Portal:Current events/2014 March 26
March 26, 2014 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- A police officer critically injures a 10-year-old child after hitting him with a tear gas canister at close range at a Peace and Democracy Party event in Diyarbakır, Turkey. (BBC News)
Business and economy
- Nissan announces the recall of over one million vehicles, citing faulty airbags. (KNTV)
- Social games developer King completes its initial public offering, valuing the company at US$7 billion. (Forbes)
Disasters and accidents
- A massive fire breaks out in Back Bay, Boston killing 2 firefighters and injuring at least 16 people. (New York Daily News)
International relations
- Three U.S. Secret Service agents are sent home due to a "drunken incident" ahead of U.S. president Barack Obama's arrival in the Netherlands. (The Guardian)
- North Korea fires two mid-range ballistic missiles as the leaders of the United States, Japan and South Korea meet to discuss the security threat it poses to the region. (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
- The Guardian deputy editor Paul Johnson confirms that British law enforcement agencies have threatened to close the newspaper over its role in publishing global surveillance information obtained from U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden. (The Irish Times)
- Garda phone tapping scandal in the Republic of Ireland:
- Alan Shatter fights for his political survival in front of the Republic's parliament when he faces questions about yesterday's revelations of decades-long nationwide bugging. (The Guardian)
- It emerges that the Taoiseach Enda Kenny dispatched a senior civil servant to the former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan before his abrupt departure yesterday; Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin accuses Kenny of having effectively "sacked" the Commissioner. (RTÉ News)
- Justice minister Alan Shatter corrects the parliamentary record, admitting he was wrong to insult whistleblowers. (The Journal)
- The trial of two men suspected of IRA membership collapses, the first court case to be averted by this week's events in the Republic. (Irish Independent)
- Transport minister Leo Varadkar, whose remarks against his colleague Shatter directly preceded this week's events, speaks out, confirming he has "difficulty getting [his] head around it at the moment". (The Journal)
- A Turkish court lifts the ban on Twitter imposed by the government after a user spread allegations of corruption. (BBC News)
- Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law, is convicted in New York City of conspiring to kill Americans in his role as spokesman for al-Qaida. (Associated Press)
- California State Senator Leland Yee is arrested in a raid involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the California Highway Patrol for alleged firearms trafficking, bribery, and corruption. (KRON)
Politics
- Egyptian Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi resigns from his position as Minister of Defense and announces his bid for the upcoming presidential election. (Reuters)
- Taavi Rõivas is sworn in as Prime Minister of Estonia, succeeding Andrus Ansip and becoming the youngest government leader in the European Union at 34 years. (Eesti Rahvusringhääling)
Science and technology
- The first-known ringed centaur, 10199 Chariklo, is discovered. (ESO)
Sports
- In sumo, Mongolian wrestler Kakuryū Rikisaburō is promoted to yokozuna, becoming the 71st person to earn the title. (Kyodo via Mainichi Daily News)
- Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel, swimmer Missy Franklin and the Bayern Munich football team are big winners at the Laureus World Sports Awards held in Kuala Lumpur. (AAP via the Roar)