Portal:Current events/2016 March 19
Armed conflicts and attacks
- March 2016 Istanbul bombing
- An explosion occurs in Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, kills five people, including two dual citizenship Israeli-Americans and one Iranian citizen, and injures several dozen others. (Sputnik International) (Al Jazeera) (Hürriyet Daily News) (AP via MuskokaRegion.com)
- Syrian Civil War, Palmyra offensive (March 2016)
- Airstrikes by Al-Raqqah in northern Syria, leaves at least 39 people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Airstrikes on the city of Palmyra and nearby villages are said to have killed at least 18 ISIL militants, as the Syrian Army advance on the city. (Reuters)
- Airstrikes by
- American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
- A ISIL. "It was a lucky strike by ISIS," according to the official. (Fox News)
- A
- Sinai insurgency
- At least 13 Sinai branch claimed responsibility for the attack. (Reuters)
- At least 13
Disasters and accidents
- Flydubai Flight 981
- Flydubai Boeing 737-800 Flight FZ981, en route from Dubai for about four hours, crashes during landing in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, killing all 62 on board. It appears the jet crashed in poor visibility, some 50–100 meters left of the runway, during the second approach. Rostov-on-Don Airport will remain closed until at least 9:00 am Moscow time. (RT') (Airways News) (Reuters)
- Nine Cuban migrants die and 18 others are rescued by the Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico, 130 miles west of Marco Island, Florida. The group had been sailing for 22 days in a 30-foot long "rustic" boat. The survivors were severely dehydrated and in poor condition. Those who had died were buried at sea. The cruise ship is taking the migrants to its next stop, the Mexican island of Cozumel. (AP via Portland Press Herald)
International relations
- Former Ebola outbreak Anthony Banbury accuses the UN of “colossal mismanagement,” saying it had failed to uphold the principles for which it was established. He cited the organization's “Orwellian admonitions and Carrollian logic” of the UN bureaucracy and minimal accountability regarding the widespread rape and sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers. (The Guardian)
Politics and elections
- 2015–16 protests in Brazil
- A survey conducted by Datafolha shows a majority of Brazilians now favor the impeachment or resignation of President Dilma Rousseff. The poll showed 68 percent of respondents favor Rousseff's impeachment by Congress, while 65 percent think the president should resign. The president's approval ratings have been hammered by Brazil's worst recession in decades and its biggest ever corruption probe. (Reuters)
- Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016
- Two dozen protesters park their cars in the middle of Shea Boulevard, and block the main road to the Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, and controversial sheriff Joe Arpaio was held. For hours, traffic was backed up for miles. The road was eventually cleared. Three protesters were arrested and two cars were towed from the boulevard. (AP) (CNN) (KPHO-TV)
- Two dozen protesters park their cars in the middle of Shea Boulevard, and block the main road to the
Sports
- Russian speed skaters Pavel Kulizhnikov, Semion Elistratov and Ekaterina Konstantinova test positive for Meldonium and are provisionally suspended by the International Skating Union. Kulizhnikov faces a potential lifetime ban while Elistratov and Konstantinova face up to four years. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
- 2016 Six Nations Championship
- In rugby union, England, which had already clinched the championship, defeat France 31–21 to claim their 13th Grand Slam. (The Guardian) (BBC)