At least 19 people are killed and 25 others are injured when their bus falls into a ditch in Madaripur District, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. (WION) 

Sunday, March 19th, 2023 

Russian president Vladimir Putin visits Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, in Russian-occupied Ukraine, for the first time since the invasion began. (AP) 

Nine Chinese nationals are killed and two others are injured when suspected rebels storm the Chinese-run Chimbolo gold mine in Ouaka, Central African Republic. (AP) 

UBS Group AG, supported by the Swiss government, reaches a deal to merge with Credit Suisse as the latter faces imminent insolvency. (BBC News) 

Incumbent president Milo Đukanović wins the first round and will face Jakov Milatović in the runoff on 2 April. (Reuters) 

Ruling party Amanat wins the election to the Mäjilis. (Reuters) 

Saturday, March 18th, 2023 

Russian forces shell Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, with cluster munitions, killing at least two civilians and injuring five others. (Ukrinform) 

A 6.8 earthquake strikes the Ecuadorian province of Guayas, damaging buildings and killing at least sixteen people, including one in neighboring Peru. (The Guardian) 

A court in Iran sentences two men to death over the October 2022 mass shooting at the Shah Cheragh mosque in Shiraz, which killed 15 people. (Al Arabiya) 

Slovakia announces that it will donate its MiG-29 fighter jets, and supply part of its Kub air-defense system to Ukraine. (Reuters) 

The Taliban kill several Islamic State – Khorasan Province insurgents and seize weapons and ammunitions during raids at hideouts in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province. (Xinhua) 

The End

Friday,  March 17th, 2023 

The International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, presidential commissioner for children’s rights, for alleged war crimes involving the abduction and forced adoption of children from Ukraine. (AP) 

Poland announces that it will deliver four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, becoming the first NATO member state to send warplanes to Ukraine. (Sky News) 

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces that Turkey will begin the process of ratifying Finland’s membership of NATO without Sweden, which Turkey accuses of supporting the PKK. (Yle) 

Hungary announces that a vote on Finland’s membership application will take place on March 27. Fidesz parlimentary group leader Máté Kocsis says that Sweden’s application will be considered at a later date. (AFP via Barron’s) 

Fourteen people are killed and at least 12 others are injured by a roof collapse at a cold storage warehouse in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, India. (Metro) 

New Zealand bans the use of Chinese-owned video sharing app TikTok on all government devices. (The Guardian) 

Thursday, March 16th, 2023 

The Moldovan parliament approves a law that formally declares the country’s official language as Romanian. (Reuters) 

The Libyan National Army says that it has found about two and a half tonnes of uranium ore contained in ten drums, near the border with Chad, that was reported missing by the International Atomic Energy Agency. (BBC News) 

Two police officers are killed by a 16-year-old gunman while responding to a domestic dispute call at an apartment complex in Inglewood, Edmonton, Canada. The perpetrator kills himself after seriously wounding his mother. (CBC News) 

Over 220 Brazilian National Guardsmen are deployed to the northeastern states of Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba after riots caused by imprisoned gang members result in three deaths and class cancellations in both states. (AP) 

The British government bans the use of Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok on all government devices, citing security concerns. (Sky News) 

Four people including including Islamic Jihad and Hamas commanders are killed and five more injured during a raid by Israeli security forces in the Jenin refugee camp, in the West Bank. (The Jerusalem Post)

Eight miltants and two civilian children are killed during a military operation by the Pakistani military in Zinghara, South Waziristan. (Xinhua) 

The death toll from Cyclone Freddy has increased to over 300. Most of the deaths occurring in Malawi. (Al Jazeera) 

French President Emmanuel Macron invokes a Constitutional amendment allowing him to circumvent the National Assembly in order to pass a controversial reform bill raising the retirement age in the country from 62 to 64, without the law going to a vote. (New York Times) 

The End

Tuesday,  March 14^th 2023 

OpenAI launches GPT-4, the next generation large language model for artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT. The new model can respond to images, and has the ability to process up to 25,000 words. (BBC News) 

Russian Su-27 fighter jets “intercepted and hit” a United States Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea, with the collision damaging the drone’s propeller and causing the United States to crash the drone into international waters. (The Washington Post) (Reuters) 

Argentina’s annual inflation rate increases to 102.5%, the highest recorded rate since 1991, according to the country’s statistics index. (Reuters) 

Meta Platforms announces plans to cut 10,000 more jobs across its workforce, citing “higher interest rates in the United States, global geopolitical instability and increased regulation” as the reason for the layoffs. (BBC News) 

Protests occur in Pakistan over the possible arrest of PTI chairman and former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan. (livemint) 

Lithuania’s Seimas votes to recognize Russian paramilitary force Wagner Group as a terrorist organization, citing the group’s “numerous crimes” in Ukraine, including the killing and torturing of civilians. (RFE/RL) 

Ecuadorian lawmakers unanimously vote to declassify documents in continuing efforts to impeach president Guillermo Lasso for corruption. (Reuters) 

President of Honduras Xiomara Castro announces that Honduras will stop recognizing Taiwan and will start recognizing the People’s Republic of China as the sole Chinese state. (AP) 

Ecuador withdraws its ambassador from Argentina in protest of the latter sheltering Ecuatorian politician María de los Angeles Duarte since 2020, refusing to give information of her whereabouts. Hours later, Argentina also withdraws its ambassador from Ecuador, escalating diplomatic tensions between the two nations. (Infobae) 

Monday,  March 13th, 2023 

New York-based commercial bank Signature Bank is closed down after a bank run on its deposits, and is taken into receivership by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. (Reuters) 

Cyclone Freddy kills at least 99 people in Malawi, including 85 people in Blantyre. It is the longest-lived tropical cyclone on record, according to the WMO, having formed on February 4. (The Guardian) 

One person is killed and three others are injured by an apparent gas explosion in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. (BBC News) 

Two people are killed and nine others are injured when a truck strikes a group of pedestrians in Amqui, Quebec, Canada. (CBS News) 

Kerisiano Kalolo becomes the new Head of Government of Tokelau. (RNZ) 

The End