wikinews

2025 March 21

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Middle Eastern crisis
  • Gaza war
    • Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip
      • March 2025 Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip
        • Israeli Defense Minster Israel Katz orders the Israel Defense Forces to occupy new areas of the Gaza Strip, and threatens to annex sections of Gaza if Hamas refuses to release all its remaining Israeli hostages. (The Guardian)
  • Red Sea crisis
    • Israel intercepts a ballistic missile that the Houthis in Yemen claim to have fired at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. (Reuters)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • Kursk offensive
      • A gas pumping and measuring station in Kursk Oblast, Russia, is set on fire after a major explosion occurs. Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the attack. (Reuters) (Reuters)
    • An explosion occurs at an oil depot in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, caused by a fire that has been burning since Tuesday. The fire spreads to another tank and increases to 10,000 m2 (110,000 sq ft), injuring two firefighters. (Reuters)
  • International sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • The German Navy reportedly seizes the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker Eventin, suspected to be part of the Russian shadow fleet, along with at least €43.3 million ($46 million) worth of cargo, in the Baltic Sea. (DW) (The Times)
• Sudanese civil war
  • Battle of Khartoum
    • The Sudanese Armed Forces retakes the presidential palace in Khartoum, Sudan, after the Rapid Support Forces’ withdrawal. (BBC)
• Fambita mosque attack
  • At least 44 people are killed and thirteen others are injured in an attack on a mosque in Fambita, Niger. The Ministry of National Defense blames the Islamic State. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse
  • A 19-year-old dies in hospital from his injuries after a canopy collapsed in 2024 at the Novi Sad railway station in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia, which killed 15 others. (CTV News)
• According to the International Organization of Migration, a record 8,938 migrant deaths were recorded in 2024, over 200 more than 2023, the previous record year. Most deaths are attributed to Asia, the Mediterranean Sea, and Africa. (DW) (Al Jazeera)
• Heathrow Airport in London, England, closes for most of the day due to a “significant power outage” resulting from a fire at an electrical substation in nearby Hayes. At least 1,351 flights are affected by the shutdown, with many diverted to alternative airports or returning to their origin airport. (CBS News) (BBC News) (NBC News)
• The Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano erupts, prompting at least 4,700 villagers to evacuate and causing at least seven outbound flights from Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, Indonesia, to cancel. (DW)

International relations

• United Arab Emirates–United States relations
  • The United Arab Emirates commits to a US$1.4 trillion investment into the United States economy over ten years. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Mass shootings in the United States
  • Three people are killed and fifteen others are injured in a mass shooting in a parking lot during a large gathering at Young Park in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. (ABC News) (Channel2 NOW)

Politics and elections

• 2024 Namibian general election
  • Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is sworn in as the first female President of Namibia, suceeding Nangolo Mbumba. (BBC)
• 2025 Turkish anti-government protests, Arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu
  • Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters hold demonstrations in Istanbul, İzmir, Ankara, and several other cities in Turkey against the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, following its detention of over 100 opposition figures and crackdown on public gatherings and social media content. (Reuters)
• Tunisian president Kais Saied appoints Sara Zaafarani as the new Prime Minister. She succeeds Kamel Madouri, who has been sacked by Saied amid an economic and migration crisis. (Reuters)

Science and technology

• Next Generation Air Dominance
  • The Trump administration announces a new air superiority sixth-generation fighter aircraft produced by Boeing, the Boeing F-47. (FOX News) (TWZ)

2025 March 20

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Middle Eastern crisis
  • Gaza war
    • Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip
      • March 2025 Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip
        • Early morning attacks conducted by the Israel Defense Forces on the Gaza Strip reportedly kill at least 91 Palestinians, including children. (CTV News) (Al Jazeera)
  • Red Sea crisis
    • Israel intercepts a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis from Yemen that targeted the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. (CNN)
• Kivu conflict
  • M23 campaign
    • 2025 Walikale offensive
      • Rwandan-backed M23 rebels capture the town of Walikale in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the collapse of peace talks with the Congolese government. (AP)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • Massive explosions are reported after the Ukrainian Armed Forces drone strike the Engels-2 air base in Russia. Reports indicate that nearby houses are also damaged by the explosions. (Reuters)
  • Odesa strikes
    • Russia launches a massive drone attack in Odesa, Ukraine, causing injuries among civilians and damaging civilian infrastructure. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• German economic crisis
  • Deutsche Bank, a German multinational investment bank and financial services company, announces it will downsize and cut 2,000 jobs in its retail banking division this year. (DW)

International relations

• Germany–Syria relations
  • Germany reopens its embassy in Damascus, Syria after 13 years. (Euronews)

Law and crime

• 2025 Turkish anti-government protests, Internet regulation in Turkey
  • The Turkish government arrests dozens of civilians for posting “provocative” social media posts protesting the government’s democratic backsliding following the arrest of opposition candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. (BBC)
• The Indonesian House of Representatives passes a law revision regarding the armed forces, which expands the amount of civilian positions an active officer can hold from ten to fourteen while also raising the retirement age for soldiers, prompting protests across the country fearing eroding civil control. (Tempo) (CNN Indonesia)
• Social media company X files a lawsuit against the government of India alleging that the Indian government is censoring the social media platform along with other information. (DW)

Politics and elections

• Second Trump presidency
  • Response to the Department of Government Efficiency
    • United States district judge for the District of Maryland Ellen Lipton Hollander temporarily blocks the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Social Security systems that cover the personal information of U.S. citizens. Judge Hollander also orders the department to delete any previously accessed personal identifiable information in their possession. (AP)
  • U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order that orders Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to start dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, which is responsible for allocating federal funds to schools and disbursing financial aid. (NBC News) (NPR)
• Vitold Fokin, the first prime minister of modern-day Ukraine, dies at age 92. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mourns him as “a sense of loss for all Ukrainians”. (The Kyiv Independent)

Science and technology

• The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration orders a product recall of 46,000 Tesla Cybertrucks, nearly all active Cybertrucks on the roads, due to an issue with an exterior panel that can detach while driving due to an ineffective structural adhesive. (AP) (The Hill)

Sports

• 144th IOC Session
  • Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry is elected as the 10th and first female President of the International Olympic Committee in the first round of voting. (BBC)
  • The International Olympic Committee votes unanimously to include boxing in the 2028 Summer Olympics. (BBC News)

2025 March 19

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Gaza war
  • Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip
    • March 2025 Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip
      • The Israeli military conducts multiple airstrikes on Rafah and Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, killing at least 60 Palestinians. (Al Jazeera) (The Times of Israel)
      • The United Nations reports that a UN official is killed and five others are wounded in a strike on a guesthouse. The UN states that the perpetrator is unclear at this time. (AP)
      • The Israeli Defense Forces re-take the Netzarim Corridor, preventing the movement of Palestinians between the northern and southern sides of Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
• Kivu conflict
  • M23 campaign
    • 2025 Walikale offensive
      • M23 rebels enter Walikale, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, after overrunning Congolese Army positions north of the town. (Reuters)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Russia is attempting to discredit U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace negotiations after Russian Armed Forces launched drone attacks on Kyiv overnight after talks between the U.S. and Russia. (BBC News)
  • Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • The Russian Ministry of Defense says Ukraine violated the energy infrastructure ceasefire reached by presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin by launching a drone attack on an oil depot in Krasnodar Krai. (The Moscow Times)

Business and economy

• Santander UK announces the closure of 95 bank branches in the United Kingdom with the loss of up to 750 jobs expected. The bank says the closures are required as a result of more customers using online banking. (Sky News)

Disasters and accidents

• 2025 Arnhem city fire
  • Authorities begin demolishing façades of historic buildings, including those that survived the Battle of Arnhem, following a fire in the city in the Netherlands on March 6. (NOS)
• Mediterranean Sea migrant smuggling
  • The Italian Coast Guard retrieves the bodies of six migrants, rescues 10 people, while 40 others remain missing after a dinghy carrying 56 people capsizes off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy, after departing from Sfax, Tunisia. (DW) (France 24)
• At least two people die in flash floods in Constantina and one dies in Córdoba in Andalusia, Spain. (Diario Público)

International relations

• Iran–United States relations
  • U.S. government sources reveal that President Donald Trump’s letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei from two weeks ago contained a deadline of two months for reaching a new deal on Iran’s nuclear program. (Axios)

Law and crime

• Arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu
  • Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is also the main opposition figure against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is arrested by Turkish Police along with more than 100 other people for alleged corruption and aiding terrorism. (Reuters) (AP)
• Dakota Access Pipeline protests
  • A jury in North Dakota, United States, orders Greenpeace to pay at least $660 million to Energy Transfer Partners, the company responsible for the Dakota Access Pipeline, after ETP sued the organization for holding protests near Standing Rock Reservation concerning the violation of indigenous sovereignty of Native Americans. (DW) (The Guardian)
• Rohingya conflict
  • Bangladesh Police arrest Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi, the leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a Rohingya insurgent group, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, accusing him of leading and carrying out attacks against the Tatmadaw since 2016 along with charges of illegal entry, murder, and sabotage. (DW) (The Straits Times)
• Prosper family murders
  • Nicholas Prosper, a 19-year-old who was convicted of killing three family members and plotting a school shooting in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, in 2024, is sentenced to minimum of 49 years in prison without parole. (CTV News)
• Four people are injured in a stabbing attack in Atwater, California.

Politics and elections

• 2025 Turkish anti-government protests
  • Protests accusing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government of democratic backsliding erupt in Istanbul, Turkiye, following the arrest of leading opposition candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu and more than 100 other individuals broadly associated with the political opposition. (Reuters)

2025 March 18

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Middle Eastern crisis
  • Gaza war
    • Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip
      • March 2025 Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip
        • The Israeli military conducts airstrikes and artillery shelling across several regions of the Gaza Strip, killing at least 404 Palestinians and wounding 560 more. The shellings represent the largest attack of the Gaza war since the beginning of a ceasefire which came into effect on 19 January. (AP) (Al Jazeera)
  • Red Sea crisis
    • The Israeli military intercepts a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis from Yemen at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel. (Middle East Monitor) (Times of Israel)
• Russo-Ukrainian War
  • Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to launch an offensive on Belgorod Oblast with five assaults before being stopped by Russian forces, characterizing the alleged attacks as an attempt to discredit U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace negotiations. (The Kyiv Independent)
• Somali Civil War
  • Attempted assassination of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
    • At least ten people are killed and 20 others are injured in an assassination attempt by Al-Shabaab militants targeting Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud near Villa Somalia on the road to Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, Somalia. (Idil News)

International relations

• February 2025 Putin–Trump call
  • U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agree to an immediate energy infrastructure ceasefire in Ukraine during a phone call, with additional negotiations to begin immediately on a permanent settlement of the conflict. Putin stated that the end of all foreign military and intelligence support to Ukraine would be one condition of such a settlement. (ABC News)

Law and crime

• 2025 Nagpur violence
  • A curfew is imposed in parts of Nagpur in Maharashtra, India, after Hindu groups demanded the removal of the tomb of Aurangzeb, a 17th-century Mughal emperor, sparking violence. (BBC News)
• The Peruvian government declares a state of emergency in the capital city Lima and deploys military personnel to make patrols to combat increased violent crime rates. (AP)

Politics and elections

• LGBTQ rights in Hungary
  • The Hungarian parliament votes 136–27 to ban LGBTQ events in the country, including the annual Budapest Pride event. (DW)

Science and technology

• Boeing Crew Flight Test, SpaceX Crew-9
  • Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon 2 capsule after nine months on the International Space Station (ISS). The astronauts were originally supposed to be aboard the ISS for eight days but their return was delayed due to technical problems with their Boeing Starliner Calypso capsule. (BBC News)

2025 March 17

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • Western Syria clashes
    • 2025 massacres of Syrian Alawites, March 2025 Western Syria clashes
      • Two massacres of Alawite Syrians kill fifty-seven people. The number of civilians reportedly killed in coastal Syria primarily by sectarian executions from Syrian government-associated forces since March 6 increases to 1,557. (SOHR)
  • Hezbollah involvement in the Syrian civil war, Hezbollah–Syria relations
    • Hezbollah–Syria clashes, Lebanon–Syria border clashes
      • According to Syria’s state media, clashes occur at the Lebanon–Syria border, after the Syrian transitional government accused Hezbollah militants of kidnapping three soldiers into Lebanon and subsequently killing them. (AP)
• Kivu conflict
  • M23 campaign
    • The M23 rebels announce they will withdraw from peace talks that was due to occur with the Congolese government tomorrow due to sanctions imposed on the group by the European Union earlier today. (DW)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • A drone strike in Astrakhan Oblast, Russia, injures one person and causes a fire at an energy facility, according to Astrakhan Oblast governor Igor Babushkin. (Reuters)
• Terrorism in Lithuania, Russian hybrid warfare
  • Lithuanian prosecutors accuse Russia’s military intelligence of orchestrating an arson attack on an IKEA store in Vilnius in May of last year. (Reuters)
• March 2025 United States attacks in Yemen
  • The U.S. launches airstrikes on targets in Al Hudaydah and the Al Jawf Governorate. Tens of thousands of people attend a rally against the U.S. attacks on Yemen in the capital city Sanaa. (Euronews) (France24)

Business and economy

• German economic crisis
  • German automaker Audi announces it will cut 7,500 jobs in the country due to slowing electric vehicle demand. (DW)

Disasters and accidents

• Aerolínea Lanhsa Flight 018
  • Thirteen people, including popular Garifuna musician Aurelio Martínez, are killed and five others are rescued when an Aerolínea Lanhsa Jetstream 41 crashes into the Caribbean Sea shortly after takeoff from Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport in Roatán, Bay Islands Department, Honduras. (South China Morning Post)
• Three people are killed when a Extra EA-400 plane crashes shortly after takeoff from Samedan Airport near La Punt Chamues-ch, Grisons, Switzerland. (The Times of India)
• Seven migrant bodies are recovered after a boat capsizes off the coast of Cyprus. (Reuters)
• A tourist dies on the stairs of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, causing a temporary closure of the monument. (O Globo)

International relations

• Belgium–Rwanda relations, Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda conflict, M23 campaign
  • Rwanda expels the Belgian ambassador after Belgium accused Rwanda of supporting M23 rebels in their campaign in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Belgium expels the Rwandan ambassador in return. The two countries sever diplomatic relations with one another, with Rwanda accusing Belgium of sustaining neocolonialism. (DW) (BBC News)
• Syria–European Union relations, Germany–Syria relations, Syria–United Kingdom relations
  • Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas vows for the European Union to lift sanctions against Syria to restore diplomatic ties between them, acknowledging the present massacres of Alawite civilians as showing Syria’s need for stability. Germany pledges €300 million in aid towards stabilizing Syria and its humanitarian situation. (Politico) (The New Arab)
  • The European Union pledges €2.5 billion ($2.7 billion) to Syria for aid, while the United Kingdom pledges an additional £160 million (€190.3 million). (DW)

Politics and elections

• A court in Georgia sentences former president Mikheil Saakashvili to four and a half years in prison for illegally entering the country in 2021. (BBC News)

2025 March 16

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Red Sea crisis
  • March 2025 United States attacks in Yemen
    • The Houthi health ministry announces that the death toll from yesterday’s strikes by the U.S. in Yemen rose to 53, with 98 injured. (BBC)
  • The Houthis claim that they targeted USS Harry S. Truman with 18 rockets and drones. No damage has been reported. (Al Jazeera Arabic)
• Insurgency in Balochistan
  • Eleven people are killed and 21 more are injured in a suicide bombing targeting a Frontier Corps convoy on a highway in Nushki, Balochistan, Pakistan. The Balochistan Liberation Army claims responsibility, claiming they killed 90 security personnel. (India Today) (WION)

Disasters and accidents

• Kočani nightclub fire
  • At least 59 people are killed and more than 152 others are injured after a fire breaks out in a nightclub during a concert in Kočani, North Macedonia. (Al Jazeera)
• Tornado outbreak of March 13–16, 2025
  • The death toll from the tornadoes across several states in the U.S. increases to 40. (ABC News)
• At least 16 people are killed and 18 others are injured when an unexploded ordnance from the Syrian civil war explodes and causes a building to collapse in Latakia, Latakia Governorate, Syria. (AP) (DW)
• The Wilhelmina Tower in Valkenburg, Netherlands, built in 1906 and designated a Rijksmonument, collapses. (NOS)

Politics and elections

• United States President Donald Trump signs an executive order shutting down multiple state-funded broadcasters, including Voice of America, Radio y Televisión Martí and Alhurra, and ceasing grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia. (ABC News Australia) (Reuters)

2025 March 15

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Gaza war
  • Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, Killing of journalists in the Gaza war
    • Israeli airstrikes kill at least nine Palestinians, including several journalists, and injures several others in Beit Lahia, North Gaza Governorate, Gaza. (UPI)
  • Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, Gaza Strip famine
    • UNICEF reports that 1 in 3 children in North Gaza are malnourished due to the Israeli blockade stopping all humanitarian aid, describing the situation as “catastrophic”. (Al Jazeera)
• Red Sea crisis
  • March 2025 United States attacks in Yemen
    • U.S. President Donald Trump orders a series of airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, killing at least 31 people and wounding 101 more. U.S. Central Command announces that the strikes are the beginning of a large-scale operation in Yemen. (AP) (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
• Insurgency in Balochistan
  • A police officer is killed and six others are injured when an improvised explosive device strikes an Anti-Terrorism Force vehicle on patrol in Kirani, Balochistan, Pakistan. (Asian News International)
• Myanmar civil war
  • At least 27 people are killed and 30 others are injured in an airstrike by the Tatmadaw in Let Pan Hla near Mandalay, Myanmar. (CTV News)
• Sudanese civil war
  • The bodies of eleven people, including women and children, are discovered at the bottom of a well in Khartoum, Sudan. The Sudanese government accuses the Rapid Support Forces of being behind the deaths. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• 2025 Sino-Metals Leach Zambia dam disaster
  • Environmental investigators determine that the February 2025 failure of a tailings dam owned by a Chinese copper mining company dumped 50 million liters of highly toxic waste into the Kafue River basin, killing ecosystems up to 100 km (62 mi) downstream and impacting the water supply, fishing activities, and irrigation of 60% of Zambia’s population. (The Independent)
• Dao Khanong Expressway Bridge collapse
  • Seven people are killed, sixteen others are injured, and at least thirty people are missing after an elevated section under construction of the Dao Khanong Expressway Bridge [th] collapses onto a section of the Chaloem Maha Nakhon Expressway in Bangkok, Thailand. (The Star)
• Tornado outbreak of March 13–16, 2025
  • The death toll from the tornado outbreak in the United States rises to 34 people. (ABC News)

International relations

• American expansionism under Donald Trump, Proposed United States acquisition of Greenland
  • Hundreds of people attend a protest outside the U.S. Consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, in opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposals of acquiring Greenland for the United States. (DW)
• Thailand–United States relations, Persecution of Uyghurs in China
  • United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces visa restrictions on former and current Thai officials who were involved in deporting of at least 40 Uyghur men who were seeking asylum back to China, despite concerns that they could face persecution. (Nikkei Asia)

Law and crime

• March 2025 Venezuelan deportations
  • U.S. President Donald Trump says Tren de Aragua is “conducting irregular warfare” against the US and orders its members to be deported under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Following a legal challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg temporarily blocks this order. (BBC)
  • The Trump administration deports more than 200 alleged members of Tren de Aragua and MS-13 to El Salvador where they are transferred to the Terrorism Confinement Center. (NPR)

Politics and elections

• 2024–present Serbian anti-corruption protests
  • A large crowd of people gathers on the streets of Belgrade, Serbia to protest against President Aleksandar Vučić and the ruling Serbian Progressive Party. The Ministry of Internal Affairs estimated the number of protestors at 107,000, although the independent media give a much higher number. The protest is said to be the largest at least since the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in 2000. (DW)
• Indonesian lawmakers meet at a Central Jakarta luxury hotel instead of the legislature amidst budget cuts, allegedly to secretly discuss on military law revisions that would bring back dwifungsi, a doctrine allowing military personnel to hold civilian positions. Civil activists try to stop the meeting but are hindered by hotel security. (Kompas) (TEMPO)

Previous Page: 20 of 31 Next