Portal:Current events/2026 March 3

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Middle Eastern crisis
  • 2026 Iran war
    • 2026 Iranian strikes on the United Arab Emirates
      • An Iranian drone strike damages Al Minhad Air Base, the headquarters of the Australian military's Joint Task Force 633. Australian defence minister Richard Marles confirms that there were no casualties in the strike. (Reuters)
      • A large fire is reported at an oil terminal in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, following an Iranian Shahed drone attack. (Sky News)
      • France deploys Rafale fighter jets to the UAE in response to Iranian attacks, according to French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot. (France 24)
    • 2026 Iranian strikes on Akrotiri and Dhekelia
      • British prime minister Keir Starmer says he has approved the deployment of Royal Navy warship HMS Dragon to the island of Cyprus to protect the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia from further Iranian attacks. (Cyprus Mail)
    • 2026 Iranian strikes on Qatar
      • Qatar announces it has arrested 10 people from two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps cells for espionage and sabotage. (Gulf Times)
    • 2026 Iranian strikes on Saudi Arabia
      • Explosions and fires are reported at the United States embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, following a series of Iranian drone strikes. (YnetNews)
    • The Iranian Red Crescent Society says the death toll from Israeli and American airstrikes in Iran has risen to 787 with thousands more wounded. (AP)
    • The Israeli Air Force strikes the presidential administration and Supreme National Security Council buildings in Tehran, Iran, with "multiple munitions". (BBC News)
    • U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discloses that the initial U.S. attack on Iran was due to an Israeli intention to attack Iranian leadership, which would have jeopardized U.S. forces in the region. (DW) (Telegraph)
    • The International Atomic Energy Agency confirms the entrances to the underground Natanz Nuclear Facility in Iran have been bombed. However, there are no signs of any increase in radiation at the facility. (Reuters)
    • Airstrikes hit the Assembly of Experts building in Qom, Iran. The building appears to have been severely damaged in the attack. (Al Arabiya)
    • Jordan reopens their airspace to civilian aviation traffic, including for transits, arrivals, and departures, after a closure that has been in effect since Monday evening. (Ammon News)
    • U.S. forces destroy Iran's lead Shahid Soleimani-class corvette, the IRIS Shahid Soleimani. (Naval News)
  • Hezbollah–Israel conflict
    • 2026 Hezbollah–Israel war
      • Following a series of drone and rocket attacks by Hezbollah, the Israeli military launch a ground offensive into Lebanon, capturing several positions along the Israel—Lebanon border. (7 Israel) (Turkiye Today)
• 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan war
  • The Taliban confirms 28 Afghan troops have been killed in recent clashes with Pakistani forces along their border. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reports at least 42 civilians have been killed. (Hasht-e-Subh Daily)
• Boko Haram insurgency
  • At least 14 Nigerian Army soldiers and a local imam are killed and several others are injured in two seperate attacks by suspected Islamic State – West Africa Province militants on army bases in Gwoza, Borno State, Nigeria. (Reuters)
• Ecuadorian conflict
  • The U.S. Southern Command announces that the U.S. military has joined the Ecuadorian Armed Forces against narcoterrorists and drug cartels in the country. (Politico)
• Russo-Ukrainian war
  • Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) tanker Arctic Metagaz catches fire in the Mediterranean Sea after being struck by a Ukrainian naval drone. (Kyiv Independent) (The Moscow Times)

Disasters and accidents

• 2026 Rubaya mines collapses
  • More than 200 people are killed, including around 70 minors, when a landslide collapses a mine at the Rubaya mines in Masisi Territory, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. A different landslide collapsed mines at the same site in January, killing over 400. (Xinhua) (AA)
• Two people are killed and three others are critically injured after a helicopter crashes in Pililla, Rizal, Philippines. (AFP via The Straits Times)

International relations

• 2025–2026 Iran–United States negotiations
  • Oman Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi renews his push for diplomacy, stating that diplomatic options are still available. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

• 2026 Cuban boat incident
  • Cuban prosecutors charge six Cuban nationals with "crimes of terrorism" and accuse them of entering Cuba with a US-flagged boat to cause unrest in the country, which was intercepted by the Cuban coast guard, resulting in a shootout. (DW)
• Crime in Trinidad and Tobago
  • Trinidad and Tobago declares a new state of emergency in response to a wave of violent crime in the country, including 63 murders since the beginning of the year and a series of gang-related mass shootings. (AP)
• Purported yakuza leader Takeshi Ebisawa is convicted by a New York federal court and sentenced to 20 years in prison for trafficking nuclear material, drugs, and weapons. (Japan Times)

Politics and elections

• Visa policy of the United Kingdom
  • The United Kingdom announces that it will stop issuing student visas to nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan and suspend work visas for Afghan nationals, citing a rise in asylum applications from individuals entering through legal visa processes. (AFP via CNA)

Science and technology

• March 2026 lunar eclipse
  • A total lunar eclipse occurs in eastern Asia, Oceania, Pacific, and the Americas. (EclipseWise)
• Astronomers announce the discovery 1,900 light-years from Earth of TIC 120362137, the tightest known quadruple star system, using data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. (Space.com)