Portal:Current events/2016 March 27

March 27, 2016 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Palmyra offensive (March 2016)
  - The Syrian Army takes full control of Palmyra after heavy fighting with ISIL forces, according to a Syrian military source. (Sky News)
2016 Lahore suicide bombing
- A suicide bomber from a Pakistani Taliban faction kills at least 60 people and injures 300 others at a park in Lahore, Pakistan, and the group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it intentionally targeted Christians celebrating on Easter Sunday. An official says the explosion took place close to Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park's children's rides. (CNN) (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) (AP)

Arts and culture

Thousands of people in Dublin, Ireland, attend the Irish government's commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising against British rule. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

At least 12 Algerian Army soldiers are killed in a military helicopter crash near the town of Reggane, in Algeria's southern Adrar Province. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Israel's Supreme Court blocks the government's plan, signed last December by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the U.S. Noble Energy and the Israeli Delek Group companies, to develop Israel's offshore gas deposits. The court found the so-called "stability clause," that would prevent Israel from making significant regulatory changes for the next 10 years, undemocratically restricts the Knesset's power. The government has one year to come up with an alternative arrangement or the plan will be canceled. (AP) (Ynetnews) (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Myanmar general election, 2015
- Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar's military chief, pledges to work with the new civilian government that takes over the Southeast Asian country next week, after 54 years of direct or indirect rule by the military. (AP)

2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- According to a new poll, two-thirds of Venezuelans think President Nicolás Maduro should end his presidency this year or be removed via a recall referendum amid a worsening economic crisis. In the event of a referendum, 52.1 percent of Venezuelans would vote to remove him from office, up from 44.5 percent in January, according to the poll. (Reuters)
2015–16 protests in Moldova
- Thousands of people rally in the streets of Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, demanding reunification with Romania. The rally is meant to mark the 98th anniversary since the former Romanian province of Bessarabia was unified with the Kingdom of Romania on March 27, 1918. The protesters say unification with Romania is the way for corruption-ridden Moldova to move forward and join the European Union. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Aftermath of the 2016 Brussels bombings
- Police in Brussels, Belgium, forcibly break up an apparent far-right demonstration with water cannons after they joined a crowd of people paying tribute to the victims of the bombings. The demonstrators claim to have marched against terrorism but police intervened when the demonstrators confronted Muslim women and made Nazi salutes. (Euronews) (BBC)