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Worldwide current events
Sports events

Topics in the news

Total solar eclipse, viewed from Balikpapan

A total solar eclipse occurs, with totality (pictured) visible from Indonesia and the North Pacific.
In the Slovak parliamentary election, Direction – Social Democracy remains the largest political party but loses its majority in the National Council.
The Human Rights Protection Party, led by Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, wins a landslide victory in the Samoan general election.
Astronomers announce the identification of GN-z11, the most distant known galaxy in the Universe.
Honduran environmental activist Berta Cáceres is murdered, prompting protests and calls for an investigation.

Ongoing events:
- Zika virus outbreak
- European migrant crisis
Recent deaths:

March 11, 2016 (Friday)

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International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, orders the country to conduct more tests of nuclear weapons to improve its capacity. (Reuters via Daily Mail)

March 10, 2016 (Thursday)

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Disasters and accidents

Two days of heavy rain in the American state of Louisiana has caused at least three deaths and caused more than a thousand people to evacuate their homes. (Fox News)

International relations

United States–Venezuela relations
- Venezuela recalls its chargé d'affaires from its Embassy in Washington, D.C. after U.S. President Barack Obama renewed a decree imposing sanctions on several top Venezuelan officials. (Reuters)
North Korea fires two missiles into the sea and announces its intention to liquidate all remaining South Korean assets on its territory. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Law and crime

Former Russian Minister Mikhail Lesin was found by a American investigation to have died of blunt force injuries in Washington D.C. in November last year. (Reuters)
A jury in a federal court in Scranton, Pennsylvania says that Cabot Oil must pay plaintiffs $4.2 million in damages that resulted from Cabot's fracking operations in the northeast part of that state. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Three candidates are put forward to become President of Myanmar - Htin Kyaw and Sai Nyunt Lwin from the National League for Democracy and Khin Aung Myint from the military. (ABC News Australia)
The Irish Dáil Éireann (parliament) fails to elect a new taoiseach (Prime Minister) with incumbent Enda Kenny carrying on as a caretaker. (BBC)

March 9, 2016 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- Taliban militants attack government offices in the southern Helmand Province of Afghanistan, with at least 10 killed, including seven of the attackers. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- U.S. special forces, landing in two helicopters, stage an overnight raid on the al-Shabaab-controlled town of Awdhegele in Somalia's Lower Shebelle region. Al-Shabaab spokesman, Sheik Abduasiz Abu Musab, confirmed the raid saying "The helicopters landed outside town and the ground forces entered, there was heavy fighting and they were forced to flee"."They were masked and spoke foreign languages which our fighters could not understand," Abu Musab told Reuters. "We do not know who they were but we foiled them." (AFP via Yahoo! News) (Reuters)
North Caucasus clashes
- A group of nine human rights activists and journalists, heading to Grozny, Chechnya, in a small bus, are attacked on the Kavkaz federal highway near the Ordzhonikidzovskaya settlement at the Ingushetia border. About 20 masked men assaulted the group, confiscated some mobile phones, and set their vehicle on fire. Two of the journalists, the NGO lawyer, and the bus driver were hospitalized. A Committee to Prevent Torture representative said this is the first press tour that was not organized by the Chechen government. (AP via WSOC-TV) (AFP via Yahoo! News)(Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union)

Business and economics

The man who served as Japan's deputy chief trade negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade deal, says that there is no room for the sort of renegotiation of a particular provision suggested by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. (Reuters).

Disasters and accidents

At least 30 people are killed after a five-story building still under construction collapses in Lagos, Nigeria. (Reuters)
In Seattle, Washington, a Seattle Fire Department crew, responding to reports of a natural gas leak in the Greenwood neighborhood, are caught in an explosion that injures nine firefighters. The explosion blew out windows in businesses and storefronts in the surrounding blocks, destroying three businesses and heavily damaging a fourth. (The Washington Post) (KING-TV) (Seattle Fire Department)

Health

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends physicians ask about basic needs to screen for poverty-related health risk factors, participate in programs that help children develop resilience, assist families in identifying and maximizing protective factors, and advocate for safety net programs that assist children. (The Washington Post) (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) (2 Minute Medicine)
Newark, New Jersey's 30 public schools shut off all water fountains after elevated levels of lead were found in nearly half of the schools during the state Department of Environmental Protection testing. The agency confirmed lead has not been found in the 280,000 residents' city water supply. (Reuters)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea's state media reports Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, in comments released today, states the country has miniaturized nuclear warheads to be mounted on ballistic missiles, and has ordered improvements in the power and precision of its arsenal. (Reuters)
European migrant crisis
- Macedonia says it will no longer let any migrants through its southern border with Greece, effectively blocking the Balkan route for migrants. The decision came after Slovenia barred access to migrants transiting the country. There are around 13,000 migrants now stranded at the Macedonia-Greece border. (BBC)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- A Saudi-led coalition spokesman announces they have exchanged prisoners with their Houthi opponents and "welcome a pause in the combat on the border." Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said the lull was important to deliver aid and medical supplies to people in northern regions of Yemen. Yesterday, a Houthi delegation was in Saudi Arabia for talks to end the war. Al-Jubeir and his Yemeni counterpart noted formal negotiations to end the fighting can only take place under the auspices of the United Nations. (Reuters) (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Law and crime

Shahbaz Taseer, the son of Pakistani Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer who was murdered in 2011 for criticizing the country's blasphemy laws, is reunited with his family four-and-a-half years after his kidnapping. Tuesday, Shahbaz was rescued by Pakistani secret service and counter-terrorism operatives in Kuchlak, Balochistan Province. He had been abducted in Lahore in August 2011, seven months after his father's murder by bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri. Qadri was executed on February 29, 2016. His death was claimed as the reason for the deadly Taliban suicide bombing in Shabqadar two days ago. (Reuters) (GEO TV Lahore) (The Express Tribune)
Niqāb in Egypt
- The Parliament of Egypt drafts a law which will ban women from wearing full-face veils such as the niqāb and burqa in public places and government institutions. The move comes after Cairo University recently banned nurses and doctors from wearing veils in medical schools and in teaching hospitals, arguing the ban would “protect patients’ rights and interests”. (The Independent)
At least eight people have been shot and five killed in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania near the American city of Pittsburgh. '(Yahoo! 7 News), (Fox News)

Politics and elections

Peruvian general election, 2016
- Peru's electoral court bans two leading candidates - Julio Guzman and César Acuña Peralta - from participating in next month's election due to breaches of electoral law. (BBC)
Former President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is charged with money laundering. (BBC)

Science and technology

Solar eclipse of March 9, 2016
- A total solar eclipse occurs in Indonesia, and later, east of the international date line, in the northern Pacific Ocean. A partial eclipse occurs in northern Australia, South-East Asia, and the Pacific. (ABC News)
Google's DeepMind AlphaGo artificial intelligence program defeats South Korean grand master Lee Se-dol in the ancient game of Go. (The New York Times via Melbourne Age)

March 8, 2016 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- Mortar shells fired from Syria kill at least one person and injure another in the Turkish border town of Kilis. (Reuters)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Three terror attacks are reported that result in the deaths of four Palestinians and an American tourist with 12 Israelis wounded, including two Israeli policemen, as United States Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Israel for a two-day visit that includes meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.One of the attacks occurred less than a kilometer from where Joe Biden was at the time. (AP via WWTV) (AP via ABC News) (CNN)
- The deceased American is Taylor Force, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer from Lubbock, Texas, who was in the first year of a MBA program at Vanderbilt University. Force was part of a 33-person Vanderbilt group that was in Israel to study global entrepreneurship. (CNN) (Houston Chronicle)
Spillover of the Libyan Civil War
- Tunisia's army and security forces kill another five suspected terrorists in an operation near the Libyan border. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Military intervention against ISIL
- The United States military says ISIL's so-called minister-of-war, Abu Omar al-Shishani, né Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili, appears to have been killed in a U.S. air strike near the town of Al-Shaddadi in Syria. (Reuters via msn.com)

Arts and culture

International Women's Day is celebrated. The International Women’s Day theme for 2016 is "Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality". (The Washington Post)

Health and medicine

Zika virus outbreak (2015–present)
- The World Health Organization cautions pregnant women against traveling to areas where there is ongoing transmission of Zika virus, echoing earlier alerts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other health agencies in areas where virus infection has been prevalent. Director General Margaret Chan says evidence strongly suggests sexual transmission is more common than previously assumed. (The Washington Post)

International relations

Export restrictions placed by the commerce department of the United States against China's state-owned ZTE for alleged violations of U.S.-imposed export controls on Iran takes effect. (Reuters), (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
European migrant crisis, Enlargement of the European Union
- The European Union and Turkey agree on broad principles for a plan to ease the migration crisis which includes returning thousands of migrants to Turkey. For this, the EU will swiftly ease visa requirements for Turks and speed up Ankara's EU accession talks. A final agreement is to be ready for next week's two-day EU summit in Brussels, Belgium. (Voice of America) (BBC) (March 17-18, 2016, EU agenda)
- The United Nations and human rights groups warn the tentative EU deal with Turkey that would return irregular migrants in exchange for political and financial rewards could be illegal. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says it's unclear whether migrants, set to be returned, would be afforded the refugee protection as stated in international law. Amnesty International's Gauri van Gulik says this is outsourcing Europe's refugee responsibility. "The EU is treating Turkey as the only solution it has to the refugee crisis," van Gulik added.(Reuters) (Los Angeles Times)
North Korea–South Korea relations
- South Korea imposes direct sanctions against North Korea that blacklists dozens of Northern companies and people for the first time, and bans ships that have visited North Korean ports in the previous 180 days from its waters. (The Washington Post) (AP via USA Today)
Israel–Palestine relations
- A Pew Research Center survey of Jewish and non-Jewish Israelis, via face-to-face interviews from October 2014 through May 2015, finds deep divisions in Israeli society – not only between Israeli Jews and the country’s Arab citizen minority, but also among the religious subgroups that make up Israeli Jewry. An overwhelming majority (98%) of Israeli Jews agree all Jews should have the right to move to Israel and receive immediate citizenship. Close to half (48 percent) support the expulsion or transfer of Arabs from Israel, yet most secular Jews disagree (58%) with this, as do 54 percent of those in the center politically (more so from the left). Meanwhile, Israeli Arabs, currently about one-in-five of the country's adults, generally do not think Israel can be a Jewish state and a democracy at the same time. Fewer Arabs (down 24 points) think a peaceful, two-state solution is possible, from 74% in 2013 to 50% now. Both groups are skeptical of the peace process: Israeli Arabs question the sincerity of the Israeli government in seeking a peace agreement, while Israeli Jews are equally skeptical about the sincerity of Palestinian leaders. (Pew is a non-partisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C.) (Pew Research Center)
- Israeli President Reuven Rivlin says the Pew study brings up troubling challenges that need to be dealt with immediately. The finding that 48 percent of Jewish Israelis believe Arabs should be transferred out of Israel is particularly troubling to Rivlin. MK Yousef Jabareen, chair of the Knesset Lobby for Jewish-Arab Coexistence, said, "The transfer of citizens, for whatever reason, is a crime against humanity, and I am frightened to see that half of those polled support such a step." Human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International Israel and the Anne Lindh Foundation's Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality in Israel, denounced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the results of the study. (The Jerusalem Post)
Australia–United States relations, Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- The U.S. military is in discussions with Australian officials about the possibility of basing long-range bombers, whose striking distance would include the South China Sea, in Australia. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Media freedom in Turkey
- An Istanbul court places the Cihan News Agency under state control. The seizure of the Fethullah Gülen-linked news agency comes just days after the Turkish government seized control of the opposition Zaman newspaper. (Reuters)
Acting on requests from neighboring Italy, Swiss authorities arrest 15 people sought as suspected members of the 'Ndrangheta organized crime syndicate, a Mafia-type organization centered in Calabria, Italy. (AP)

Politics and elections

Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016, Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
- Voters in the U.S. states of Mississippi, Michigan, Hawaii and Idaho vote in primary elections and caucuses. (Presidential Election News)
- Hillary Clinton wins the Mississippi Democratic primary. (New York Times)
- Bernie Sanders wins the Michigan Democratic primary. (NBC News), (Washington Post)
- Donald Trump wins both the Michigan and Mississippi Republican primaries and the Hawaii caucus. (The Independent)
- Ted Cruz wins the Idaho Republican primary. (CNN), (Washington Post)
The United States Federal Communications Commission announces an expansion of the federal Lifeline program, which currently offers monthly subsidies for phone and basic cell service, to include broadband Internet service, pending approval at the Commissioners' March 31 meeting. (The Hill) (Reuters) (Multichannel News)
Philippine presidential election, 2016
- The Supreme Court of the Philippines, in a 9-6 ruling, reverses the Commission on Elections order that had disqualified Senator Grace Poe from running in the May 9, 2016, presidential election. The petitioners plan to file a motion for reconsideration. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Science and technology

U.S. carrier Alaska Airlines reschedules Flight 870 from Anchorage, Alaska, to Honolulu, Hawaii, to depart at 2:00 p.m. local time (23:00 UTC) so passengers can view 2016's only total solar eclipse for 1 minute and 59 seconds, 695 miles north of Honolulu at 37,000 feet. (KING-TV) (Alaska Airlines) (The Verge) (NASA TV stream)
Boston College (U.S.) researchers, in findings published in the eLife scientific journal, have uncovered the global spread of an ancient group of retroviruses that affected about 28 of 50 modern mammals' ancestors back as far as 30 million years ago. (Headlines & Global News) (American Association for the Advancement of Science)

March 7, 2016 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002-present)
- At least 50 people are killed, including 33 militants, seven civilians and ten soldiers, in armed clashes between the Tunisian Army and Islamist militants in the town of Ben Gardane, near the border with Libya. (Reuters) (Al-Jazeera) (AFP via Daily Mail)
War in North-West Pakistan
- A Taliban suicide bomber hits a court complex in the town of Shabqadar killing at least 13 people and injuring 36. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Pakistani Taliban faction, says the attack is retaliation for Mumtaz Qadri's execution last week. (Voice of America) (UPI)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- According to the Pentagon, more than 150 al-Shabaab fighters are reportedly killed Saturday by U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft strikes targeting a training camp near the central Somali town of Buloburde. (FOX News) (The New York Times)
- The Royal Australian Navy seizes a large cache of weapons from a fishing vessel near Oman's coast, that was bound for Somalia. The Australian Navy, which patrols waters around the Indian Ocean as part of an international maritime force, said it has seized nearly 2,000 AK-47 rifles, 100 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 49 PKM machine guns, 39 PKM spare barrels and 20 mortar tubes from the stateless vessel. 20 tonnes of weaponry in total. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- A Syrian Arab Air Force or Russian airstrike reportedly kills a dozen people at a market selling diesel fuel in the rebel-held Idlib Governorate. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the death toll is likely to rise. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Germany's BASF SE, the largest chemical producer in the world, is pursuing a counterbid for DuPont that could short circuit the Delaware-based company's announced merger with fellow American firm, Dow Chemical Company. (Bloomberg) (Fortune)
Apple Inc. must pay the $450 million July 2014 settlement in a price fixing case since the U.S. Supreme Court will not hear its appeal of the June 2015 Court of Appeals ruling that it played a "central role" in a conspiracy with publishers to eliminate retail price competition and raise e-book prices. (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (AppleInsider)

Disasters and accidents

In the United States, an Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) San Francisco Bay Area commuter train bound for Stockton, California, derails and falls into a creek, injuring 14 people, four in serious condition. The crash shuts down service along the ACE system through Tuesday. (Los Angeles Times) (CNN)

International relations

South Korea–United States relations
- South Korea and the United States start a joint military exercise as North Korea repeats threats of "indiscriminate" nuclear strikes. (AFP via Rappler)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo calls on Muslim leaders at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit meeting in Jakarta to unite and be part of the solution on Palestine, noting the entire world is concerned about its deteriorating situation. Jokowi also criticizes what he calls Israel's "unilateral and illegal policies." (The Jakarta Post) (AP via Appeal-Democrat)
European migrant crisis
- Today's European Union summit with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in Brussels, Belgium, will discuss ways to stanch the flow of European-bound migrants. (CNN) (Voice of America) (Summit website)
  - The EU plans to boost aid to Greece and declare the route north through the Balkans closed. Presently, about 13,000 people are stranded at the Greece-Macedonia border. (BBC) (Kathimerini)
  - The leaders plan to give Turkey €3bn to take back thousands who don't qualify for asylum. (Kathimerini) (Business Day)
- Amnesty International takes on the EU for using Turkey as a buffer to police Europe’s borders. Deputy Director Gauri van Gulik says Europe has an absolute duty to protect refugees and must fast-track significant, unconditional resettlement. (AP via The Washington Post)
- Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) opens a humanitarian camp for migrants in the Grande-Synthe suburb of Dunkerque, France. (AP via ABC News)
Enlargement of the European Union
- The Turkish deputy ambassador to Britain says Turkey should be allowed to join the European Union in order to help solve the Syrian refugee crisis. (The Independent)
Israel-United States relations
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancels a trip to the United States for an American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference that was to include a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama. (Reuters) (Haaretz) (The New York Times)
- Israeli reports indicate Mr. Netanyahu cancelled because he had not been offered a meeting with Mr. Obama. The White House, which states it had not been directly informed of this change of plans, insists Mr. Netanyahu had turned down a chance to meet with the president. (The New York Times)

Law and crime

A gunman, who killed one man, injured two others, and was holding three people hostage, is found dead when an armed tactical response police team storms a building in the Ingleburn industrial area in suburban Sydney, Australia. All hostages were unharmed. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (Stuff.co.nz) (Sky News via KLFM)
Venezuelan security forces search for 30 gold miners reportedly killed last week in the state of Bolívar in the country's southeast. Survivor reports state the miners were shot last Friday in a fight for control of a gold deposit by criminals who then hid the bodies. Bolívar Governor Francisco Rangel Gómez denies any such massacre occurred. (EFE via Fox New Latino) (Reuters via The Times of India)
Pitcairn sexual assault trial of 2004
- Former mayor of the Pitcairn Islands Mike Warren is found guilty of downloading more than 1000 images and videos of child abuse and child pornography while working in child protection and is sentenced to 20 months in prison. (The Guardian)
American sportscaster Erin Andrews is awarded $55 million damages after a stranger, in 2008, secretly recorded her in the nude through a hotel door peephole, and posted the video on the Internet. (New York Daily News)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announces he will not run for president in 2016 because of the impact his candidacy might have on the outcome in November. (CBS News)

Science and technology

Research, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Geoscience, confirms that Mercury's darker than expected crusty exterior is from carbon, likely the remains of the planet's ancient surface crust of graphite, rather than carbon dust from comet impacts as previously postulated. (Christian Science Monitor) (The Washington Post) (Nature Geoscience)

Sport

Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova tests positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open tennis championship. She has taken the drug since 2006 on prescription for health issues. World Anti-Doping Agency President Craig Reedie says an athlete found guilty of using meldonium would normally face a one-year suspension. (BBC) (AP via The Times-Picayune)
- Nike suspends ties with Sharapova after the positive test is revealed. (Reuters) (Fox Sports)
American football quarterback Peyton Manning retires after eighteen seasons in the National Football League with two Super Bowl championships, five MVP awards, and single-season and career league records for most passing yards and touchdown passes. (NFL)

March 6, 2016 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- A suicide bomber kills at least 60 people and wounds 70 others after ramming his explosives-laden truck into a security checkpoint at one of the entrances to the Iraqi city of Hillah, south of Baghdad. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the attack. (Reuters) (FOX News) (AP via Yahoo! News)
Syrian Civil War
- Battle of Aleppo (2012–present)
  - At least nine civilians are killed and dozens are injured after rockets and mortars hit the mainly Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsood in the city of Aleppo. The neighborhood is controlled by the People's Protection Units (YPG). (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Former First Lady of the U.S. Nancy Reagan dies at age 94. (NBC News)

Disasters and accidents

Twelve coal miners are killed following a gas leak in a mine near the Chinese city of Baishan in Jilin province. (AAP via SBS)
European migrant crisis
- At least 25 migrants, including 10 children, drown after their wooden boat capsizes in the Aegean Sea near the seaside town of Didim, Turkey. The Turkish Coast Guard was able to rescue 15 people. (International Business Times) (AFP via Yahoo7 News)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea threatens a pre-emptive nuclear strike against South Korea and the United States in response to the two nations' annual joint military exercise which Pyongyang considers is a pretext for an invasion. (The Washington Times)

Law and crime

Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani is sentenced to death for corruption. Zanjani was arrested in December 2013 after accusations that he withheld billions in oil revenue channelled through his companies. He denies the allegations. (BBC)
Egyptian interior minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar accuses Hamas and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the June 2015 assassination of Attorney General Hisham Barakat. (Latin American Herald Tribune) (Debkafile)

Politics and elections

Beninese presidential election, 2016
- Voters in Benin go to the polls for the first round of voting in a presidential election with 33 candidates vying to replace current President Thomas Yayi Boni. (Bloomberg)
Thousands of people gather in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi to protest against their government's negotiations with Russian state-owned oil company Gazprom. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
United States presidential election, 2016
- Marco Rubio wins the Puerto Rican Republican Party primary. (BBC)
- Bernie Sanders wins the Maine Democratic caucuses. (AP)

Slovak parliamentary election, 2016
- Prime Minister Robert Fico's Smer party won 28.3 percent of the vote, but with just 49 seats, lost its majority in the 150-member parliament. The Freedom and Solidarity party won 21 seats (12.1%), and the Ordinary People party took 19 seats (11.0%). (AP via Daily Sabah)
- The right scored first-time seats. The Slovak National Party won 15 seats; and, the Kotleba – People's Party Our Slovakia won 14 seats, nearly three times more than predicted. (The Washington Post) (Irish Independent)
- Analysts indicate Fico may find it very difficult to form a new government. Political analyst Samuel Abrahám says coalition-building “could take weeks, even months. ... Fico's rhetoric strengthened the right in Slovakia." (Daily Times) (Reuters via Azerbaijan State News Agency )

March 5, 2016 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Taliban insurgency
- The Afghan Taliban releases a statement rejecting peace talks with the government of Afghanistan until foreign forces stop attacking their positions and withdraw from the country. Direct peace talks between the government and the Taliban were expected to take place in Islamabad, Pakistan next week. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- Second battle of Aden
  - Gunmen shoot dead the police chief of Aden's Tawahi district and one of his aides. (Reuters)

Business and economy

China announces plans to build a railway linking the Tibetan capital Lhasa with Chengdu. (Channel News Asia)

Disasters and accidents

More than 60 people are hospitalized after an engine explodes on a crowded Bangkok, Thailand, commuter boat. Police suspect a liquefied natural gas leak caused the blast. The boat operator has been ordered to use diesel fuel only on its 25-boat fleet. (AP) (International Business Times)

International relations

North Korea–Philippines relations
- The Philippines impounds a North Korean cargo ship in line with new UN sanctions on North Korea in response to Pyongyang's recent nuclear test and missile launch. Presidential spokesman, Manolo Quezon, said the 6,830-tonne cargo ship would not be allowed to leave the Port of Subic, Luzon, where it has been docked for three days, and that its crew would be deported. (The Straits Times)

Law and crime

Media freedom in Turkey
- Turkish police fire tear gas at protesters outside the Istanbul headquarters of the Zaman newspaper which has been taken over by the Turkish government. (BBC)
Gunmen dressed in police uniforms kill at least ten people in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016, Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
- Voters in the states of Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Maine, and Kentucky, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico participate in a party caucus or vote in a primary election. (Presidential Primary Schedule)
- Ted Cruz wins the Republican Party caucus in Kansas and Maine. (CBS News), (The Guardian)
- Donald Trump wins the Louisiana primary and Kentucky caucus. (ABC News), (New York Times)
- Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic Party contests in Kansas and Nebraska while Hillary Clinton wins in Louisiana. (CNN), (Washington Post), (NOLA), (CNN)
Slovak parliamentary election, 2016
- Voters in Slovakia choose representatives for all 150 National Council seats. While anti-migrant Prime Minister Robert Fico's Smer party is expected to lose its parliamentary majority, it should be in position to lead a coalition government. (Reuters via Firstpost) (New Europe), (Bloomberg)
Samoan general election, 2016
- Results from yesterday's election indicate that the ruling Human Rights Protection Party will retain power in a landslide. (ABC News Australia)
Anti-corruption campaign in China:
- The former party chief of Liaoning and Jilin provinces, Wang Min, is placed under investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. (SCMP)

More March 2016 events...

Ongoing events
Arts and culture Women's History Month Health Zika virus outbreak Flint water crisis Political War in Afghanistan Boko Haram insurgency Burundian unrest Iraqi Civil War Military intervention against ISIL American-led Iranian Israeli–Palestinian conflict Lebanese political deadlock Moldova protests Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Armenian–Azeri border conflict Nepal blockade PKK rebellion Yemeni Civil War Saudi Arabian-led intervention Second Libyan Civil War Sinai insurgency South China Sea disputes Syrian Civil War American-led intervention Russian military intervention Venezuelan protests War in Donbass Russian military intervention in Ukraine More details on ongoing conflicts below Sports 2015–16 UEFA Champions League 2015–16 La Liga season 2015–16 NBA season 2015–16 NHL season 2015–16 Premier League season 2016 ATP World Tour 2016 WTA Tour edit sidebar

Recent deaths
March 10: Ken Adam 10: Mohammed Irfan 10: Gary Jeter 10: Jovito Salonga 9: Jon English 9: John Gutfreund 9: Clyde Lovellette 8: Ross Hannaford 8: George Martin 7: Adrian Hardiman 7: Steve Kraly 7: Michael White 7: Quentin Young 6: Elizabeth Garrett 6: Kalabhavan Mani 6: Francis Pasion 6: Nancy Reagan 6: Harold H. Saunders 5: Hassan al-Turabi 5: Antoni Asunción 5: Paul Couch 5: Nikolaus Harnoncourt 5: Robert Redbird 5: Ray Tomlinson 5: Panayiotis Tetsis 5: Al Wistert 4: John Brooks 4: Bud Collins 4: Pat Conroy 4: Joey Feek 4: P. A. Sangma 4: Abbas Vaez-Tabasi 4: Zhou Xiaoyan 3: Ralph Baruch 3: Berta Cáceres 3: Martin Crowe 3: Thanat Khoman 3: Sarah Tait 2: Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern 2: Aubrey McClendon 2: James Barrett McNulty 1: Jim Kimsey 1: Tony Warren 1: Martha Wright February 29: Louise Rennison 28: Didier Bellens 28: Delmer Berg 28: Frank Kelly 28: George Kennedy 28: Jack Lindquist 27: Lee Khoon Choy 27: Claude Parent 27: Francisco Kraus Trujillo 26: Andy Bathgate 26: Don Getty 26: Loh I-Cheng 25: Tony Burton 25: Jim Clark 25: John Chilton 25: Bhavarlal Jain 25: Alfred E. Mann 24: Lennie Baker 24: George C. Nichopoulos 24: Yordan Sokolov 24: Timber Country 22: Yolande Fox 22: Sonny James 22: Cara McCollum 22: Peter Mondavi 22: Douglas Slocombe 22: Yochanan Sofer 21: Eric Brown 21: Peter Marlow 20: Nando Yosu 19: Humbert Allen Astredo 19: Umberto Eco 19: Freddie Goodwin 19: Harper Lee 19: Charlie Tuna 19: Samuel Willenberg 18: Rosario Ferré 18: Abdul Rashid Khan 18: Tony Phillips 17: Andy Ganteaume 17: Mohamed Hassanein Heikal 17: Elias P. Demetracopoulos 17: Andrzej Żuławski 16: Boutros Boutros-Ghali 15: George Gaynes 15: Constance Glube 15: Fighton Simukonda 15: Vanity 14: Eric Lubbock 14: Steven Stucky 13: Nathan Barksdale 13: Avigdor Ben-Gal 13: Flakey Dove 13: Robin Ghosh 13: O. N. V. Kurup 13: Antonin Scalia 13: Viola Beach 13: Lauro Vizconde 13: Christopher Zeeman 12: Johnny Lattner 12: Yan Su 11: Jakob Denzinger 11: Douglas Inman 11: Kevin Randleman 11: Arthur Tunstall 11: Zeng Xuelin edit sidebar

Ongoing conflicts
Africa Algeria, Tunisia and Niger Maghreb insurgency Central African Republic Civil war Democratic Republic of the Congo Kivu conflict ADF insurgency Katanga insurgency Ituri conflict Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Libya Civil war Mali Northern Mali conflict Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger Boko Haram insurgency Somalia Civil war South Sudan South Sudanese Civil War Sudan War in Darfur South Kordofan conflict Americas Colombian conflict Internal conflict in Peru Mexican War on Drugs Asia Afghanistan War China Xinjiang conflict India Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Insurgency in Northeast India India and Pakistan Kashmir conflict Pakistan War in North-West Pakistan Balochistan conflict Philippines CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion Moro conflict Moro conflict in Sabah Southeast Asia Internal conflict in Burma Papua conflict South Thailand insurgency Europe European Migrant Crisis Georgia Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Georgian–Ossetian conflict Chechen–Russian conflict North Caucasus insurgency War in Ingushetia Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Ukraine War in Donbass Russian military intervention in Ukraine Middle East Arab–Israeli conflict Gaza–Israel conflict Israeli–Lebanese conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Egypt Sinai insurgency Iran Iran–PJAK conflict Iraqi civil war American-led intervention in Iraq Iranian intervention in Iraq Syrian Civil War American-led intervention in Syria Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon Turkey Turkey–PKK conflict Turkey–ISIL conflict Yemeni crisis Houthi rebellion Al-Qaeda insurgency South Yemen insurgency edit sidebar

Elections and Referendums
Recent February 14: Central African Republic, President (2nd round) 18: Uganda, President, Parliament 21: Bolivia, Constitutional referendum 21: Comoros, President 21: Niger, President (1st round), National Assembly 25: Jamaica, House of Representatives 26: Iran, Islamic Consultative Assembly, Assembly of Experts 26: Ireland, Dáil Éireann 28: Switzerland, Referendums March 4: Samoa, Fono 5: Slovakia, National Council 6: Benin, President (1st round) Upcoming March 3–24: New Zealand, Flag referendum 20: Republic of the Congo, President 20: Kazakhstan, Majilis 20: Laos, National Assembly 20: Niger, President (2nd round) 20: Senegal, Constitutional referendum April 6: Netherlands, EU referendum edit sidebar

Trials
Recently concluded Australia: Brett Peter Cowan, Craig Thomson, Robert Hughes Brazil: Mensalão scandal Canada: Luka Magnotta China: Ji Jianye, Li Chuncheng, Jiang Jiemin, Liao Shaohua, Ni Fake, Chen Baihuai, Zhou Yongkang, Gu Junshan Croatia: Ivo Sanader Egypt: Hosni Mubarak, Peter Greste, Mohamed Morsi Germany: Bernie Ecclestone, Uli Hoeness, Christian Wulff Iran: Mohammad Reza Rahimi Israel: Hussam Qawasmeh Jordan: Abu Qatada Philippines: Joseph Scott Pemberton Romania: Liviu Dragnea, Dan Diaconescu Russia: Leonid Khabarov, Eston Kohver, Vladimir Kvachkov South Africa: Shrien Dewani, Oscar Pistorius Turkey: Kenan Evren, Tahsin Şahinkaya United Kingdom: Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, Kweku Adoboli, Tony McCluskie, Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, Chris Huhne, Nicola Edgington, Vicky Pryce, Derek Rose, Mick Philpott, Mairead Philpott, Paul Mosley, Stuart Hazell, Mark Bridger, Andrew Lancel, Dale Cregan, Ray Wilkins, Liam Adams, R v Grillo and Grillo, Ian Watkins, William Roache, Dave Lee Travis, Nicholas Jacobs, Nigel Evans, Max Clifford, Stuart Hall, Dappy, Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, Rolf Harris, Tulisa Contostavlos, Chris Denning, Ray Teret, Gary Glitter, Fred Talbot, Adam Johnson United States: Abu Hamza al-Masri, Michael Grimm, Jesse Jackson Jr., Bob McDonnell, Vilma Bautista, Jared Lee Loughner, Lauryn Hill, Kermit Gosnell, George Zimmerman, Chelsea Manning, Ariel Castro, Whitey Bulger, Robert Bales, Nidal Malik Hasan, Jodi Arias, Anas al-Libi, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, James Eagan Holmes, Sheldon Silver International ECCC: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan ICC: Germain Katanga ICTY: Momčilo Perišić, Mladen Markač, Ante Gotovina, Zdravko Tolimir Ongoing China: Yao Mugen, Guo Youming, Zhu Zuoli Germany: Beate Zschäpe Iran: Babak Zanjani Philippines: Andal Ampatuan, Jr., Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Janet Lim-Napoles, Jovito Palparan Romania: Darius Vâlcov, Dan Șova, Elena Udrea, Radu Mazăre, Gheorghe Nichita, Marian Vanghelie, Cătălin Voicu, Relu Fenechiu, Gheorghe Ștefan, Gabriel Sandu, Dorin Cocoş, Dumitru Nicolae Russia: Alexei Navalny South Korea: MV Sewol crew members United States: Dean Skelos International ICTY: Radovan Karadžić, Ratko Mladić PCA: China Upcoming China: Wu Changshun, Ling Jihua Estonia: Edgar Savisaar Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Spain: Lionel Messi United States: Paul Anthony Ciancia, Javaris Crittenton, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Dylan Quick, Aaron Hernandez, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Rick Perry International ICC: Laurent Gbagbo edit sidebar