resume diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies within the next two months, following diplomatic talks in Beijing brokered by China. (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
- Corruption in Malaysia
- Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin is charged with corruption and abuse of power by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission over a COVID-19 subsidy programme. (CNA)
Politics and elections
- 2023 People's Republic of China presidential election
- Xi Jinping is re-elected to a third term as president. (The Guardian)
March 11, 2023 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Afghanistan conflict
- A security guard is killed and eight other people are injured by an explosion in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province, Afghanistan. (Reuters)
- Herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria
- Sixteen people are killed by Fula gunmen at a police checkpoint in Zangon Kataf, Kaduna State, Nigeria. (AP)
Disasters and accidents
- Indonesia's Merapi volcano erupts. Eight villages have been affected by volcanic ash. (Reuters) (AFP)
- Eight miners are killed in Geita Region, Tanzania, when their pit is flooded with rainwater. (Xinhua)
- At least eight people are killed in a collision between two boats near Black's Beach in San Diego, California, United States. (Los Angeles Times)
Politics and elections
- 14th National People's Congress
- Li Qiang is elected as Premier of the People's Republic of China, succeeding Li Keqiang. (BBC News)
Sports
- 2022–23 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup
- Mikaela Shiffrin becomes the world's most successful alpine skier with her 87th World Cup victory. (Reuters)
March 12, 2023 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war
- Israeli airstrikes at a weapons depot in Masyaf, Hama Governorate, Syria, kill a Syrian soldier and two pro-Iranian militants. (Arab News)
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli soldiers kill three Palestinian gunmen near Nablus, West Bank, after coming under fire. (The Guardian)
- Kivu conflict
- Nineteen people are killed by suspected Islamist insurgents in Kirindera, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters)
Arts and culture
- 95th Academy Awards
- At this year's Oscars, Everything Everywhere All at Once wins seven awards, including Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. (Variety)
- Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh becomes the first Asian to win the Best Actress award for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)
Business and economy
- March 2023 United States bank failures
- Collapse of Signature Bank
- New York-based commercial bank Signature Bank is closed down after a bank run on its deposits, and is taken into receivership by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. (Reuters)
- Collapse of Signature Bank
- Transport in Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman formally announces the establishment of Riyadh Air, a new flag carrier airline of Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- At least 22 people are killed and two others are reported missing after a boat heading to Mayotte capsizes off the coast of Madagascar. (Reuters)
- Thirty people are reported missing after a boat carrying migrants from Libya capsizes while crossing the Mediterranean Sea. (Reuters)
March 13, 2023 (Monday)
Disasters and accidents
- 2022–23 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Cyclone Freddy
- Cyclone Freddy kills at least 99 people in Malawi, including 85 people in Blantyre. It is the longest-lived tropical cyclone on record, according to the WMO, having formed on February 4. (The Guardian)
- Cyclone Freddy
- Thirty-four people are killed after a boat carrying migrants from Madagascar to the island of Mayotte sinks. (Arab News)
- One person is killed and three others are injured by an apparent gas explosion in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. (BBC News)
Law and crime
- 2023 Amqui truck attack
- Two people are killed and nine others are injured when a truck strikes a group of pedestrians in Amqui, Quebec, Canada. (CBS News)
Politics and elections
March 14, 2023 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russia–United States relations
- 2023 Black Sea drone incident
- Russian Air Force Su-27 fighter jets "intercept and hit" a United States Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea, with the collision damaging the drone's propeller and causing the United States to crash the drone into international waters. (The Washington Post) (Reuters)
- 2023 Black Sea drone incident
- Somali Civil War
- At least five people are killed and 11 others are injured, including Gedo governor Ahmed Bulle Gared, when a suicide car bomber drives into a guest house in Bardera, Jubaland, Somalia. (AFP via Barron's)
Business and economy
- 2021–2023 inflation surge
- Meta Platforms announces plans to cut 10,000 more jobs across its workforce, citing "higher interest rates in the United States, global geopolitical instability and increased regulation" as the reason for the layoffs. (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Serasan landslide
- The death toll from the landslide in Serasan, Indonesia, increases to 50 people. (CNN Indonesia)
Law and crime
- 2023 Imran Khan arrest protests
- Protests occur in Pakistan over the possible arrest of PTI chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan. (livemint)
- Lithuania's Seimas votes to recognize Russian paramilitary force Wagner Group as a terrorist organization, citing the group's "numerous crimes" in Ukraine, including the killing and torturing of civilians. (RFE/RL)
- Ecuadorian lawmakers unanimously vote to declassify documents in continuing efforts to impeach President Guillermo Lasso for corruption. (Reuters)
International relations
- China–Honduras relations, Foreign relations of Taiwan
- President Xiomara Castro announces that Honduras will stop recognizing Taiwan and will start recognizing the People's Republic of China as the sole Chinese state. (AP)
- Ecuador withdraws its ambassador from Argentina in protest at the latter sheltering Ecuadorian politician María de los Ángeles Duarte since 2020, refusing to give information of her whereabouts. Hours later, Argentina also withdraws its ambassador from Ecuador, escalating diplomatic tensions between the two nations. (Infobae)
Science and technology
- Timeline of artificial intelligence
- OpenAI launches GPT-4, the next generation large language model for artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT. The new model can respond to images, and has the ability to process up to 25,000 words. (BBC 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)
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 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 parliamentary 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
- ICC arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova
- 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)
- ICC arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova
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)
Sports
- 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
- 2023 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Purdue men's basketball game
- No. 1 seed Purdue is defeated 58–63 by No 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, only the second time a 16 seed has defeated a 1 seed in the tournament's history and the first time since 2018. (USA Today)
- 2023 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Purdue men's basketball game
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, killing at least 18 people, including two in neighboring Peru, and injuring over 400. (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 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)
Health and environment
- Millions of tons of Sargassum inundate coastlines around the Caribbean. (The Guardian)
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 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 ruins of 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)
Health and environment
- Climate change
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change completes its Sixth Assessment Report, summarizing actions humans must take now for a 50% chance to avoid irreversible climate change by 2030. (The Guardian)
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)
- Censorship in the United Kingdom
- 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 21, 2023 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia–United Kingdom relations
- The United Kingdom confirms that it will provide Ukraine with depleted uranium armour-piercing shells, alongside its Challenger 2 main battle tanks, saying that there is a "low risk" of radiation contamination. Russian president Vladimir Putin says Russia would be "forced to react" to the British move. (BBC News) (BBC News)
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia–United Kingdom relations
- Somali Civil War
- The Somali National Army and pro-government militants kill 30 al-Shabaab jihadists and injure many others while defending a military base in the south of the country. (Xinhua)
- 2018–2023 Haitian crisis
- The United Nations reports that 187 people have been killed in a wave of violence in Haiti in the past eleven days during clashes between gangs. Since the beginning of the year, 531 people have been murdered in the country. (AP) (France24)
Arts and culture
- List of national monuments of the United States
- President of the United States Joe Biden designates two new national monuments, Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada and Castner Range in Texas. (Reuters via Al Arabiya)
- Utah adopts a new flag after the governor officializes it. It will come into official use in March of 2024. (The Washington Post)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Badakhshan earthquake
- An earthquake strikes Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province, killing at least 30 people and injuring over 300. 20 deaths are in neighboring Pakistan. (BBC News)
Health and environment
- 2022–2023 mpox outbreak
- Around three new cases of mpox are discovered in Thailand. (Thai PBS World)
- 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, although the ministry stated that this is not of serious concern for the country. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
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 sentences of up to 10 years in prison. (AP)
Science and technology
- Astrobiology
- Scientists find the presence of uracil, one of the components of RNA, and vitamin B3 in the samples from asteroid 162173 Ryugu. (CNN)
Sports
- 2023 World Baseball Classic championship
- The World Baseball Classic concludes with Japan defeating the United States for the championship. (Japan Times)
March 22, 2023 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Zaporizhzhia residential building airstrikes
- A Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the city of Zaporizhzhia kills a civilian and injures 25 others. (AP)
- A Russian drone strike in Rzhyshchiv kills at least nine civilians and injures 29 others. (Yahoo)
- Zaporizhzhia residential building airstrikes
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Yemeni Civil War
- Ten Yemeni soldiers are killed by Houthi Islamists in Harib District, Marib Governorate, despite a truce reached between the government and the rebels on Monday. (AFP via France 24)
- Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
- Ten volunteers and four Burkina Faso Armed Forces soldiers are killed during an ambush in Centre-Nord Region, Burkina Faso. Twenty attackers are killed. (France24)
Disasters and accidents
Politics and elections
- 2023 vote of no confidence in the government of Pedro Sánchez
- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's government survives a second vote of no confidence presented by far-right party Vox, with independent Ramón Tamames as its candidate. (El Periódico)
Science and technology
- Argentine mathematician Luis Caffarelli wins this year's Abel Prize "for his seminal contributions to regularity theory for nonlinear partial differential equations including free-boundary problems and the Monge–Ampère equation". He becomes the first Latin American to win this prize. (The Guardian)
- American engineer Robert Metcalfe wins this year's Turing Award for the invention of Ethernet. (Reuters)
March 23, 2023 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war
- 2023 Syria clashes
- A United States contractor is killed and five others are injured when a drone hits a U.S. base near Al-Hasakah in northern Syria. The United States responds with airstrikes on Iranian-linked targets, killing eleven people. (Al Jazeera)
- 2023 Syria clashes
- Armed conflict for control of the favelas in Greater Rio de Janeiro
- A police raid in a favela in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, results in the deaths of 13 people and the capture of two Comando Vermelho gang leaders from the northern states of Pará and Sergipe. (Barron's)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Tunisia migrant boat disaster
- Five people are killed when migrant boats sink off the coast of Sfax, Tunisia. (Reuters)
Health and environment
- Equatorial Guinea confirms eight new cases of the Marburg virus, bringing the total cases to nine in the country. (AP)
Law and crime
- 2023 French pension reform strikes
- Riots occur across France a day after President Emmanuel Macron gives a speech on pension reform. The entrance to City Hall in Bordeaux is set on fire. (Le Monde)
- Freedom of expression in India
- Former Indian National Congress president Rahul Gandhi is sentenced to two years in prison for defaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a campaign rally in April 2019. (BBC News)
- A 28-year-old Muslim man is charged by West Midlands Police with attempted murder for immolating two elderly Muslim men outside of mosques in London and Birmingham, United Kingdom, on 27 February and 20 March. (Al Jazeera)
Science and technology
- The world's first rocket made by extensive 3D printing, Terran 1, makes its first launch but fails to reach orbit. (NYT)
Sports
- World Athletics bans trans women who have gone through male puberty from competing in female events. (BBC Sport)
March 24, 2023 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war
- 2023 Syria clashes
- A rocket attack targets a U.S. military base in Syria in retaliation for retaliatory airstrikes from the United States hours earlier. No damages or casualties are reported. (Al Arabiya)
- Fifteen people are killed and 40 others are kidnapped in Hama Governorate during an ambush on truffle hunters by Islamic State members. (UCA News)
- 2023 Syria clashes
Disasters and accidents
- Tornado outbreak of March 24, 2023
- At least 23 people are killed after a series of violent tornadoes impact the U.S. state of Mississippi. (BBC News)
- 2023 Pennsylvania chocolate factory explosion
- Seven people are killed and many others are injured after an explosion at a chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania, United States. (The Guardian)
- Illegal immigration to the United States
- Twelve people are injured and 30 houses were damaged by a tornado in Fazilka district, Punjab, India. (Devdiscourse)
Law and crime
- Assassination of Jovenel Moïse
- A dual Haitian-Chilean citizen pleads guilty to three murder-related charges in a court in the United States over his role in the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moïse. (Reuters)
- 2019 Samoa assassination plot
- Two men are found guilty of conspiring to kill the former Prime Minister Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi after a trial before the country's Supreme Court. (RNZ)
March 25, 2023 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Yemeni Civil War
- Three Yemeni soldiers are killed and several others are injured by a Houthi drone attack on a convoy carrying government officials, including Yemen's defense minister. (Xinhua)
Disasters and accidents
- Pokhran missile incident
- Three surface-to-air missiles are misfired by the Indian Army during an exercise in the Pokhran ranges in the western Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan, India. There are no reports of damage or casualties. (Dawn)
- Tornado outbreak of March 24–25, 2023
- A deadly tornado outbreak hits Mississippi, United States, killing at least 26 people, devastating several rural towns, and prompting Governor Tate Reeves to declare a state of emergency, while President Joe Biden promises federal assistance. (BBC News)
- Three people are killed by heavy snow and rainfall in Afghanistan. (AP)
- One person is killed and three others are injured in a train crash at Galați railway station in Romania. (Digi24)
International relations
- Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- 2022–2023 blockade of the Republic of Artsakh
- The Ministry of Defence in Russia accuses Azerbaijan of violating the 2020 ceasefire agreement after a unit of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces crosses the Line of Contact in Shushi Province, Artsakh, and seizes control of dirt roads near the Lachin corridor. (France 24)
- 2022–2023 blockade of the Republic of Artsakh
- Russia and weapons of mass destruction, Belarus–Russia relations
- Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus by July. The nuclear missiles will be operated by Russian forces. It will be the first time that Russian nuclear weapons have been deployed abroad since 1996. (BBC News) (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, says that more than 5,000 prisoners have been pardoned following the completion of their contracts in Ukraine. (Reuters)
- Corruption in Venezuela
- Twenty-one Venezuelan government officials and businessmen are arrested in an anti-corruption probe targeting state oil company PDVSA and cryptocurrency regulator Sunacrip. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- 2023 New South Wales state election
- Labor is declared the winner after Chris Minns wins at least 47 seats. Premier Dominic Perrottet concedes defeat and resigns as Liberal leader. (Reuters) (Bloomberg)
Science and technology
- Asteroid 2023 DZ2 makes a close pass between the Earth and the Moon. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
- The einstein problem is solved by a single shape that tiles a plane without repeating. (Science News) (New Scientist)
March 26, 2023 (Sunday)
Disasters and accidents
- Mediterranean Sea migrant smuggling
- At least 29 sub-Saharan Africans are killed when two boats sink off the coast of Tunisia. (France 24)
- Tornado outbreak of March 24–26, 2023
- U.S. President Joe Biden approves an emergency declaration for the state of Mississippi following a storm that killed at least 26 people and caused significant damage, granting federal aid to affected areas of the state. Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, and Sharkey counties will be the main recipients. (Reuters)
- Two people are killed and another is missing after a fire breaks out on an oil tanker ship near West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. (Reuters)
Health and environment
- A pipeline leak causes an oil spill at Poole Harbour in Dorset, England, in which more than 200 barrels of reservoir fluids, including oil, leak into a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The RSPB reported sightings of oiled birds. (BBC News)
International relations
- China–Honduras relations
- Honduras switches its formal diplomatic recognition of "China" from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Cuban parliamentary election
- Citizens in Cuba head to the polls to elect the members of the National Assembly. (Bloomberg via Yahoo! News)
- 2023 Turkmen parliamentary election
- Citizens in Turkmenistan head to the polls to elect the 125 members of the Assembly. (MenaFN)
- 2023 Israeli judicial reform protests
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after Gallant called on the government to pause discussions on a controversial judicial reform bill. (MSN)
March 27, 2023 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Russian missile strike on Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast, kills at least two civilians and injures 29 others. (Euronews)
- The head of the Blagodarnensky District in Stavropol Krai, Russia, announces the death of Dmitry Lisitsky, commander of a battalion of the 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment who participated in the 2014 Battle of Ilovaisk. Ukraine says that he was killed in battle while pro-Russian sources say that he committed suicide. (Novaya Gazeta Europe)
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Afghanistan conflict
- Six people are killed and several others are injured when a suicide bomber detonates himself near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Al Jazeera)
Disasters and accidents
- At least seven people are killed by a landslide in Alausí, Chimborazo Province, Ecuador. (BBC News)
- A train transporting hazardous materials derails near Wyndmere, North Dakota, United States, with 31 out of 70 train cars damaged. (KARE-TV)
- Eleven people are killed after a fire breaks out in a warehouse in Cang County, Hebei, China. (AP)
- Twenty people are killed and around 29 others are injured after a bus crashes and overturns in 'Asir Province, Saudi Arabia. (Al Jazeera)
International relations
- Foreign relations of Taiwan
- Cross-Strait relations
- Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou becomes the first Taiwanese leader to visit mainland China since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, meeting with China's Taiwan Affairs Office deputy chair Chen Yuanfeng in Shanghai. Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party criticized this visit as "endorsing" China's position on Taiwan. (Al Jazeera)
- Honduran President Xiomara Castro orders Taiwanese diplomats to vacate the country's embassy in Tegucigalpa within 30 days, one day after the country established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. (Reuters)
- Cross-Strait relations
- Enlargement of NATO
- Finland–Hungary relations
- The National Assembly of Hungary votes 182–6 to approve Finland's accession to NATO, leaving Turkey as the last remaining NATO member to approve Finland's membership in the military alliance. (France 24)
- Finland–Hungary relations
Law and crime
- 2023 Covenant School shooting
- Six people are killed in a mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The suspect is later killed by responding police officers. (CNN)
- Burkina Faso suspends France 24 broadcasts after the news agency aired an interview with the leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb earlier this month. The Burkinabé government accused France 24 of being a "mouthpiece for terrorists" and "hate speech", which the agency denies as "unfounded". (Reuters)
- One person is killed and five others are injured in a mass stabbing at a school in São Paulo, Brazil. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Israeli anti-judicial reform protests
- Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces a pause on his government's controversial judicial reform bill until April 30, the opening of the Knesset's summer session. (USA Today)
- 2023 Scottish National Party leadership election
- Health and Social Care Secretary Humza Yousaf is elected as the new leader of the separatist Scottish National Party, defeating Finance Secretary Kate Forbes with 52.1% of the vote. (BBC News)
- The Iraqi Parliament passes 206–12 a series of amendments reducing the electoral districts in each governorate to one, ahead of local elections in November. Voting blocs and independent members who boycotted the vote claim the amendments make it more difficult for the opposition to get elected. (Al Jazeera)
Science and technology
- Censorship of TikTok, Censorship of Twitter
- France bans the use of Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and other apps on government employees' phones due to concerns relating to insufficient data security measures. (AP)
- Scientists discover lunar water samples in tiny glass beads from the Moon in studies published by the Nature Geoscience journal. (ABC News)
March 28, 2023 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Yemeni Civil War
- Six Houthis and five Yemeni soldiers are killed during clashes in government-controlled Lahj Governorate, Yemen. (Xinhua)
- Fazil Mustafa, an opposition member of Azerbaijan's National Assembly, is shot multiple times outside his home in Baku by unknown assailants in an assassination attempt. Mustafa's condition is described as satisfactory, and his life is not reported to be in danger. (News.az)
Disasters and accidents
- Ciudad Juárez migrant center fire
- Central and South American detainees at a migrant center in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, deliberately set fire to their mattresses, killing 38 people and injuring 28 others. (AP)
- Three people are killed, thirteen others are missing and 14 are rescued after a boat carrying Cameroonian migrants capsizes near Saint Kitts, Saint Kitts and Nevis. (AP)
Law and crime
- 2023 Lisbon Ismaili Centre stabbing
- Two Portuguese women are killed in a stabbing attack at an Isma'ilism Shia religious centre in Lisbon, Portugal. Police shoot the suspect, an Afghan man, in the leg at the scene, before arresting him and taking him to a hospital. (BBC News)
- Killing of Hae Min Lee
- Adnan Syed's murder conviction is reinstated by Maryland's appeal court, less than six months after Baltimore prosecutors presented new evidence in the 1999 fatal strangulation of Hae Min Lee. (Reuters)
- Clive Palmer sues Australia for AUD$296 billion over an iron ore project, over which his company, Mineralogy, had previously lost a lawsuit. (ABC News)
International relations
- Philippine drug war
- President Bongbong Marcos announces that the country will suspend relations with the International Criminal Court (ICC) due to the ICC's refusal to suspend its investigation of alleged crimes committed by the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte during the country's war on drugs. (Bloomberg)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Scottish National Party leadership election
- The Scottish Parliament votes to elect Scottish National Party leader Humza Yousaf as First Minister of Scotland, becoming the first non-white and first Muslim to hold the position since it was created in 1999. (STV)
- The Labour Party's National Executive Committee votes 22–12 to prevent former leader Jeremy Corbyn from running as a candidate in their next election. (BBC)
March 29, 2023 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Colombian conflict
- ELN rebels launch homemade mortar shells at a military base in El Carmen, Norte de Santander, Colombia, killing nine soldiers and injuring nine others. (ABC News)
Disasters and accidents
- Sinking of MV Lady Mary Joy 3
- Thirty-one people are killed and more than 200 others are rescued after a ferry catches fire near an island in Basilan, Philippines. At least seven are still missing. (AP)
- Four people are killed by a storm in Syria. (AP)
Health and environment
- 2020–2023 H5N1 outbreak
- Chile detects its first case of H5N1 bird flu in a 53-year-old man. (Reuters)
International relations
- Brazil–China relations
- Brazil and China sign an agreement to trade in their own currencies, ceasing the usage of the United States dollar as an intermediary. (The Straits Times)
- Burkina Faso–North Korea relations
- Burkina Faso formally resumes diplomatic relations with North Korea after suspending them in 2017 over the country's nuclear weapons program. (Andolu Agency)
Law and crime
- Myanmar's ruling military junta dissolves the National League for Democracy, the political party of former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. (NHK)
- Prime Minister of Fiji Sitiveni Rabuka announces that the Media Industry Development Authority will repeal a controversial 2010 law which strictly controlled media in the country. (RNZ)
- Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter at The Wall Street Journal, is arrested in Yekaterinburg by Russia's Federal Security Service under charges of espionage. (RFE/RL)
Politics and elections
- Repeal of the 2002 AUMF
- The U.S. Senate passes a bill to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) that allowed the past wars in Iraq, with a bipartisan majority of 66–30 votes. (Reuters)
- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reshuffles the government's cabinet amid an increase in prices and shortages of food due to the severe economic situation the country, which was worsened by the recent earthquake. (AP via The Washington Post)
- UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan announces that he has named his son Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan as the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince. City Football Group owner Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan is also appointed as Vice President. (Al Jazeera)
Science and technology
- The World Meteorological Organization announces that Fiona and Ian will be retired from future use during Atlantic hurricane seasons following the destruction caused last year, and will be replaced by Farrah and Idris in 2028. (CBS News)
Sports
- 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
- FIFA strips Indonesia of hosting this year's FIFA U-20 World Cup tournament after the Governor of Bali I Wayan Koster refused to host the Israel national under-19 football team. (The Guardian)
- 2022–23 NBA season
- In basketball, the Sacramento Kings make the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2006, ending their 17-year playoff drought, the longest in NBA history. (USA Today) (KTXL-TV)
March 30, 2023 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Internal conflict in Myanmar
- Eight people are killed by a bombing in a village in Chin State, Myanmar. (AP)
- Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Four people are killed and six others are injured by two roadside bombings targeting police in Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (AP)
Disasters and accidents
- 2023 Fort Campbell mid-air collision
- Two Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters collide over Fort Campbell in Kentucky, United States, killing all nine people on board. (BBC News)
- A collision between a Pwani University bus and a minibus in Naivasha, Kenya, kills 14 people. (AA)
- Fourteen people are killed and dozens of others are injured by a mine collapse in Northern state, Sudan. (Reuters)
Health and environment
- New Zealand records its first case of rabies in a human. A patient who had been in hospital since early March died from the disease, which did not spread further. (News24)
International relations
- Enlargement of NATO, Finland–NATO relations
- Finland–Turkey relations
- The Turkish Parliament unanimously votes to accept Finland's NATO application, becoming the last member to do so. (Al Jazeera)
- Finland–Turkey relations
- Iran–United States relations
- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) rules that the United States violated its 1955 friendship treaty with Iran when it allowed its domestic courts to freeze assets held by Iranian companies, but said that the ICJ does not have jurisdiction over the US$1.75 billion worth of frozen assets held by the Central Bank of Iran. Both countries claimed victory in the ruling. (Reuters)
- European colonization of the Americas
- The Vatican officially repudiates the discovery doctrine, writing that the 15th-century papal bulls which promoted it were "manipulated for political purposes by competing colonial powers in order to justify immoral acts against indigenous peoples that were carried out, at times, without opposition from ecclesiastical authorities". (Al Jazeera)
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Lawmakers from the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria walkout from the lower house of Austria's parliament during a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a protest against the violation of Austria's national principle of neutrality. (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
- Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal
- Indictment of Donald Trump
- A grand jury in Manhattan, New York City, indicts former U.S. President Donald Trump regarding a hush payment he made while he was a candidate in 2016. (NBC News)
- Indictment of Donald Trump
- The Lahore High Court rules that Pakistan's sedition law is unconstitutional, on the grounds that it violates free speech. (Al Jazeera)
March 31, 2023 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea
- Pirates kidnap some crew members of a Danish-owned ship which they later abandon near São Tomé and Príncipe. (Al Arabiya)
Disasters and accidents
- Tornado outbreak of March 31 – April 1, 2023
- The Storm Prediction Center issues a high risk convective outlook, the first high risk issued in over two years, ahead of an expected severe weather outbreak across the Mississippi River valley in the United States. (Storm Prediction Center)
- A large tornado causes major damage to the Little Rock, Arkansas metropolitan area, killing at least three people and injuring 24 others. (KTHV-TV)
- One person is killed and 28 others are injured when a tornado causes the roof of a theater in Belvidere, Illinois, to collapse during a concert. (WIFR-TV)
- Indore stepwell collapse
- Thirty-six people are killed and 17 others are injured when a stepwell collapses during prayers at a Hindu temple in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. (The Guardian)
- 2023 Pakistan ration distribution stampedes
- Eleven people die after being crushed in a crowd which gathered to collect food outside a factory in Karachi, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)
- Four people are killed by avalanches in Northern Norway. (AFP via Barron's)
- More than a dozen people are injured in separate incidents after two trains derail during a storm in Switzerland. (AP)
Science and technology
- Italy's Data Protection Authority blocks ChatGPT for allegedly breaching data protection rules and failing to verify that its users are at least 13 years old. (Reuters)
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