Portal:Current events/2018 March 19

• Turkish military operation in Afrin
  • The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army rebels loot the Syrian city of Afrin. (BBC)
• The United Nations reports that from January 2017 to January 2018 a total of 47 people were killed in protests against Congolese President Joseph Kabila. (Yahoo! News)

• "Gaudete et exsultate" ('Rejoice and Be Glad'; from Matthew 5:12) is the third apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, dated on the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, and is subtitled "on the call to holiness in today's world". It addresses the universal call to holiness, with a focus "to repropose the call to holiness in a practical way for our own time". (Catholic Herald)

• Economy of the United States
  • After struggling with debt from a leveraged buyout, Claire's files for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States. The company has issued a statement that it expects its stores to remain operational while it restructures its debt. (CNN)

• History of autonomous cars
  • A woman in Tempe, Arizona, dies after being hit by a self-driving car operated by Uber, in what appears to be the first death of a pedestrian struck by an autonomous vehicle on public roads. In response to the fatal accident, Uber suspends self-driving car tests in all U.S. cities as well as Toronto. (The Guardian) (BBC)

• Austin serial bombings
  • In Austin, Texas, a fourth bomb detonates, injuring two men. The Austin Police Department believes it is connected to the other parcel bombings, but do not believe it to be connected to the bomb threat leveled at the SXSW festival. (BBC) (NPR)
• Turpin case
  • The seven adults of the "Turpin children" are reported to have been released from the Corona Regional Medical Center in California and placed into an undisclosed residential home to lead normal lives. (ABC)
• Crime in Turkey
  • Turkish police discover 1.4 kilograms (3.1 lb) of radioactive-labelled material in a car in Ankara. Initially claimed to be californium by the smugglers, the material is later identified as a type of polystyrene sulfonate. (BBC) (Daily Sabah)
• 2018 Riverview killings
  • A Florida man is arrested after killing his girlfriend and nine-year-old daughter in their home in Riverview, Florida. (Bay News 9)

• Federal drug policy of the United States
  • U.S. President Donald Trump unveils his plan to combat the United States's opioid epidemic which includes harsher penalties for drug traffickers, including the death penalty. (CNN)