Portal:Current events/2014 March 3

March 3, 2014 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2014 Crimean crisis:
- The commander of the Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaydachniy reportedly confirms that the ship never defected to Russia as reported in Russian media. (Ministry of Defence of Ukraine)
- Ireland's deputy leader Eamon Gilmore responds by summoning his Russian ambassador for talks. (The Irish Times)
- The Lithuanian and Polish presidents call for NATO treaty Article 4 consultations on the basis that Russia is executing military maneuvers in Kaliningrad, close to the borders with Lithuania and Poland. (Lithuania Tribune)
- Reuters reports that armed men have seized a ferry checkpoint between Crimea and Russia. (Fox News)
Young men with guns open fire at a local court in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, resulting in at least 11 deaths and 22 injuries. (Associated Press of Pakistan)
Violence across Nigeria, between Islamic terrorists and the Nigerian military, kills dozens of people. (CNN)

Art and culture

86th Academy Awards:
- 12 Years a Slave wins three Oscars, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. (Los Angeles Times)
- Italian film The Great Beauty wins the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. (Reuters)
- Alfonso Cuarón wins the Academy Award for Best Director for the film Gravity, which earned the most Awards during the ceremony, a total of seven. (Euronews)
- Matthew McConaughey wins the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club. (Reuters)
- Cate Blanchett wins the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Blue Jasmine. (Los Angeles Times)
- Frozen wins two Oscars, including the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. (Los Angeles Times)
Frozen becomes the eighteenth film and second animated film to cross the $1 billion mark in worldwide box office grosses. (Variety)
RTÉ, the Irish national broadcast service, is jammed inexplicably with strange and repetitive messages, provoking confusion and debate. (Independent)

Business and Economy

Google and Samsung have asked an agency of the government of the People's Republic of China to impose limiting conditions on a proposed merger of Microsoft and Nokia. (Bloomberg)
Microsoft founder Bill Gates regains the top spot as the world's richest person, according to Forbes magazine's annual ranking of global billionaires. (BBC News)

International relations

North Korea announces that it will release Australian Christian missionary John Short on account of his age. (Reuters via ABC Australia)

Law and crime

Politics and elections

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta announces the composition of his new government after days of complicated negotiations with main ethnic Hungarian party of Romania. (Reuters)

Science and technology

Scientists announce the discovery of pithovirus, the largest giant virus yet known, from a 30,000-year-old sample of frozen tundra. (Nature)

Sports

Graeme Smith, the captain of the South Africa cricket team, announces his retirement from international cricket at the end of the current series against Australia. (BBC Sport)