Portal:Current events/2022 March 20

March 20, 2022 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Business and economy

Reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 boycott of Russia and Belarus
  - Bulgaria says it will end gas imports from Russia's Gazprom when its 10-year deal with Gazprom expires at the end of 2022, signalling a shift away from Russian energy. Bulgarian Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov says Bulgaria will also seek increased gas imports from Azerbaijan. (Politico)

Disasters and accidents

At least five people are dead and dozens more missing after a ferry collides with a vessel and sinks in Bangladesh. (Reuters)
Five people die after a fishing boat is hit by a rogue wave off the North Cape, New Zealand. (Stuff)
A mine collapse in Özgön near the Osh Region in Kyrgyzstan kills three people. (AKIPress)

International relations

Reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 Russia–Ukraine peace negotiations
  - Russia–Ukraine relations
    - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu says that Russia and Ukraine are nearing an agreement on certain peace issues in an effort to end the war. (Reuters)
  - According to the Daily Express tabloid, a BBC correspondent says that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “finally agreed” to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (Wales Online)
  - Zelenskyy says that he is ready to meet with Putin. (CNN)
- France–Russia relations
  - France ends all attempts to negotiate with Russia and freezes financial assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation worth €22 billion. France also freezes properties owned by Russian oligarchs worth €150 million. (The Jerusalem Post)
2021–2022 North Korean missile tests
- South Korea claims that North Korea fired a short-range multiple rocket launcher into the sea. (AP) (Reuters)

Law and crime

Protests against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 anti-war protests in Russian-occupied Ukraine
  - Residents in Kherson confront Russian military vehicles and tell them to "go home". (Sky News)
- A concert is held by anti-war demonstrators near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, to call for the war to end. (Reuters)
2022 Strépy-Bracquegnies car crash
- A car is driven into a crowd preparing to celebrate carnival in Strépy-Bracquegnies, Belgium, killing six people and injuring around 40 others. (BBC News)

Politics and elections