Portal:Current events/2018 March 17
March 17, 2018 (Saturday)
Disasters and accidents
- 2018 Philippine Piper PA-23 Apache crash
- A Piper PA-23 passenger aircraft bound for Laoag International Airport in Ilocos Norte, Philippines, crashes upon take off from Plaridel Airport in Bulacan, killing all five people onboard as well as five on the ground. (Reuters) (Rappler)
International relations
- Russia–United Kingdom relations, Reactions to the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal
- In response to the UK's decision to expel 23 Russian diplomats following the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, the Russian Federation expels 23 British diplomats, closes the British Council in Russia and closes the Consulate-General of the United Kingdom in Saint Petersburg. (BBC)
Law and crime
- Judicial system of Iran
- Former Vice President of Iran Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, a close ally to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is arrested after criticizing Iran's judiciary. (AP via Al-Arabiya)
- Crime in the United States
- A man is arrested in Austin, Texas, for threatening, via email, to bomb the SXSW festival. (NPR)
- Facebook and Cambridge Analytica data breach
- Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey launches an investigation into alleged harvesting of Facebook profiles by Cambridge Analytica, a firm employed by Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign. (BBC) (Reuters via The New York Times)
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States launches an investigation into potential defects in the airbag control systems of some Kia and Hyundai models. (NPR)
Politics and elections
- South Australian state election, 2018, Batman by-election, 2018, Cottesloe state by-election, 2018
- Australian voters in South Australia, the Melbourne division of Batman, and the Perth electoral district of Cottesloe go to the polls in three separate elections. (Switzer Daily)
- The SA Liberals win a majority of seats in South Australia's lower house, ending 16 years of Labor Party government in the state. (The Guardian)
- Ged Kearney retains the Batman Division for the Australian Labor Party, despite earlier predictions that the Australian Greens would win. (SBS News)