Portal:Current events/2026 March 20

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Middle Eastern crisis
  • 2026 Iran war
    • 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
      • Belgium says that it will consider participating in securing the Strait of Hormuz if a ceasefire is in place and if the operation is conducted within a clear international framework. (Anadolu Agency)
    • U.S. President Donald Trump says that the United States is considering “winding down” military operations in Iran amidst the deployment of Marines to the Middle East. (Axis)
    • Iran confirms the death of IRGC spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran. (Al Jazeera)
  • Syrian conflict
    • Druze insurgency in Southern Syria
      • Israeli forces strike Syrian military sites, including command and control centres and supply depots, in the south of the country, in response to Syrian government attacks on the local Druze population. (BBC News)
• War on terror
  • Boko Haram insurgency
    • 2026 Kwara State attacks
      • 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)
  • Iraqi conflict
    • 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. (Devdiscourse)

Arts and culture

• Filaret Denysenko, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate since 1995, dies at the age of 97. (Associated Press)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 55 people are injured, including one in cardiac arrest, and 13 others are reported missing in a large fire at a car parts plant in Daejeon, South Korea. (Yonhap)
• A passenger plane crash lands at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. The Kenya Airports Authority confirms that the crew and all 39 passengers were unharmed.(The Kenya Times)

International relations

• 2026 Cuban crisis, Cuba–Russia relations
  • 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)

Law and crime

• Kevin Spacey sexual misconduct allegations
  • 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)
• Two anarchist militants are killed after the accidental explosion of a bomb at a casalis in Rome, Italy. (Fanpage)