Portal:Current events/2016 March 1
Appearance
March 1, 2016
(Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Donbass
- Three soldiers are killed and two others are injured after a Ukrainian military truck was blown up in the eastern part of Luhansk Oblast. (Ukraine Today)
- Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017), American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–2021)
- The United States Army's elite Delta Force captures their first suspected ISIL operative during a raid in northern Iraq. The detainee is being interrogated by the U.S. and is expected to be turned over to Iraqi officials in the coming days. (CNN)
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Faulty readings from a GPS system apparently resulted in two Israeli soldiers driving into the Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces sent in on a rescue mission, engaged armed Palestinians. One 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed with 10 others wounded, one seriously, in the ensuing gun battle. At least 10 Israeli soldiers were wounded. (The Washington Post) (The Daily Telegraph)
Disasters and accidents
- At least 18 people are killed and 16 others injured in a multi-vehicle accident involving a bus near Nahdah in northwestern Oman. Six of the dead were from Oman, four from Saudi Arabia, two from Pakistan, and one from Yemen. Five others are unidentified. (AP via ABC News)
- The Peruvian Army is deployed on the country's northern and southern coasts to help cope with El Niño-related floods that have killed at least two people and left thousands homeless. (Euronews)
- Residents from more than 50 homes in Ripley, New York, are evacuated following the derailment of a 34-car Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials in the southwestern part of the state. Ethanol leaked from the two of the 16 derailed cars. A third car carrying propane crashed but did not leak. (Reuters) (AP via Fox News)
Health
- 2015–16 Zika virus epidemic
- The first Zika virus case is confirmed in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. (WMUR)
International relations
- 2016 North Korean nuclear test
- The United Nations Security Council vote on the United States-China draft resolution on North Korea is rescheduled to 10:00 a.m. EST Wednesday. Russia requests more time to review the text. (Reuters)
- Libyan Crisis (2011–present)
- The United Kingdom is to send troops to Tunisia to help the Tunisian Army prevent ISIL militants from moving into the country from Libya. (Reuters)
- European migrant crisis
- United Nations refugee agency spokesperson Adrian Edwards warns that Europe is on the verge, "... of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis, ..." if the rapid build-up of migrants continues at the northern borders of an already over-stretched Greece. There are at least 24,000 there now, including 8,500 at Idomeni, the site of yesterday's incident. (Business Standard) (Kathimerini)
- South China Sea disputes
- Filipino fishermen say China has deployed up to five ships around the disputed Quirino Atoll, also known as Jackson Atoll, in the South China Sea, preventing them from accessing traditional fishing grounds. (Reuters via Channel NewsAsia)
Law and crime
- A grand jury in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania reports that hundreds of children were sexually abused by about 50 priests in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese over four decades. (Reuters)
- Ukraine bans government officials from publicly criticizing the work of state institutions and their colleagues, after damaging disclosures last month that highlighted slow progress in fighting corruption. (Reuters)
- Transgender and schools, LGBT rights in South Dakota
- In the United States, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard vetoes House Bill 1008 that would have required transgender students to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities based on their gender at birth in state public schools. The bill would have been law at midnight if the governor had not acted. (Chicago Sun-Times) (NPR)
- The primary sponsor of the legislation asks fellow lawmakers not to override the governor’s veto. (The Washington Post)
- In California, two current and one former San Franciscan sheriff deputies, are charged with organizing an inmate "fight club" on the seventh floor of the city's Hall of Justice jail. (Los Angeles Times) (AP via Fox News)
Politics and elections
- 2016 United States presidential election
- Voters in the U.S. states of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and the overseas territory of American Samoa go to the polls to vote on Super Tuesday. (CNN) (BBC)
- The results show Hillary Clinton winning the Democratic Party races in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, American Samoa. Massachusetts and Virginia while Bernie Sanders has won Vermont, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Colorado. (Oregon Live) (New York Post) (New York Times) (New York Times²)
- Voting returns show that Donald Trump wins the Republican Party races in Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Virginia, Vermont, Arkansas and Tennessee while Ted Cruz wins Texas, Alaska and Oklahoma and Marco Rubio wins Minnesota. (New York Times) (The Washington Post) (Vox) (Alaska)
- Corruption in South Africa
- President Jacob Zuma survives a no-confidence vote in the South African Parliament in response to corruption allegations against him. (BBC)
- Irish general election, 2016
- Prime Minister Enda Kenny, who rejected suggestions he should resign, says he will "fully and inclusively" engage with other parties, groups and Independents, including Fianna Fáil, as he forms the country's government. Sinn Féin says it is not interested in forming a coalition government with Kenny's Fine Gael party. (Irish Independent) (Irish Examiner)
Science and technology
- ISS year long mission
- U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Korniyenko return to Earth after 340 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). (BBC)
- The Association for Computing Machinery awards the 2015 A.M. Turing Award to Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman for the invention of public-key cryptography and digital signatures which revolutionized computer security. (TechNewsWorld)
Sport
- Cuba–United States relations
- MLB announces the Tampa Bay Rays professional baseball team will play an exhibition game with the Cuban National Team on March 22, 2016, in Havana. United States President Barack Obama, who is scheduled to visit the island nation then, is expected to attend. (ESPN) (Tampa Bay Times)