Portal:Current events/2017 March 23

March 23, 2017 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2017 Westminster attack
- Authorities arrest at least eight people in connection with yesterday's attack. (Fox News)
- London's Metropolitan Police Service announces that the attacker is British-born Khalid Masood, previously questioned by British authorities for connections to terrorism. (Reuters)
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility. (The Telegraph)
A former Ukrainian soldier assassinates former Russian Duma deputy Denis Voronenkov in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. In December 2016, he received Ukrainian citizenship. Ilya Ponomarev says Voronenkov was heading to a meeting with him. (The Moscow Times)
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- Taliban insurgents seize control of the strategic town of Sangin in the southern Helmand Province after a year-long battle with Afghan security forces. (BBC)
2017 Antwerp attack
- A man drives into a crowd of pedestrians in Antwerp, Belgium, injuring several people. Police arrest the man, who is believed to be North African born and living in France. (The New York Times)

Arts and culture

The American city of Fort Collins, Colorado, announces its intention to appeal a federal judge's ruling that blocked the city’s ban on women appearing topless in public. (USA Today via MSN)
Cardinal William Henry Keeler, who was Archbishop of Baltimore from 1989 to 2007, dies at the age of 86. At the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), he served as the moderator for Catholic-Jewish relations as well as the Chair for the Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs between 1984 and 1987. (Catholic News Agency)

Disasters and accidents

A series of explosions on a military base near the Ukrainian city of Balakliya forces thousands to be evacuated from their homes. (BBC)
Sinking of MV Sewol
- The South Korean government raises the wreckage of the MV Sewol from the sea near the South Korean island of Donggeochado. The ferry sank in April 2014, killing 304 people. (BBC)

Politics and elections

American Health Care Act of 2017
- The United States House of Representatives approaches a vote on a replacement plan for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). (CNN)
- The U.S. House postpones the vote due to a lack of support and slow progress in dealmaking. (CNN)

Science and environment

The night parrot is confirmed sighted (and photographed) in Western Australia for first time in nearly 100 years. (The Guardian)