Portal:Current events/2026 March 17

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Middle Eastern crisis
  • 2026 Iran war
    • 2026 Iranian strikes on Israel
      • An Iranian Khorramshahr missile strikes Ramat Gan in central Israel, killing two people. (The Times of Israel) (Ynet News)
    • 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
      • An oil tanker near Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, is struck by an unknown projectile. (Forbes)
    • Assassination of Ali Larijani
      • 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) (Reuters)
    • The Wall Street Journal reports that Russia is actively sharing military intelligence with Iran, including satellite images of United States military bases and locations of potential targets, as well as improved drone technology. (Reuters) (The Wall Street Journal)
  • Hezbollah–Israel conflict
    • 2026 Lebanon war
      • Three Lebanese soldiers are killed and four more are injured during Israeli airstrikes in the Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon. (L'Orient Today)
  • Gaza war
    • Three people, including a child, are killed and 14 more are injured in an Israeli airstrike in Al-Mawasi, Gaza. (Reuters) (The Times of Israel)
• War on drugs
  • Ecuadorian conflict
    • The Ecuadorian government deploys 75,000 soldiers and police officers to four provinces to enforce a nightly curfew. Officials say 253 people have already been detained for breaking curfew, which lasts from 11 pm to 5 am local time. (AP)
  • Colombian president Gustavo Petro accuses the Ecuadorian military of being the perpetrator of an airstrike two days ago inside Colombia, killing 27 people, and orders the deployment of its troops to the border in response. (Bloomberg News) (Al Jazeera)
• Nigerian bandit conflict
  • At least 18 people are killed and several others are injured in an attack by armed bandits in a village in Jibia, Katsina State, Nigeria. (Channels TV) (The Punch)

Arts and culture

• Patriarch Ilia II, head of the Georgian Orthodox Church since 1977, dies at the age of 93. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• Economic impact of the 2026 Iran war
  • The United Arab Emirates' offshore Shah gas field suspends operations following a drone attack. (Forbes)

Disasters and accidents

• Five people are killed following a fire at the Dos Bocas Refinery in Paraíso, Tabasco, Mexico. (AFP via New Zealand Herald)

Health and environment

• Argentine foreign minister Pablo Quirno announces the country's formal withdrawal from the World Health Organization. (La Nación in Spanish)

Law and crime

• A court in Brussels, Belgium, orders former diplomat Étienne Davignon to stand trial on charges of participation in war crimes in connection with the 1961 killing of former Congolese prime minister Patrice Lumumba. Davignon is the only surviving individual among those accused by Lumumba’s family of involvement in the case. (AFP via The Caledonian-Record)
• A Vatican appeals court orders a retrial of Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was convicted of embezzlement in 2023, citing procedural errors in the original proceedings. The court maintains his previously imposed prison sentence pending the outcome of the new trial. (AFP via GMA News)
• The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador votes 59–1 to approve a constitutional amendment to permit courts to issue sentences of life imprisonment to individuals convicted of murder, rape, or terrorism where the limit was previously 60 years. (Reuters)
• One person is killed and another is injured in a shooting at Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States. (CBS News)

Politics and elections

• 2026 Republic of the Congo presidential election
  • Provisional results announced by interior minister Raymond Mboulou reported that incumbent president of Congo-Brazzaville Denis Sassou Nguesso will be re-elected with 94.82% of the vote. (AP)
• Reactions to the 2026 Iran war
  • U.S. National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent resigns in protest of the war with Iran, saying that "Iran posed ​no ​imminent ⁠threat to our ⁠nation" and alleged the U.S. entered into the war due to pressure from Israel and its American lobby. (Reuters)
• Peruvian political crisis (2016–present)
  • Prime Minister Denisse Miralles resigns and president José María Balcázar names Luis Arroyo to replace her. (The Rio Times)

Sports

• 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
  • In association football, the Confederation of African Football formally overturns the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final in which Senegal won 1–0 over hosts Morocco due to a controversial walk-off by Senagalese players during extra-time. Morocco are awarded the title with a 3–0 win, their second title win. (BBC Sport)
• 2026 World Baseball Classic
  • In baseball, Venezuela defeats the United States 3–2 in the championship game to win their first World Baseball Classic. (Yahoo! Sports)