Portal:Current events/2018 March 20

• Syrian Civil War
  • A rocket fired from rebel-held Eastern Ghouta strikes a popular market in Damascus, killing at least 35 people, according to Syrian state TV SANA. (Reuters) (Channel News Asia)
  • An airstrike in Eastern Ghouta kills two women and 15 children in an underground school. (BBC)
• Military activity of ISIL
  • Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tells Parliament DNA testing on remains in a mass grave in Iraq confirms 39 Indian nationals believed to have been kidnapped by ISIL have been killed. (The Guardian)

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

• A Red Arrows jet crashes in North Wales, killing an engineer. (The Scotsman)
• History of autonomous cars
  • Toyota pulls all its self-driving cars off U.S. roads in the wake of a fatal accident involving an Uber vehicle. (The Verge)
  • Police state their investigation indicates the collision could not have been avoided. (AZ Central)
• 2017–2018 South African listeriosis outbreak
  • The World Health Organisation says a listeria outbreak spread via infected food responsible for 200 deaths in South Africa may have spread to Namibia. The organisation reaches out to 16 African nations it assesses as at risk. (CBC)
• 2018 disasters in the Philippines
  • A bus falls off a bridge in Occidental Mindoro, Philippines, killing at least 19 people and injuring 21 others. (Rappler)
• Saratov Airlines Flight 703
  • Russia's Ministry of Transport suspends all flights by Saratov Airlines after conducting checks on the company's Antonov An-148 aircraft. (The Aviation Herald)

• 2017–2018 North Korea crisis
  • Delegations from North Korea, South Korea, and the United States meet in the outskirts of Helsinki, Finland. (Reuters)
  • North Korean state media KCNA claims that, as a result of its nuclear weapons program, there has been "dramatic atmosphere for reconciliation" with South Korea, and "a sign of change" from the United States. (SBS news)
• China–Japan relations, China–South Korea relations, Japan–South Korea relations
  • Japan, China, and South Korea agree in principle to hold a trilateral summit in May. (SCMP)
• South Korea–United States relations
  • South Korea and the United States announce that the Foal Eagle and Key Resolve military drills will start on April 1 and last for four weeks. (ABC News)
• United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel
  • Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas insults U.S. Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman, calling him a "son of a dog" when he says Israeli settlers build on their land in the occupied West Bank. The U.S. warns Abbas to "choose between hate and peace". (The Kuwait Times) (Jerusalem Online) (The Telegraph)
  • Palestinians are planning a mass demonstration in the Gaza Strip, ahead of the U.S. Embassy move. (Bloomberg)
• Human rights in China
  • Chinese diplomat Chen Cheng repeatedly interrupts and objects to exiled dissident Yang Jianli's testimony to the United Nations Human Rights Council. (The Guardian)
• Cyprus dispute
  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asserts his nation will secure Northern Cyprus' access to natural hydrocarbon resources off the Cypriot coast. The comments come amid disputes as to sovereign rights and access to offshore resources on the island. (The Daily Sabah)
• Brexit negotiations
  • The Court of Session allows an appeal by a cross-party group of Scottish politicians seeking court permission for a referral to the European Court of Justice. The group wish for a ruling that the UK can abandon Brexit without permission from the European Union's other member states. A lower court will examine the claim. (The Guardian)
• Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal
  • All 23 Russian diplomats expelled from the UK and their families depart on a flight to Moscow. (Sky News)

• Austin serial bombings
  • A bomb detonates overnight at a FedEx facility in San Antonio, Texas, United States. The FBI believes the bombing is linked to the other bombings in the area. The ATF reports that there were no serious injuries. Both the bomb's point of origin and intended destination were in Austin. (CNN) (NPR)
  • A second package presumed to have been sent by the bomber is discovered in a FedEx facility near Austin–Bergstrom International Airport. (New York Times)
• School shootings in the United States
  • A shooting occurs at Great Mills High School in Great Mills, Maryland. Two students are reported injured; the shooter is killed by police. (CNN)
• Alleged Libyan financing in the 2007 French presidential election
  • Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is held for up to 48 hours and questioned by police in Nanterre over allegations that he illegally accepted €50 million from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to finance his bid in the 2007 presidential election. (NPR)
• Shooting of Justine Damond
  • Minneapolis Police formally charge Mohamed Noor with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the shooting death of Justine Damond. (Star Tribune)
• Human rights in Turkey
  • The United Nations issues a report calling for an end to the nation's state of emergency, claiming it has been used to violate human rights. Turkey responds, calling the report "biased" and "unacceptable". (al-Jazeera)
  • The European Court of Human Rights says that Turkish authorities violated the rights of journalists Mehmet Altan and Sahin Alpay when they were arrested in the aftermath of a failed coup. The court ruled the men, one of whom is now serving life, were innocent and their rights to freedom of expression and to liberty had been violated. (Euronews)
• Human rights in the United Kingdom
  • The Department for Work and Pensions wins a court case holding that benefits claimants cannot raise arguments based on the European Convention on Human Rights at tribunals, and must instead go via the High Court. (The Canary)
• Legal status of cryptocurrencies
  • U.S. President Donald Trump issues an executive order banning U.S. entities from trading in the Venezuelan Petro cryptocurrency. Trump calls the digital currency, launched last month, an "attempt to circumvent U.S. sanctions". (al-Jazeera)

• Politics of Norway
  • Norwegian justice minister Sylvi Listhaug resigns amid controversy over remarks on human rights and national security. (The Guardian)
• Politics of Slovakia
  • Protests continue in Slovakia after last week's collapse of the government, which included the resignation of Prime Minister Robert Fico. (NPR)
• Politics of Zambia
  • Zambian Minister Bowman Lusambo is suspended by Parliament over an assault on a fellow lawmaker in October 2017. (Africa News)

• Eschatology in Norse mythology
  • Analysis of ancient ice cores extracted from Greenland dates an eruption on Eldgjá volcano in Iceland. Iceland's largest eruption in the last 2,000 years was described in ancient poem Völuspá. (Infosurhoy)
• Extinction threshold
  • Sudan, the last known male Northern white rhinoceros, dies in captivity, leaving two females as the only surviving members of the subspecies. (BBC)
• ESA missions
  • The European Space Agency announces a mission to study the atmospheres of exoplanets. Selected as Cosmic Vision medium class M4 mission, ARIEL is expected to launch in 2028. (BBC)
• Japan's space development
  • Japan announces a fund worth US$940 million to encourage the foundation of new companies involved in space exploration. (CNBC)
• Marine debris
  • A study commissioned by the UK government concludes marine plastic debris may treble within ten years, and predicts the "ocean economy" will double to US$3 trillion (£2 trillion) by 2030. (BBC)