Sunday, March 17th, 2024 

Russian president Vladimir Putin is reelected to a fifth term in office with 87% of the vote. External observers widely consider he had “no real opposition”. (Reuters) 

The Noon Against Putin protest occurs. (The Washington Post) 

Ukraine says that three Russian sabotage groups have been intercepted in Sumy Oblast. (The Kyiv Independent) 

A drone reportedly hits a military base in Transnistria, destroying an Mi-8 helicopter. (The Kyiv Independent) 

Niger’s military junta revokes a military accord with the United States that allowed U.S. Defense Department personnel on its soil. (Reuters) 

Saturday, March 16th, 2024 

A court in Hong Kong sentences 12 people to prison terms ranging from four to seven years in prison for storming the Legislative Council Complex in July 2019. The defendants included actor Gregory Wong and activists Ventus Lau and Owen Chow. (Reuters) 

In Japan, the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension from Kanazawa to Tsuruga, Fukui is completed. (NHK) 

The Netherlands awards a contract to French defense firm Naval Group to build its Orka-class submarines. The new submarines will replace the aging Walrus-class submarine fleet. (Le Monde) 

Vaughan Gething is elected leader of Welsh Labour with 51.7% of the vote, making him the first Black First Minister of Wales upon taking office. (BBC News) 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he has approved a military operation to capture Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip amid international pressure to stop the offensive. (Reuters) 

A gunman kills three people in Falls Township, Pennsylvania, United States, and escapes in a carjacked car. The suspect subsequently traveled to Trenton, New Jersey, where he barricaded himself with several hostages. (NBC News) 

Friday,  March 15th, 2024 

At least 20 people are killed and at least 73 others are injured in a Russian double tap missile strike in Odesa, Ukraine. (CNN) 

At least three people are killed by tornadoes in Logan County, Ohio, United States. (AP) 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo lifts the 2003 moratorium on the death penalty in an attempt to reduce the level of violence in the country. (ABC News) 

The Sudanese National Forces Coordination, a coalition of pro-SAF armed groups led by vice president Malik Agar, declares its support politically and militarily for the SAF. (Radio Dabanga) 

The Croatian government votes to dissolve the parliament, thereby requiring that a parliamentary election be held within the next two months. The parliamentary election was originally scheduled to be held on September 22. (Reuters) 

Thursday, March 14th, 2024 

A Royal Air Force plane carrying UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and several journalists has its GPS signals jammed while flying near Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. Mobile phone signals were also jammed during the flight. The Russian military is suspected of being behind the jamming. (BBC News) 

Russian-installed officials at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine, say that shelling has hit critical infrastructure at the plant and that “such attacks are unacceptable”. (Reuters) 

A civilian is killed and three others are injured by airstrikes launched by Ukraine in Belgorod Oblast, Russia. (TASS) 

Iraq’s National Security Council formally bans the Kurdistan Workers’ Party following a high-level meeting between Iraqi and Turkish officials in Baghdad, Iraq. (Al Monitor) 

At least 20 people are killed and 155 are injured at a food distribution point in the Kuwait Roundabout. (CNN) 

An al-Shabaab member blows himself up outside a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing three guards and two security forces. Six gunmen then stormed the hotel in 13-hour siege, causing a gunfight with the army in which three soldiers and the six attackers are killed. Twenty-seven other people are wounded. (Al Jazeera) 

Denmark announces plans to extend military conscription to women for the first time and to also increase the standard service time. (BBC News) 

SpaceX Starship integrated flight test 3  SpaceX successfully launches the first Starship rocket, the most powerful rocket ever built, at Starbase in Texas, United States, after two previous failed attempts. The rocket reached an altitude of more than 200 kilometres (120 mi), but was destroyed during re-entry. (Al Jazeera) 

Wednesday, March 13th, 2024 

Ukraine launches a wave of drone strikes in Russia for a second consecutive day, causing a fire at a Rosneft oil refinery in Ryazan Oblast, while a Ukrainian drone is reportedly shot down near Kirishi refinery in Leningrad Oblast. Russian President Vladimir Putin says the attacks are an attempt to disrupt the upcoming presidential election. (Reuters) 

The European Union agrees to provide an additional €5 billion to their Ukrainian military aid fund. (Reuters) 

The European Union‘s counter-piracy mission says that one of its warships is currently shadowing the hijacked Bangladeshi bulk carrier Abdullah as it sails toward the coast of Somalia. At least 23 crew members are being held hostage by pirates on the ship. (AP) 

The United States deploys a Marine Corps Security Force Regiment platoon to secure the U.S. embassy complex in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (NBC News) 

Seven people are killed and 27 others are injured in an explosion caused by a suspected gas leak at a restaurant in Langfang, Hebei Province, China. (China Daily)  

The British government announces that it will ban foreign state ownership of newspapers amid a controversial bid by a United Arab Emirates-led consortium to take over the Telegraph Media Group, which publishes The Daily Telegraph. (AP) 

Party for Freedom leader Geert Wilders abandons his bid to become the next Prime Minister of the Netherlands citing a lack of support from other political parties in coalition formation talks. Wilders led his party to a surprise victory in the 2023 Dutch general election with 37 seats. (BBC News) 

Sixteen SWAT officers are injured in an explosion at a training center in Orange County, California, United States. (ABC News) 

The End