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Charles H. Bennett and Gilles Brassard are awarded the 2025 Turing Award for their work in quantum information science. (BBC News) 

Friday, March 20th, 2026 

Iran executes three men arrested during protests last January by hanging.  (Euronews) 

Swedish foreign minister Maria Malmer Stenergard says that Iran has executed a Swedish citizen who was arrested in Iran last June. (Reuters) 

Iran confirms the death of IRGC spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran. (Al Jazeera) 

Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announces the withdrawal of Polish forces from Iraq, stationed there as part of the CJTF–OIR joint task force against the Islamic State, citing the regional threat from Iran. (Devdiscouse) 

Government forces arrest three men suspected of participating in the February attacks and mass abductions in two villages in Kaiama, Kwara State, Nigeria. The suspects are cooperating with authorities to locate the kidnapping victims. (The Punch) 

The United States says it will not allow Cuba to receive any shipments of fuel oil from Russia as two Russian tankers are en route to Havana to deliver around 190,000 barrels of oil amid a critical shortage on the island. (CNBC) 

American actor Kevin Spacey settles out of court with three men at the High Court of Justice in London, England, who accused Spacey of sexually assaulting them between 2000 and 2013. (AP) 

Thursday, March 19th, 2026 

Iranian Shahed drones strike two oil refineries in Kuwait and cause large fires, according to the Kuwait National Petroleum Company. (The Telegraph) 

A U.S. Air Force F-35 fighter jet is hit in Iranian airspace forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing at a regional U.S. airbase. (The Independent) 

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) reports its forces have destroyed a factory in Karaj, Iran, which assembled surface-to-surface missiles for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. (BBC News) 

A raid kills eleven members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Sinaloa, Mexico, with a senior cartel leader being captured along with many weapons. (Reuters) 

The Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip reopens for limited movement, allowing a restricted number of Palestinian patients to enter Egypt for medical treatment and some people to return to Gaza under coordinated security procedures, following its closure as a security measure amid the 2026 Iran war. (AFP via Philippine Daily Inquirer) 

Germany drops out of defending Israel in South Africa’s International Court of Justice genocide case against Israel, citing their need to defend themselves in a separate case launched against them by Nicaragua. (Haaretz) 

An Iranian man and a woman whose nationality is unknown are arrested by Police Scotland for attempting to enter Royal Navy base HMNB Clyde.  (BBC News) 

Wednesday, March 18th, 2026 

The U.S. Air Force uses GBU-72 bunker buster bombs for the first time in combat to destroy underground Iranian anti-ship cruise missile sites used to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz. (TWZ) 

Aramco restarts operations at Ras Tanura oil refinery, the largest in Saudi Arabia, following a 16-day closure. (Oil Price) 

Saudi Arabia’s air defenses intercept and destroy multiple drones targeting gas and energy facilities in the Eastern Province, with no damage reported. (Saudi Gazette) 

Israeli forces assassinate both Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani and Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani in two separate airstrikes in Tehran. Iran later confirms their deaths. (Al Jazeera) 

Israel assassinates Iranian intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib in an overnight airstrike in Tehran. (AP) (Reuters) 

Israel strikes the South Pars natural gas field in the Persian Gulf and its neighboring refineries in Iran. Iran announces it will retaliate against regional energy infrastructure. (The Guardian) 

A foreign worker is killed by a cluster bomb impact in Moshav Adanim, central Israel. (The Times of Israel) 

Iran launches a missile attack on Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar, the world’s largest LNG export facility, causing “extensive damage” according to QatarEnergy. (Al Jazeera) 

Qatar declares Iran’s military and security attachés and their staff personae non gratae and orders them to leave the country within 24 hours following an attack on Ras Laffan Industrial City. (AFP via Vanguard News) 

Cesar Chavez Day celebrations are cancelled in many communities across the United States after late labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez was accused by dozens of women and girls, including labor leader Dolores Huerta, of child grooming, sexual assault, and rape. (NBC News) 

One person is killed when a cable car cabin crashes down a snowy mountainside in Engelberg, Obwalden, Switzerland. (CNN) 

The End