Wikipedia:In the news/Candidates

This page provides a place to discuss new items for inclusion on In the news (ITN), a protected template on the Main Page (see past items in the ITN archives). Do not report errors in ITN items that are already on the Main Page here— discuss those at the relevant section of WP:ERRORS.

This candidates page is integrated with the daily pages of Portal:Current events. A light green header appears under each daily section - it includes transcluded Portal:Current events items for that day. You can discuss ITN candidates under the header.

Ebrahim Raisi A helicopter crash near Varzaqan, Iran, kills eight people, including President Ebrahim Raisi (pictured) and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. In boxing, Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion in twenty-four years. Protests over voting rights changes break out in the French territory of New Caledonia. Lee Hsien Loong steps down after nearly twenty years as Prime Minister of Singapore, and is succeeded by Lawrence Wong. Ongoing: Israel–Hamas war timeline Russian invasion of Ukraine timeline War in Sudan timeline Recent deaths: Pat Buckley Katherine Porter Dabney Coleman Darren Dutchyshen Diane Deans Shirley Conran view — page history — related changes — edit

Glossary Blurbs are one-sentence summaries of the news story. Altblurbs, labelled alt1, alt2, etc., are alternative suggestions to cover the same story. A target article, bolded in text, is the focus of the story. Each blurb must have at least one such article, but you may also link non-target articles. Articles in the Ongoing line describe events getting continuous coverage. The Recent deaths (RD) line includes any living thing whose death was recently announced. Consensus may decide to create a blurb for a recent death. All articles linked in the ITN template must pass our standards of review. They should be up-to-date, demonstrate relevance via good sourcing and have at least an acceptable quality. Nomination steps Make sure the item you want to nominate has an article that meets our minimum requirements and contains reliable coverage of a current event you want to create a blurb about. We will not post about events described in an article that fails our quality standards. Find the correct section below for the date of the event (not the date nominated). Do not add sections for new dates manually - a bot does that for us each day at midnight (UTC). Create a level 4 header with the article name (==== Your article here ====). Add (RD) or (Ongoing) if appropriate. Then paste the {{ITN candidate}} template with its parameters and fill them in. The news source should be reliable, support your nomination and be in the article. Write your blurb in simple present tense. Below the template, briefly explain why we should post that event. After that, save your edit. Your nomination is ready! You may add {{ITN note}} to the target article's talk page to let editors know about your nomination. The better your article's quality, the better it covers the event and the wider its perceived significance (see WP:ITNSIGNIF for details), the better your chances of getting the blurb posted. Headers When the article is ready, updated and there is consensus to post, you can mark the item as (Ready). Remove that wording if you feel the article fails any of these necessary criteria. Admins should always separately verify whether these criteria are met before posting blurbs marked (Ready). For more guidance, check WP:ITN/A. If satisfied, change the header to (Posted). Where there is no consensus, or the article's quality remains poor, change the header to (Closed) or (Not posted). Sometimes, editors ask to retract an already-posted nomination because of a fundamental error or because consensus changed. If you feel the community supports this, remove the item and mark the item as (Pulled). Voicing an opinion on an item Format your comment to contain "support" or "oppose", and include a rationale for your choice. In particular, address the notability of the event, the quality of the article, and whether it has been updated. Please do... Pick an older item to review near the bottom of this page, before the eligibility runs out and the item scrolls off the page and gets abandoned in the archive, unused and forgotten. Review an item even if it has already been reviewed by another user. You may be the first to spot a problem, or the first to confirm that an identified problem was fixed. Piling on the list of "support!" votes will help administrators see what is ready to be posted on the Main Page. Tell about problems in articles if you see them. Be bold and fix them yourself if you know how, or tell others if it's not possible. Please do not... Add simple "support!" or "oppose!" votes without including your reasons. Similarly, curt replies such as "who?", "meh", or "duh!" are not helpful. A vote without reasoning means little for us, please elaborate yourself. Oppose an item just because the event is only relating to a single country, or failing to relate to one. We post a lot of such content, so these comments are generally unproductive. Accuse other editors of supporting, opposing or nominating due to a personal bias (such as ethnocentrism). We at ITN do not handle conflicts of interest. Comment on a story without first reading the relevant article(s). Oppose a recurring item here because you disagree with the recurring items criteria. Discuss them here. Use ITN as a forum for your own political or personal beliefs. Such comments are irrelevant to the outcome and are potentially disruptive. Suggesting updates There are two places where you can request corrections to posted items: Anything that does not change the intent of the blurb (spelling, grammar, markup issues, updating death tolls etc.) should be discussed at WP:Errors. Discuss major changes in the blurb's intent or very complex updates as part of the current ITNC nomination.

Suggestions

March 15

Portal:Current events/2018 March 15

March 15, 2018 (2018-03-15) (Thursday) Business and economy Economy of the United States The largest U.S. broadcaster, iHeartMedia, owner of 850 radio stations, files for chapter 11 bankruptcy after accumulating US$20 billion in debt. (CNN) Southeastern Grocers announces a plan to file for bankruptcy and close 94 of its locations. (CNN) Disasters and accidents Florida International University pedestrian bridge collapse An under-construction pedestrian bridge over the eight-lane Tamiami Trail at Florida International University in Miami collapses killing at least six people and flattening eight cars. Nine people are rescued from the rubble and taken to nearby Kendall Regional Medical Center. Two require immediate surgery; the others injured sustain non-life-threatening wounds. (The Washington Post) Accidents and incidents involving helicopters A U.S. Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter crashes near Al-Qa'im in Iraq's western Al Anbar Governorate, killing all seven people on board. (ABC News) (CNN) Approximately 3,400kg of gold ingots break free from a Nimbus Airlines Antonov An-12 cargo plane and fall onto the runway at Yakutsk Airport. (The Aviation Herald) International relations 2017–18 North Korea crisis North Korea–Sweden relations, 2018 North Korea–United States summit North Korea foreign minister Ri Yong-ho visits Sweden for talks. (NK News) (CNN) Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act The Trump administration imposes financial sanctions on 19 Russian nationals, including 12 of those indicted in the Special Counsel investigation. (Business Insider) Russia–United Kingdom relations, Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov says Russia will "definitely" expel British diplomats. (Sputnik News) Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh The government of Myanmar agrees to repatriate 374 Rohingya refugees from a list of 8,000 submitted by the government of Bangladesh. Myanmar's authorities blamed their Bangladeshi counterparts for the slow process, citing "incomplete" information for many of the refugees on the list. (The Guardian) Iran–Saudi Arabia relations Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says that Saudi Arabia will develop nuclear weapons if Iran does. (Reuters) Politics and elections Politics of Slovakia Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico resigns amid controversy over the murder of Ján Kuciak. (The Guardian) (BBC) Sports Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Norwegian musher Joar Leifseth Ulsom wins the 2018 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (KTUU News)

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Slovakian Prime Minister resigns

Articles: Robert Fico (talk · history · tag) and Peter Pellegrini (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico announces his resignation over the murder of a journalist and designates Peter Pellegrini to form a new government. (Post)
News source(s): New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, SCMP, Aktuality (local source)
Credits:

• Nominated by Juxlos (talk · give credit)
• Updated by BaconBoss Gabo (talk · give credit)

Nominator's comments: Interestingly, a day after his Slovenian counterpart. Peter Pellegrini is now PM-designate, but his article is a bit on the short side. Fico's article is long and well-referenced, though. Juxlos (talk) 22:29, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose for now. Fico's article has not been adequately updated to discuss the circumstances of the fall of his government. This is even more important than normal given the rather sensational blurb. Pellegrini's article is only a half step over a stub and will require significant expansion before it can be linked on the main page. -Ad Orientem (talk) 22:46, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

RD: Tom Benson

Article: Tom Benson (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
Credits:

• Nominated by Lepricavark (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Influential sports owner and businessman dies at the age of 90. Lepricavark (talk) 21:48, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose too much unreferenced material. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:50, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Conditional Support -needs come cleaning and more references. Should be posted after adding new references Awestruck1 (talk) 22:38,15 March 2018

[Closed] Miami bridge collapse

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article: Florida International University pedestrian bridge collapse (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ A new pedestrian bridge in Miami, Florida collapses days after being installed, killing at least six people. (Post)
News source(s): Miami Herald, BBC, ABC Australia, New York Times
Credits:

• Nominated by SounderBruce (talk · give credit)

Nominator's comments: Article needs expansion, but the news story is receiving international coverage. Highly unusual, given that it's a new bridge and using a modern method of construction. SounderBruce 20:13, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose Just a small bridge. No long-term impact.Zigzig20s (talk) 20:16, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

"...killing at least six people." That's a long-term impact.--Pawnkingthree (talk) 20:19, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• A new bridge, using a relatively new construction method, will likely have a long-term impact. SounderBruce 20:20, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• If it is a new construction method, glitches or problems are to be expected. It doesn't mean this accident will be the death of this method. I don't think we even know if the accident was related to the construction method. 331dot (talk) 20:25, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose trivial accident, if this had occurred anywhere else on planet Earth it would be universally greeted with "meh", so ... "meh". The Rambling Man (talk) 20:30, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose certainly a tragedy, and brand new bridges are not expected to fail, but the death toll is too low for ITN. Lepricavark (talk) 20:35, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Weak support – making international news; new construction method lends to greater notability than an old decaying bridge collapsing. ~ Cyclonebiskit (chat) 20:36, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose - unquestionably sad, but I don't feel that a sufficient number of people have died for this to merit posting. If it happened elsewhere, it would likely not even have an article - we must avoid bias, even if it means letting nominations like this fall to the wayside. Stormy clouds (talk) 20:43, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose at this time. Tragic, but not generally significant enough based on what we know now. 331dot (talk) 20:45, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose although undoubtedly a tragic event, it is ultimately a minor accident at best, the bridge was also not fully completed according to the article provided. SamaranEmerald (talk) 20:47, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose. –Actually strong oppose, if it means anything. Relatively minor incident at unfinished bridge. If it were not in the US, it may not even get article talk less of going to main page. –Ammarpad (talk) 21:44, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Pile on Oppose At the risk of sounding callous; things break and people die. We just can't post every fatal accident that garners some short term, even if sensational, news coverage. Although there is no written rule, in my experience accidents with low death tolls usually don't make it onto ITN. Our motto is not "if it bleeds it leads." It has to bleed a lot. Prayers for those affected... Kyrie eleison. -Ad Orientem (talk) 22:00, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Number of fatalities isn’t currently large, but nature of the incident and fact that it was a new structure sways it for me.yorkshiresky (talk) 22:51, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose per all above opposers, arbitrary at best, bridges especially new ones tend to have problems within days after they open, take the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge for example, it had problems almost immediately after it opened, and as a result it collapsed several months later. Kirliator (talk) 23:01, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

March 14

Portal:Current events/2018 March 14

March 14, 2018 (2018-03-14) (Wednesday) Arts and culture British physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking dies aged 76 at his home in Cambridge. (The Guardian) (The New York Times) (BBC) Business and economy Economy of the United Kingdom Toys "R" Us announce that they will close down all of their stores in the United Kingdom after rescue talks fail, resulting in the loss of about 3,000 jobs. (The Guardian) Economy of the United States Shortly after the announcement of the closure of Toys "R" Us stores in the UK, the company announced that they will close down all 800 stores in the United States, resulting in the loss of about 33,000 jobs. (The Washington Post) Ford issues a recall of 1.4 million vehicles, including some models of the Ford Fusion and the Lincoln MKZ, citing an issue where the steering wheel could come loose. (CNN) Panama Papers Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca announces that it is shutting down due to the economic and reputational damage inflicted by its role in the global tax evasion scandal. (The Guardian) Disasters and accidents Two U.S. Navy aviators – a pilot and a weapons officer – are killed after they eject from their FA-18 fighter jet, which crashes into the sea off Key West, Florida. (Navy Times) (CNN) International relations Foreign relations of the Philippines Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announces the withdrawal of the Philippines from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over "outrageous attacks" by United Nations officials. (Reuters) Australia–South Africa relations, South African farm attacks, Racism in South Africa Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says white South African farmers could receive fast-track visas on "humanitarian grounds" amid calls to transfer land ownership from white to black farmers, and fears over the number of racially-motivated farm killings. (BBC) Russia–United Kingdom relations, Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal The United Kingdom expels 23 Russian diplomats and cuts off all top-level ties with Russia as punishment for a reported attack with the Novichok military-grade nerve agent, an attack which Prime Minister Theresa May described as an "unlawful use of force by the Russian state against the United Kingdom". (The Guardian) (NPR) (Reuters) Law and crime 2018 United States gun violence protests Students throughout the United States participate in a walkout protest against gun violence. (ABC News) Crime in Brazil, Politics of Brazil Brazilian politician and outspoken police critic Marielle Franco is killed along with her driver in a drive-by shooting in Rio de Janeiro. (BBC) Telford child sex abuse ring After an 18-month Sunday Mirror investigation, Theresa May has called for an inquiry "as quickly as possible" on reported Asian grooming gangs in Telford whereby up to 1,000 girls were lured from their families to be drugged, beaten, raped and even murdered. (The Mirror) Politics and elections Politics of Germany Angela Merkel is elected and sworn in for a new term as Chancellor of Germany. Olaf Scholz and Heiko Maas assume the positions of Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs respectively. (The Guardian) Politics of Slovenia Miro Cerar announces his resignation as Prime Minister of Slovenia, due to the Supreme Court of Slovenia's annulment of the referendum that approved building a railway between Koper and Divača, a project which he calls "strategic". (Associated Press) Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district special election, 2018 Democrat Conor Lamb declares victory in the special election of Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district. The final vote could still be determined by a recount if at least three voters in each precinct petition for one. (The New York Times) (Fox News) Presidency of Donald Trump U.S. President Donald Trump appoints conservative commentator Larry Kudlow as National Economic Council director, replacing outgoing Gary Cohn. (BBC) Internet censorship Facebook blocks Britain First, a far-right group that has been deregistered as a political party in the United Kingdom, because leaders Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen have repeatedly violated its community standards. (The New York Times) (BBC) (NBC News)

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[Closed] Toys R Us

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article: Toys “R” Us (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Toys “R” Us says they are closing in the US and UK. (Post)
Credits:

• Nominated by 172.56.7.104 (talk · give credit)

Nominator's comments: Big news. 172.56.7.104 (talk) 00:49, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• Strong Oppose: No sources given. Also, this is just a company about to be liquidated. This is not CompanyPedia. 2601:2C0:4700:4A9A:E1AA:FC3B:E64E:EACB (talk) 00:57, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Weak Oppose It is big news here in the States. But companies go broke all the time and we are not talking a mega bankruptcy here. -Ad Orientem (talk) 01:34, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose - Just a side effect really of the biggening of the online shopping industry especially by mega-retailers like Amazon. More businesses will be sure to follow suit. WaltCip (talk) 01:39, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose I personally find this to be sad news, but it certainly does not rise to ITN level. Lepricavark (talk) 02:31, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose I'd consider a support if/when they actually closed. A few years ago HMV claimed it was closing, and never did. Aiken D 07:05, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose just another company whose business model didn't move with the times. Already fish and chip paper. The Rambling Man (talk) 09:11, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose routine business action. As I understand it(at least in the US) they are not totally going out of business yet, just closing a bunch of stores. 331dot (talk) 09:50, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose This does not interest the majority of people, even within the US. Natureium (talk) 13:58, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Strong Oppose No international significance, not the kind of thing we usually post on ITN and no reason why this is exceptionally different. AusLondonder (talk) 14:15, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

@AusLondonder: I agree that this does not merit posting, but "international significance" has never been required for any ITN posting; if it were, very little would be posted. 331dot (talk) 14:19, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Slovenian Prime Minister resigns

Article: Miro Cerar (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar resigns after the supreme court of Slovenia annuls the results of a government referendum. (Post)
News source(s): AP
Credits:

• Nominated by Banedon (talk · give credit)
• Updated by Juxlos (talk · give credit)

Article updated

Nominator's comments: From the source, Slovenia has also had "a wave of strikes and protests by public sector workers", including a strike by teachers that shut down schools on Wednesday. Banedon (talk) 23:44, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support Article looks to be in decent shape though I might suggest waiting until we have a successor announced as we usually post the outgoing and incoming at the same time. -Ad Orientem (talk) 23:57, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Wait per Masem below. -Ad Orientem (talk) 01:36, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• Wait articles are fine but we should post it when his successor is sworn in – Nixinova ⟨ T | E ⟩ 00:14, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Conditional wait not entirely sure. If it’ll take a few months for his successor to be decided then post but if it’s within a week or so then might as well wait. Juxlos (talk) 00:20, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• also he’s still formally prime minister if I’m reading this correctly

• Wait Per Reuters, he will hold the post until the new gov't forms. --Masem (t) 00:28, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose per Masem. The Rambling Man (talk) 07:54, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Conditional Oppose Sad to say, but the last time I heard about Slovenia was with regards to Melania. This news item may be too myopic?Zigzig20s (talk) 07:58, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Wait for the election (which is ITNR) to post something about this. There doesn't seem to be a big scandal here, he resigned after the Supreme Court annulled the results of a referendum he had championed and ordered a new vote. 331dot (talk) 14:07, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

I agree. Inatan (talk) 18:39, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• It is better to wait until the election here. He resigned a couple of months before the regular election would take place, and the resignation is being interpreted as a strategical move in view of tensions in the coalition and some other cases, such as the referendum being overturned. Cerar will remain acting PM until the election so there is no major change expected. --Tone 20:27, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

[Posted] UK Expels 23 Russian Diplomats

Article: Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The United Kingdom formally accuses Russia of the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal by a nerve agent and expels 23 diplomats. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ In response to the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal by a nerve agent, the United Kingdom expels 23 Russian diplomats.
News source(s): NYT and virtually all major news outlets.
Credits:

• Nominated by Ad Orientem (talk · give credit)

Nominator's comments: The original blurb just fell off ITN as the situation is rapidly escalating into a serious international incident/crisis. Russia is threatening unspecified retaliation. I think recent developments justify reposting. If this drags out we might want to consider ongoing. The article is in good shape. Ad Orientem (talk) 14:28, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Wait I'm tempted to say this may be better for ongoing, as each element of the tensions rising here is not going to be ITN itself (we can't post every incremental update), but it is a major breakdown in relationships between the UK and Russia. --Masem (t) 14:31, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Okay, now we have something here. Support.--WaltCip (talk) 14:45, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

My intial reaction after seeing BBC's "to expel" headline was also 'wait,' but evidently they've been given official notice – they just have a week before they have to say "До свидания." – Sca (talk) 16:51, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support A major escalation. I think the expelling of diplomats is blurb-worthy and I would prefer this to merely adding it on Ongoing.--Pawnkingthree (talk) 15:01, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Ongoing the death blurb just expired off, pop this down into ongoing (now we have a free slot) and let it die off naturally. --173.38.117.77 (talk) 15:33, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support next logical stage but a real degradation in relationships between the two countries. Good job the rest of Europe sits between the UK and Russia...... The Rambling Man (talk) 16:04, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Also, good thing we're in a formal union with those countries so they can back us up. Oh, wait..... Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 17:35, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support – A big step all right (and May also revoked an invitation to Lavrov). – Sca (talk) 16:42, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support I fin it unusual that this wasnt mentioned already, even before the expulsion of the diplomats. Dahn (talk) 17:01, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

It was. However it just got bumped off the ITN bar with the posting of Stephen Hawking's death. That blurb only addressed the attempted murder, not the most recent and rather dramatic developments. -Ad Orientem (talk) 17:10, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support International news with a major case of excrement hitting fan that has not been seen since the Cold War. Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 17:35, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Post to ongoing - You don't need a crystal ball to know that this whole thing is going to be in the news for at least a couple of weeks. - Floydian ^τ _¢ 18:38, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Wait Russian Ambassador Alexander Vladimirovich Yakovenko is not expelled yet. If he is, then this would mean something huge. For now, I’d hold off. Juxlos (talk) 18:41, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support. It seems to still be developing, and currently receiving a large amount of media attention. Natureium (talk) 19:06, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose until the diplomats actually leave (i.e one week from now). This is what we've been doing by precedent. Banedon (talk) 20:33, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

What precedent is that? I don't recall the last time we discussed posting the expulsion of diplomats. 331dot (talk) 20:40, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

No, but we had lots of nominations not posted because it "hasn't happened yet", e.g. your Kim-Trump meeting nomination. Banedon (talk) 20:47, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Well, this has happened. The named diplomats have to leave the country. I'm not sure what happens to them if they don't but I'm guessing it involves arrest. So you actually support this but oppose it for consistency? 331dot (talk) 20:50, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Yes, this is for consistency. It's not that the diplomats don't leave the country, but rather that the UK can change its mind. Again, this is using previous arguments for not posting XYZ per WP:Crystal and all that. Banedon (talk) 20:52, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply. 331dot (talk) 20:55, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support. Major escalation in this dispute. 331dot (talk) 20:42, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Major international kerfuffle involving the use of a nerve agent in Europe with long term consequences. – Muboshgu (talk) 20:57, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Is "formally" necessary in the blurb? zzz (talk) 21:38, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Comment – Still favor posting, but would add this note of caution: Looks like the Russians are getting ready to play (surprise!) tit-for-tat. If they do, that could be added. Sca (talk) 21:44, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Routine. You periodically expel spies to disrupt their network-building efforts. Hawkeye7 (discuss) 21:47, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Expelling diplomats is not common. The mass expulsion of more than 20 is w/o recent precedent. You would have to go back to the dark days of the cold war to find something like this. -Ad Orientem (talk) 22:48, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Note: I would have posted this, but I'm not seeing language in the article to match the blurb. Perhaps something along the lines of "After Russia refuses to cooperate with the investigation of the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, the UK expels 23 Russian diplomats as undeclared intelligence officers." This matches the language of news sources, c.f. [1]. Accusing Russia of Murder does not appear in reliable sources as such. This seems to have the support as an article worth the main page, but the blurb needs to be nailed down better. --Jayron32 23:28, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

“Their response has demonstrated complete disdain for the gravity of these events,” May told MPs. She said: “There is no alternative conclusion other than the Russian state was responsible for the attempted murder of Mr Skripal and his daughter.” [2] -Ad Orientem (talk) 23:37, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

If you can make that language more explicit in the article, I will post this. --Jayron32 23:38, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

 Done -Ad Orientem (talk) 23:42, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Added alt blurb as a back-up. Brandmeister^talk 23:47, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Posted The altblurb. I am more comfortable with that language. In specific, the changes to the article do not reflect the sources still. I'd rather the Wikipedia article directly quote May than paraphrase. For material this sensitive, it's important we speak in the voice of our sources, and not in Wikipedia's voice. "Formally accuse" is not language that appears in the sources. --Jayron32 23:56, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Fair enough. -Ad Orientem (talk) 00:00, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

I too like the altblurb, but wonder if the phrase "by a nerve agent" will be readily understood. Would "by a nerve-acting poison" be better, perhaps? Sca (talk) 00:07, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

Alternatively, would "with a nerve agent" be better? Sca (talk) 00:09, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

[Posted] RD: Jim Bowen

Article: Jim Bowen (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): BBC News
Credits:

• Updated and nominated by Ritchie333 (talk · give credit)
• Updated by Lugnuts (talk · give credit)

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

 Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 13:10, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Parking this here for now. I suspect people will oppose, because the article is not in a good shape. However, we got Ken Dodd improved to be posted, so I think we might be able to do it again. Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 13:10, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support Subject to improvements, etc. And a speedboat for anyone who brings it up to scratch. But only if you live in Tamworth. Lugnuts ^{Fire Walk with Me} 13:35, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support subject to improvement S a g a C i t y (talk) 14:34, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Pending those last couple of citations being added. Miyagawa (talk) 14:54, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support referencing has now been improved. Joseph2302 (talk) 15:27, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Great job by Ritchie in bringing the article up to scratch. Now sufficiently referenced.--Pawnkingthree (talk) 15:43, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Posted -Ad Orientem (talk) 15:49, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Super, smashing, great Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 15:50, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

[Posted blurb] Stephen Hawking

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article: Stephen Hawking (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ British physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking dies at the age of 76. (Post)
News source(s): The Guardian
Credits:

• Nominated by SounderBruce (talk · give credit)

Nominator's comments: Article is in good quality, but does need a bit of spotchecking. SounderBruce 03:47, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support blurb Absolute no-brainer. EternalNomad (talk) 03:52, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support blurb One of the most famous people, let alone scientists, in the world. And a tragic loss for mankind. MAINEiac4434 (talk) 03:53, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support blurb No need to argue this; absolutely yes – Nixinova ⟨ T | E ⟩ 03:55, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support blurb with tears. Davey2116 (talk) 03:55, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support blurb No doubt. --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 03:56, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support blurb Not even a question. What a loss. GrossesWasser (talk) 03:57, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support blurb per MAINEiac4434 and Davey2116. -A lad insane (Channel 2) 03:58, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Strong support blurb One of the most influential and iconic scientists of this era. I couldn't believe the news when I just saw it on Facebook. Every morning (there's a halo...) 04:02, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Posted Blurb This is definitely a no-brainer for a blurb (in addition to the !votes above), the article is strong shape. --Masem (t) 04:04, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Post-posting support Just piling on. Passes the Bowie/Mandela/Prince standard. – Muboshgu (talk) 04:07, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Comment I'd also support adding a photograph of Hawking. MAINEiac4434 (talk) 04:15, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
  • Agree. The infobox image (File:Stephen Hawking.StarChild.jpg) is appropriate and nicely framed at thumbnail size. SounderBruce 04:23, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
    • There is some necessary cascading protection for main page images that I am not 100% sure how to do, but this is clearly a move to make. --Masem (t) 04:26, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
      • Agreed on an image needed. RIP starship.paint ~ KO 05:45, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Post-posting support without a doubt. Lepricavark (talk) 04:52, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Comment I think the image should be posted too. Our admins watching this should help. –Ammarpad (talk) 06:07, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Post-posting very strong support: very strong support, yes, I also feel the image should be posted as well. --Titodutta (talk) 06:11, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Post-posting very strong support. Of course. Double sharp (talk) 07:35, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support blurb - A true icon of our era. Kurtis ^(talk) 07:40, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Beyond the event horizon support - What more can one say? Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 08:15, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• PPSS unequivocally blurb-worthy. RIP. The Rambling Man (talk) 08:58, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Much like WP:RFA, it's not often that the entirety of ITN can come to an unequivocal 100% agreement on something, but I think here there is a clear unanimous consensus. We've got our blurb and our image; we can probably just close the discussion at this point and leave it at that.--WaltCip (talk) 10:51, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Comment "In rare cases, the death of major transformative world leaders in their field may merit a blurb.". This was one of those "rare cases". Good post. --76.122.98.135 (talk) 10:52, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• This should be noted as an example for the guidelines. Juxlos (talk) 11:46, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Post Post Support - As per everyone else. It’s almost impossible to find a media that doesn’t show this as a headline or at least first page news. Juxlos (talk) 11:46, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Comment: Post-posting support. But it seems this was 17 minutes from nomination to posting. Is this a record for ITN? And for ITN article quality assessment? And for articles where the nominator writes 'Article is in good quality, but does need a bit of spotchecking.', where nobody else commented on article quality except the poster, and where the infobox was not (and still is not) even flagged as updated? Was such haste necessary or advisable? Or does it set a worrying precedent? I understand, perhaps mistakenly, that it was concerns about haste like this after the death of a revered figure that lead the Catholic Church to invent the post of Devil's Advocate, so might ITN benefit from something similar? (Please don't bother answering any of these questions here, as I'm only asking them to provoke thinking on the matter, and this is probably the wrong place to discuss them further, and anyway I'm not really interested in discussing them myself as this comment is hopefully just a one-off breach of my decision to try to stay away from ITN). Tlhslobus (talk) 11:47, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

The article is a former FA; even thought it was delisted in 2014, I know people have kept a close eye on it so I wouldn't have believed it any worse than B-class at any time - I suspect other people knew / felt the same and hence insta-supported. PS: I await Donald Trump's reaction to Hawking's death with interest. Just sayin'. Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 11:49, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

It's a shame though that an article about such an important person is not a FA or at least a GA.... Regards SoWhy 12:04, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

The Donald has just tweeted that he is bigly saddened to learn that Wikipedia has posted the death of a character who once appeared in The Simpsons, but unsurprized as he always knew Wikipedia was Fake News. Tlhslobus (talk) 11:59, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Figures.... Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 12:01, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Almost. That's a parody account. Although it says something that in this day and age one can easily believe that the US President could have said something like this. Regards SoWhy 12:10, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

The fastest posting to ITN was Hilary Putnam's RD, back in March 2016. That took only 11 minutes. In that particular case, the article was featured, and the new RD criteria were in place, so it did not take long for a consensus to develop.--WaltCip (talk) 12:00, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Post Posting Support The very definition of a blurb-worthy death. Front pages everywhere, transformative.--Pawnkingthree (talk) 12:24, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

March 13

Portal:Current events/2018 March 13

March 13, 2018 (2018-03-13) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Maoists blow up a mine-protected vehicle of CRPF personnel with an IED, killing at least nine and injuring two others in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh, India. (Hindustan Times) Disasters and accidents The Argentine Navy rescues four United States Antarctic Program scientists and a contractor stranded on Joinville Island in Antarctica after their icebreaker RV Laurence M. Gould encountered thick sea-ice. (BBC) A bus plunges into a ravine in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia, killing at least 38 people, mostly students. (Channel News Asia) International relations Japan–North Korea relations Anonymous Japanese government sources say that Japan is considering a summit meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. (AFP) Law and crime Transport in Iraq Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi lifts a ban on international air travel to the Kurdistan Region. (France24) Politics and elections Cabinet of Donald Trump U.S. President Donald Trump fires Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, moving to replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Trump selects CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel to replace Pompeo as director. (The Washington Post) Science and technology Trans-Neptunian objects 2015 TH367 (previously known as V774104), a 100–400 kilometer asteroid, is announced as possibly the fourth most distant known Solar System object from the Sun at nearly 90 (±10) times Earth's distance from the Sun. (Minor Planet Center) Toba catastrophe theory A study is released suggesting that humanity flourished even after Lake Toba erupted 74,000 years ago. (International Business Times) Discoveries of exoplanets K2-155d, a Super-Earth exoplanet, is discovered and could produce life. (Cnet) Sports 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament The 2018 NCAA tournament begins, with the First Four starting in Dayton, Ohio. (ESPN)

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2018 UK higher education strike

Article: 2018 UK higher education strike (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The UK higher education strike over changes to pensions continues into its fourth week with potential further disruption set for April to June at over 60 universities after the University and College Union (UCU) overwhelmingly rejects revised offer from employers' representatives. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ Talks to end the 2018 UK higher education strike collapse resulting in up to 16 university campuses being occupied by student solidarity groups in escalating dispute.
News source(s): BBC, Guardian, Independent, Times Higher Education, The Times, Xinhuanet, Irish News, Cyprus Mail, The PIE News, The Straits Times
Credits:

• Updated and nominated by Stinglehammer (talk · give credit)

Article updated

Nominator's comments: Times describes dispute as "the worst industrial action at universities in modern times". Stinglehammer (talk) 12:16, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose blurb - coverage is almost exclusively by British papers. Neutral for ongoing. Juxlos (talk) 12:39, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Added a few links to sites outside of UK inc. Singapore, China, Cyprus, Ireland etc.Stinglehammer (talk) 15:32, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Yeah, seems it as in the news in these countries 2-3 weeks ago... 2A02:A451:8B2D:1:55D4:F543:6342:97DA (talk) 18:59, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

Can you login, please? Hard to argue with an address. Article did not exist 2-3 weeks ago. It exists now. Strike escalated on Tuesday this week when long hoped-for resolution, after 6 days of talks at the Acas conciliation service, resulted in an 'overwhelming' rejection by university staff. This rejection of the Acas agreement hardened the two positions, exposed deep divisions between the two sides and escalated the strike so that it is now set to continue for another 14 days; doubling the strike and doubling down on its effects as the new strike days will take place in the important April to June exam period. The elongating & escalating of the strike happened this week with resolution seemingly a long way off. That's why nomination was put in.Stinglehammer (talk) 19:39, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

Not everyone has and wants an account. Unneccessary opening statement. Propose you retract. As for your argument. Not sure I am convinced, as you offer an interpretation using dramatic words. I checked the Guardian. If an important turning point, I would expect a British newspaper to offer extensive coverage. Nothing off that, even taking into account that the Russia news dominates headlines. 2A02:A451:8B2D:1:55D4:F543:6342:97DA (talk) 19:47, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

Sorry,I will retract of course. Wrongly assumed after your first Oppose comment I was discussing with a random IP address that hadn't read the nominated article or the thread discussion. Which after discussing the nomination for so long got my back up. Apologies again. Will moderate my comments in future. As to the substance of your point, it depends what you mean by extensive coverage. There has been sustained coverage from Guardian, Times, BBC, Times Higher Education, Independent etc. over the last 3 weeks which includes coverage of the rejection this week. Given BBC, Times & Guardian etc. have covered in number of articles over the period and ITN has not covered at all, I propose there is case for inclusion now strike is entering an escalated 2nd phase.Stinglehammer (talk) 21:31, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose Union strikes are not the type of thing that makes good ITN stories. --Masem (t) 13:59, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Isn't this dealing with "the appropriateness of topics in general rather than the specific story"? This strike affects university staff at all UK universities established before 1992. 64 of them. Not a one-day strike either. Looking at a period of twenty-eight days of sustained striking now that talks have broken down. Strikes can be extremely newsworthy: (timeline of strikes). Stinglehammer (talk) 09:26, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

Not to make it too trite, but I'd call this a "first world problem". Yes, a good number of people (profs, students, supporting staff) are affected, but we're talking about being inconvenienced over labor issues. It's the same reason we don't post when winter storms shut down airports and cause extreme disruption to traffic in the US - its not a significant long-term issue. Add that this is stale news - the strike has been going on for some time, and this is an arbitrary point to announce it. --Masem (t) 13:39, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

The dispute is about the future of UK higher education and how it is funded so it does indeed have longterm significance. The strike has resulted in a stalemate between the two sides grinding an important sector to a halt, a sector with international significance. Why are we equating this prolonged sector-wide strike with a one-off weather/transport issue? Not the same. The plane crash reported on ITN is a one-off event for that matter so why are we covering that? Hardly stale news either when after protracted talks the agreement has just been rejected in the last two days and a further 14 strike days are to go ahead now as a result, effectively doubling the strike and doubling down on its effects. Not arbitrary if you take that as your ITN blurb.Stinglehammer (talk) 17:16, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• Comment - UK education system grinding to a halt as classes cancelled at 60+ of UK's oldest universities for an extended period from February up to (potentially) the June exam period is entirely worthy of ITN. Thousands of university staff and students all affected in the stalemate. Stinglehammer (talk) 14:11, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

A bunch of students can't go to class. It may be mildly disruptive, but it's not especially significant or lasting in any way.--WaltCip (talk) 14:24, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

"bunch" is way too blithe. 126,000 students have asked for their fees to be returned so far and that's before exams have been affected and standoff is now an entrenched one with goodwill of staff now permanently eroded. That will be a longlasting effect of the dispute for years to come and difficult to recover. Strike is also seen as emblematic of wider discussion on the future of higher education. e.g. BBC article - "The more you talk to people, the more they understand what the big issues actually are. Yes it's about pensions but, fundamentally, its about defending higher education against further cuts and marketisation." Ergo, the scale and nature of the dispute is historically notable for ITN.Stinglehammer (talk) 14:50, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose blurb Nomination is stale. This has been going on since February. Neutral for ongoing. -Ad Orientem (talk) 14:56, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Yes, ongoing since February. Has it featured in ITN in this time though? News from yesterday is that after 6 days of talks, an agreement has been rejected yesterday resulting in further entrenchment (and 'bad blood') in addition to the prolonging of the strike with a further 14 strike days now looking likely to take place in the important April to June exam period unless a mutually agreeable way forward can be struck. Stinglehammer (talk) 15:12, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Comment. The blurb is too convoluted; if posted, it should be simplified. 331dot (talk) 15:18, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

 Done Added shorter alternative blurb above. Stinglehammer (talk) 15:26, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support Good article, in the news not just in the UK (it was on Democracy Now!) and we are not USApedia anyway.Zigzig20s (talk) 15:21, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

We should be careful not to end up as UKpedia too. Banedon (talk) 23:27, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

"Please do not oppose an item because the event is only relating to a single country, or failing to relate to one. This applies to a high percentage of the content we post and is unproductive." - Passing of Ken Dodd and Jim Bowen is very UK-centric for instance. Compare with universities which are international by their very nature.Stinglehammer (talk) 09:26, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

Irrelevant. We would post the passing of Ken Dodd and Jim Bowen regardless of their nationality under the current ITNRD criteria.--WaltCip (talk) 12:19, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

Point I was making this idea of "only relating to a single country" is not one ITN is supposed to go in for per the guidance page. Beyond that, the point is the UK Higher education sector has international relevance. The Bowen/Dodd point was just a throwaway followup as you can't get more 'UKpedia' than Ken Dodd and Jim Bowen.Stinglehammer (talk) 17:05, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose local news, plus it's just a strike per WaltClip. Compare e.g. the London underground, how often does it go on strike? Banedon (talk) 20:35, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

  Bizarre idea to compare it to some other completely unrelated entity, you might as well compare it to the French or the NRA. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:35, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Agree, this is a total false equivalence. Not the same at all. Half of all UK universities and some of the oldest in the world (inc. Hawking's alma maters Oxford and Cambridge) have ground to a halt in a stalemate with its staff which looks set to continue into pivotal exam period and have repercussions for sector for years to come in terms of the 'bad blood' that has been engendered. By same token, the Italian elections could be considered 'local' news... but it has international significance. UK higher education has international significance likewise in its students, staff, teaching & learning, research & development etc. Stinglehammer (talk) 22:47, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

If we accept that UK higher education has international significance because of international students and staff, then most things have "international significance" since in the globalized world we live in someone is bound to be international. That Hawking's alma maters are involved is irrelevant - Hawking is also only one person. To argue that Oxford and Cambridge are independently notable is another thing, but that's still a stretch; there are plenty of other notable universities (e.g. Harvard, MIT, Tsinghua, UTokyo ...) that are not on strike. Banedon (talk) 23:27, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Again this is a false equivalence. There are plenty of places where there are no elections, where there are no plane crashes, where there are no sector-wide education strikes. But where there are this is news. I mentioned Hawking because he is included on ITN and he is one man, as you say, albeit a giant in his field. He has thousands of colleagues who are similarly respected internationally, working at extremely notable institutions like Oxford, Cambridge and over 60 others where they have ceased to work and look like they will continue to be on strike for a prolonged period. This is crippling for the sector; an important sector in the UK and abroad. Therefore this is news.Stinglehammer (talk) 23:56, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support I think this story is very relevant, and highlights the depth of problems in UK Higher Education. Jason.nlw (talk) 10:11, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support This story is highly relevant to a valuable UK industry, as well as relevant to current UK politics and to plans for the restructuring of UK higher education. The story is also relevant globally, and of particular interest to the US, where historic K-12 teacher strikes have been ongoing. Karengregory (talk) 11:56, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support This is clearly important news. It's obviously of greater interest to those in the UK, but I think we all need to be informed if such a large scale strike is happening in any country in the world. NavinoEvans (talk) 13:02, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Large-scale strike affecting multiple universities. The Times's note on its significance is enough to make me support. talk to !dave 13:35, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support The fact that a million students across more than 60 universities are directly effected by the strike and the rarity of action on this scale demonstrates quite clearly that this is a significant story. It is the biggest strike in the history of UK higher education. The top 20 universities internationally includes Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London all of which are impacted by the strike which should soothe any fears over whether this is of international importance. Richard Nevell (talk) 17:01, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• I will look to the support rationales in this ITN nom the next time we're talking about whether or not to post an ITN about NCAA basketball.--WaltCip (talk) 17:43, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• I should be delighted to take part in that conversation. Please do leave a message on my talk page when it becomes relevant. Richard Nevell (talk) 17:58, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• The two subjects are not comparable, so to attempt to chill the discussion over this nomination is completely misleading. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:43, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose unclear why this should be posted now, and not when the strike began. It's not like anything important has happened in relation to this strike in the last few days. The blurb says it all, "continues into its fourth week with potential further disruption set for April to June". 2A02:A451:8B2D:1:55D4:F543:6342:97DA (talk) 18:32, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

I suggest you read the article's section on the Acas agreement onwards which makes it clear that there are indeed important recent developments. The talks are important because it effects whether there will be further strikes.Richard Nevell (talk) 19:16, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

Sure did that. Also read the section that came after the Acas section? Looks like this "important" agreement was rejected just a few hours later. Must have been an important development, indeed. 2A02:A451:8B2D:1:55D4:F543:6342:97DA (talk) 19:42, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

Indeed, in fact it sounds rather a lot like news to me. Richard Nevell (talk) 20:03, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

Talks went on for 6 days. Acas agreement was rejected overwhelmingly by university staff across the UK when it was put to them by representatives the next day. Time for decision is not relevant - the rejection of the agreement is all. Shows the depth of feeling and that the employers' position did not go anywhere far enough. Thus deepening the divisions between the two sides and causing deadlock for entire sector until situation is resolved.Stinglehammer (talk) 19:47, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support This is an important and escalating story. As strikes enter their fourth week between 14 and 16 university campuses have been occupied by student solidarity groups, supporting staff and protesting marketising of education. This story speaks to a wider narrative around the UK HE sector and to student-led protest (national walkout day in the US yesterday for example). I think the summary needs to be updated to reflect the increasing direct action from student groups. Ammienoot (talk) 19:10, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Neutral for Ongoing, which seems a more appropriate place as it has been, well, ongoing since February. There doesn't seem to be a pressing reason to post this as a blurb right now.--Pawnkingthree (talk) 19:15, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support for ongoing, clearly no real clear blurb here, but this is an ongoing issue, and now there's talk over students suing for recovery of their fees, this is a really big deal right now. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:45, 15 March 2018 (UTC)
• Alt blurb - Talks to end the 2018 UK higher education strike collapse resulting in up to 16 university campuses being occupied by student solidarity groups in escalating dispute.Stinglehammer (talk) 22:16, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

Attention needed: 2018 Sukma attack

Article: 2018 Sukma attack (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ An IED blast kills at least nine CRPF personnel and injures six others in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh, India. (Post)
News source(s): Washington Post, Herald Sun Hindustan Times
Credits:

• Nominated by 39.48.86.22 (talk · give credit)

Article updated

Nominator's comments: The Draft needs a Review before it could go to ITN on Main page. Its a stub atm but will expand it later. 39.48.86.22 (talk) 09:54, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose as of now due to quality (as mentioned by nominator). Weak Support on notability. Juxlos (talk) 10:46, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

 Done, the article can now hopefully be judged above stub-level. 39.48.144.155 (talk) 09:07, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• Change to Support - good enough now. Juxlos (talk) 18:28, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

• Comment. Could the name of the police force be spelled out in the blurb? It was not immediately obvious to me what "CRPF" means. 331dot (talk) 20:44, 14 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose As I write this it’s still a three line stub. Not convinced about significance either. Pawnkingthree (talk) 23:39, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

[Closed] Trump sacks Tillerson

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article: Rex Tillerson (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ In the United States, President Donald Trump sacks Rex Tillerson as United States Secretary of State. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ In the United States, President Donald Trump fires Rex Tillerson as United States Secretary of State.
News source(s): BBC CNN The Hill Washington Post
Credits:

• Nominated by Davey2116 (talk · give credit)

Article updated

Nominator's comments: I'm aware that this will get oppose !votes for being U.S.-centric, but the article update has been thorough and it's even the top story on BBC (beating out the fallout from the Russian poisoning). Davey2116 (talk) 14:50, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose - Trump's cabinet has been a revolving door since his inauguration to the point of being almost as typical as sunrise and sunset. Rex Tillerson's sacking is neither unexpected nor overly significant.--WaltCip (talk) 14:53, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

And its placement on BBC, I think, is immaterial. I'm still of the belief that the Russian poisoning is a non-story.--WaltCip (talk) 14:57, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

Maybe revise and check your logic - this does not make you look like an intelligent person. 2A02:A451:8B2D:1:188B:D30F:20F4:98AF (talk) 17:25, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose - Dismissal of a leader's adviser under conditions like this is not ITN type material. --Masem (t) 14:56, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Neutral on inclusion, but if used, the verb "sack" in the sense of "fire" or "terminate" (an employee) is less common in the US than the UK so we might want to rephrase. Newyorkbrad (talk) 15:01, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose John Magufuli sacks George Mkuchika, would it get posted? I think not. The BBC isn't above regional bias either. -A lad insane (Channel 2) 15:04, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

• I don't think this should be posted either, but I think we both realize that US politics have a far greater global impact than Tanzanian politics. Lepricavark (talk) 18:08, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

That is true. How about Putin sacking Dmitry Medvedev? That would have a slightly higher chance of being posted, but still not much. -A lad insane (Channel 2) 18:58, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose as a simple personnel change, and it is true this wouldn't be considered for most other countries. I have added a blurb with US terminology (fired) 331dot (talk) 15:19, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support making headlines, decent article. We can talk about "other countries" when "other countries" currency is used as a global trade standard, when "other countries" have military bases in 180 countries and fleets of ballistic missile submarines, when "other countries" engage in nuclear brinkmanship with North Korea. The sudden departure of SecState is a big deal. The false equivalences are comical. --76.122.98.135 (talk) 15:32, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

Systemic bias is not comical and something we should take seriously. This is not the pro-USA Wikipedia. 331dot (talk) 15:36, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

This also was not sudden and was long expected. 331dot (talk) 15:37, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

Once again, you don't fight "systemic bias" by suppressing stories from countries you consider to be over represented. It was long speculated, not so long expected, and it's not common for a sec state to go mid-term. --76.122.98.135 (talk) 17:11, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

IP editor, have you tried Conservapedia? You might be more at home there. Here at Wikipedia, though, we don't post stuff like this. And if we post every tiniest thing about a certain country, then you do counter the bias by "suppressing" stories- there are too many countries in the world to do that for, ITN would be flooded. You may even consider starting a wiki at Wikia, where all United States-related news is posted. -A lad insane (Channel 2) 17:53, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

The snottiness is unwarranted. The IP has a valid point about comical false equivalences, even if I disagree with his support for posting this. Lepricavark (talk) 18:08, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

Apologies for the snottiness. -A lad insane (Channel 2) 19:00, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose ministers get sacked all the time, no reason in particular why this is special. Unless something huge follows, but that’s WP:CRYSTAL. Juxlos (talk) 16:22, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Comment As a result of the dismissal CIA director Mike Pompeo was nominated as new Secretary of State and in turn Gina Haspel was nominated as new CIA director. This would be the first female director of the agency, and her nomination is also controversial due to her involvement in a torture site and the 2005 CIA interrogation tapes destruction. I would recommend to change the blurb, but it may be too soon to nominate this.--Jamez42 (talk) 16:25, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support So this which makes global headlines doesn’t get posted but the election in Tuvalu does? 172.56.7.104 (talk) 16:29, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

General elections of all sovereign States are on the recurring events list. Routine dismissals of officials who serve at the pleasure of the President are not. If you feel elections should not be, please propose their removal. 331dot (talk) 17:08, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

The last sec-state dismissed mid term I think was Haig back in the 80s, I didn't look to see how frequent before that. Not exactly "routine". --76.122.98.135 (talk) 17:15, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose, local politics. If we posted every time a cabinet-level official was replaced in every large country ITN would be a continual stream of them. We stick to heads of state, and sometimes heads of government. Modest Genius ^talk 16:37, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support more important and more impact than most of the stuff we post on the mainpage. What the IP above rightly said, the false equivalences are comical indeed. Either this is an encyclopedia and we evaluate events based on their importance and impact. Or we are not, and we just keep shoehorning the usual fare of disasters, elections and sport events into the mainpage. 2A02:A451:8B2D:1:188B:D30F:20F4:98AF (talk) 17:06, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose Not unexpected, and while we can figure what this means for things like the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (R.I.P.), we'll post that when it happens. – Muboshgu (talk) 17:09, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
  • Also, "sacking" is not terminology we use in the U.S. unless we're talking about football. – Muboshgu (talk) 17:27, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose yet another Trumpism, local politics, not important, not the last of these kinds of things. Suggest this is closed with extreme prejudice. The Rambling Man (talk) 17:28, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

  Then why did you not close it just yourself as SNOW. Would have been more constructive than posting a worthless oppose that does not provide a single valid reason? 2A02:A451:8B2D:1:188B:D30F:20F4:98AF (talk) 17:33, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

  Go away "IP", or log in, or do something constructive. I offered a perfectly apt oppose, "local politics", of no interest to anyone outside the Trump administration and, curiously, a handful of IP editors here. The Rambling Man (talk) 17:44, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

  Not going away, but maybe you can. National, not local politics, and please note the instruction above "Do not oppose an item because the event is only relating to a single country". Utterly worthless oppose, as I said. 2A02:A451:8B2D:1:188B:D30F:20F4:98AF (talk) 19:05, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose. Trump appoints Pompeo as Secretary of State. There can't be two at the same time. If anything, Haspel's appointment as the first female director of the CIA may be notable.Zigzig20s (talk) 17:41, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose Utter local US politics and Trumpic drama. Ministers/secretaries are appointed and sacked all the time around the world. Their appointment is explicitly at the whim and pleasure of the master they serve, who can hire and fire at any time and such events are generally not ITN worthy at all. –Ammarpad (talk) 17:51, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose typical political drama. Political figures below the top come and go all the time around the world. ZettaComposer (talk) 18:08, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support. As many sources point out, this signals the start of a far more confrontational foreign policy. Count Iblis (talk) 19:03, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Removed] 2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka

Article: 2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka (talk · history · tag)
Ongoing item removal (Post)

Nominator's comments: According to the article and external news sources this is no longer "ongoing." Tension has been defused and normalcy returned. –Ammarpad (talk) 07:55, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

• Given that this was posted more recently than 2/5 of active blurbs and within minutes of a third, could we move this to blurb? GCG (talk) 12:02, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Probably should have always been a blurb ... however per WP:USGOVERNMENTSHUTDOWN we now pull blurbs for events that have concluded, so .... neutral. --76.122.98.135 (talk) 12:13, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Remove per 76.122.98.135.--WaltCip (talk) 13:43, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Remove, but re-post as blurb per GCG and 76.122.98.135. Davey2116 (talk) 13:50, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support removal from ongoing / Oppose blurb One of the reasons this was posted in ongoing in the first place is that it was too stale for for ITN. The riots and their coverage began quite a ways back. -Ad Orientem (talk) 13:54, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• If this were "converted" into a blurb, it would be dated from the start of the event, which would be older than the oldest item. --LukeSurl ^{t c} 16:38, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Comment: I've not looked into the current rate of updates, but if this has stopped being ongoing it should be removed entirely, not upgraded to a blurb. The original discussion very specifically formed consensus on an ongoing posting, not a blurb. Besides, moving to a blurb would create a bad precedent for circumventing the original consensus that way. Modest Genius ^talk 16:41, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Remove - this was too stale for a blurb when originally posted. Now that it is entirely complete and over, a blurb listing is even more redundant. Time to remove it, I feel. Stormy clouds (talk) 21:01, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Removed from ongoing Stephen 22:36, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

March 12

Portal:Current events/2018 March 12

March 12, 2018 (2018-03-12) (Monday) Business and economy Acquisitions by Apple Apple Inc. buys digital magazine subscription app Texture for an undisclosed sum. (CNBC) United States antitrust law Citing national security concerns, U.S. President Donald Trump blocks Broadcom's proposed acquisition of Qualcomm. (CNBC) Disasters and accidents US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211 An aircraft operated by Bangladeshi airline US-Bangla Airlines crashes at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal, killing 49 of the 71 people on board. (BBC) International relations Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, Russia–United Kingdom relations British Prime Minister Theresa May says she believes it is "highly likely" that the Russian government was behind an attempt to murder Sergei Skripal and his daughter using a Novichok agent. (Deutsche Welle) Law and crime Austin package explosions Police in Austin, Texas announce that three package bombs in recent days that have killed two people and injured one more appear to be connected. The packages were left off at three separate locations and were not placed there by any delivery service, police say. (CNN) Politics and elections Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee announce the end of their Russia investigation, against the objections of Democratic members. According to the investigation's preliminary findings, the 2016 Trump campaign did not collude with the Russian government, and, contrary to the U.S. intelligence community's previous conclusions, Russia did not have a preference for Donald Trump as a presidential candidate. (NBC News) Sports 2017–18 Superleague Greece The Superleague Greece season is suspended indefinitely by the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports after PAOK FC owner Ivan Savvidis invaded the pitch with several bodyguards during a match against AEK Athens F.C. while armed with a gun, after his side had a late goal ruled out for offside. (BBC) College basketball in the United States The field for the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament is announced. Connecticut, the only remaining unbeaten Division I team of either sex, is the top overall seed, with Notre Dame, Louisville, and Mississippi State as the other #1 seeds. (AP via ESPN)

---

RD: Nikolai Glushkov

Article: Nikolai Glushkov (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): The Guardian
Credits:

• Nominated by Count Iblis (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

 Count Iblis (talk) 18:20, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose on article quality. Huge CN for claims surrounding his death which are a serious BLP FAIL. That needs to be fixed PDQ or I am going to remove it. Beyond that some of the sources are Russian and we need to have a close look by someone familiar with Russia and the current state of affairs there to determine their reliability. No, I do not regard Russian sources as presumptively reliable. Too much is going on over there. And lastly the article really needs a lot of copy editing for better reading. I am having a hard time figuring out the plot to the backstory which sounds simultaneously bizarre and slightly incomprehensible. -Ad Orientem (talk) 19:21, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

I removed the BLP vio. -Ad Orientem (talk) 19:35, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

Which has subsequently been fixed. -Ad Orientem (talk) 19:50, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

RD: Craig Mack

Article: Craig Mack (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): CNN Rolling Stone
Credits:

• Nominated by Davey2116 (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: A 1990s rapper dies at age 46. Davey2116 (talk) 13:48, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose Poor sourcing and some word choices would be formalized. Main issue is sourcing. --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 21:11, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose Unsourced statements and parts of the article are not written in an encyclopedic tone. Quality is not there yet.--Pawnkingthree (talk) 12:45, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

[Posted] RD: Oskar Gröning

Article: Oskar Gröning (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Spiegel, BBC
Credits:

• Nominated by Masem (talk · give credit)

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: He reportedly died on March 9, but Spiegel, the first source to report, is only reporting it today. Article seems to be in good shape. Masem (t) 02:00, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support - I agree with Masems assessment. Ready for posting.BabbaQ (talk) 02:04, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Kyrie eleison. -Ad Orientem (talk) 02:25, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
• Posted Stephen 03:09, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

[Posted] US Bangla Airlines Flight 211

Article: US Bangla Airlines Flight 211 (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ At least 49 people are killed after US Bangla Airlines Flight 211 crashed en route from Dhaka, Bangladesh to Kathmandu, Nepal. (Post)
News source(s): IE
Article needs updating

Nominator's comments: Numbers are likely to grow looking at what happened to the aircraft. This should be mimimum for ITN notability. Lihaas (talk) 11:18, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support - Due to number of fatalities. Sherenk1 (talk) 11:32, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support - Per above. Article is a bit short but it should expand in the next couple hours as info comes. Juxlos (talk) 12:25, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Question what, beyond an unfortunate death toll, makes this notable? What are the minimum deaths for notability? --76.122.98.135 (talk) 12:33, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
  • There's no formal minimum, but commercial airline crashes with two-digit death tolls are almost automatically notable and postable. Brandmeister^talk 13:20, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support - apparent high death toll, article in fairly good shape with no referencing issues. Mjroots (talk) 12:54, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support - High number of deaths. Good shape article.BabbaQ (talk) 13:22, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Sad accident. Article looks short but adequate and is decently referenced. I did add a CN but it's not enough to hold up posting. I also updated the death toll in the blurb. -Ad Orientem (talk) 13:44, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support high death toll, article is sufficiently ready. Lepricavark (talk) 14:44, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Posted This does not appear controversial. -Ad Orientem (talk) 16:04, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

Ameenah Gurib announces her resignation as President of Mauritius

Article: Ameenah Gurib (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Ameenah Gurib announces her resignation as President of Mauritius. (Post)
News source(s): Bloomberg

Nominator's comments: and other sources have reported this in the past few days. SecretName101 (talk) 10:53, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• comment change in head of state is ITNR so a new pone will get posted but I imagine she will be acting till then.Lihaas (talk) 11:09, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Comment The Presidency of Mauritius appears more ceremonial than of a true leadership position (the PM is the leading state official there), this might beg the question if this should be considered ITNR. --Masem (t) 13:45, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

The Prime Minister is head of government, not state. We should expect an "acting" President to take over, which would not be ITNR. The replacement being elected or assuming office would be. I still think we should be using the yellow-shaded from here for ITNR, but that idea was shot down. GCG (talk) 16:30, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

As a matter of practice we have generally posted changes in head of government as well as head of state assuming that the article is up to scratch. In any event this is ITNR. I have added a couple CN tags but the article is not in bad shape overall. Fix those and I would think this will be postable. -Ad Orientem (talk) 19:29, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support resignation of any major post, even if wields less power than other positions is signifigant, especially if there is a scandal, which there is. Should be postedUser:Awestruck1(talk) 20:22. 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support According to ITNR only the succession of head of state is ITNR; however I would still post now and update blurb when a successor is determined. Banedon (talk) 21:28, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose because this is not ITNR, we must consider the merits. As this a ceremonial position, and the reason is run-of-the-mill government graft, this is not noteworthy. @Banedon: given historic precedent, a successor may take weeks to assume office. GCG (talk) 11:47, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

If that happens, I would still rather post this and the successor assuming office. Banedon (talk) 20:30, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose plenty of unreferenced material in here, whether it's ITNR or not, it's not close to being posted in its current state. The Rambling Man (talk) 21:36, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

March 11

Portal:Current events/2018 March 11

March 11, 2018 (2018-03-11) (Sunday) Disasters and accidents 2017–18 South Pacific cyclone season Cyclone Hola makes landfall in New Zealand. (Newshub) 2018 New York City helicopter crash A helicopter crash in Manhattan's East River kills five people. (ABC News) 2018 Bombardier Challenger 604 crash A private plane from Sharjah to Istanbul crashes in the Zagros Mountains in Iran, killing Turkish socialite Mina Başaran along with, according to Iranian state media, ten other people on board. (The National UAE), (BBC) Law and crime Visa policy of the United Kingdom Far-right activist and journalist Lauren Southern is detained at Calais and prevented from entering the United Kingdom, with the reason given by the UK Home Office that her presence 'was not conducive to the public good'. (London Evening Standard), (Fox News) 2018 Vienna embassy stabbing An Austrian soldier was stabbed and injured in front of the Iranian embassy in Vienna. The attacker, which had Islamist sympathies according to the authorities, was shot dead. (Reuters) Politics and elections 2018 National People's Congress China's National People's Congress approves the removal of presidential term limits, in a move that allows current president Xi Jinping to remain president for life. (BBC) Chilean general election, 2017 Sebastian Piñera takes office for the second time as President of Chile. (SBS) 2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka The suspension of Facebook remains in place until the riots end. (The Sunday Times) Sports College basketball in the United States The field for the NCAA Division I Men's Tournament is announced. The top overall seed is Virginia, with Villanova, Kansas, and Xavier as the other #1 seeds. (ESPN)

---

[Posted] RD: Ken Dodd

Article: Ken Dodd (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): BBC
Credits:

• Nominated by The Rambling Man (talk · give credit)
• Updated by Ritchie333 (talk · give credit), Only in death (talk · give credit) and Ghmyrtle (talk · give credit)

Article needs updating
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

 The Rambling Man (talk) 05:49, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose The article is in a terrible shape unfortunately. Aiken D 07:03, 12 March 2018 (UTC) Enthusiastic support A huge improvement, well done. Aiken D 19:45, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose The quality feels very light m'lud ... unsourced sections, images dropped wantonly in the article without a thought for context, questionable layout and flow - in short, a total disaster area. :-( Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 09:23, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support I see the issue template but look at the article without snap judgements: I really don't see the issue. Not every assertion is referenced but we do not have huge tracts of unreferenced text (especially when implied references are included - not every reference needs a ref tag) and the article is reasonably well developed. Remember we do not require FA standard here. 3142 (talk) 09:25, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

  I think we all know we don't need FA quality here, but since this is a BLP, referencing for pretty much every claim is required. The Rambling Man (talk) 09:28, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

Given we are discussing a recent death BLP by definition does not apply. 3142 (talk) 09:32, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

@3142: As I understand it, BLP applies to recent deaths as well(for about a year I think). 331dot (talk) 09:33, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

We can all do without this bickering.--WaltCip (talk) 11:07, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
Plese read WP:BLP before making false assertions. The Rambling Man (talk) 09:35, 12 March 2018 (UTC) There is a difference between a false assertion and an honest mistake. 331dot (talk) 10:20, 12 March 2018 (UTC) Don't start again 331dot, you're already close. The Rambling Man (talk) 10:32, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• I've done a cull of the photos. There are now four (in appropriate placing) Infobox, one of his statue in the honours section, and two in the comedy section (one with his signature tickle sticks, the other from earlier in his career). The others were either unflattering or un-necessary (repeat of the statue, his house etc). If I have time later I will look at the sources. Only in death does duty end (talk) 13:13, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support Everything is now sourced - I've got citations where I can and anything left over wasn't a deal-breaker so I removed it. Combined with OID's reorganisation of the article, I think we've actually done it. Aiken drum - do you want to revisit your oppose? Ritchie333 ^{(talk) (cont)} 16:53, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Article is much improved.--Pawnkingthree (talk) 17:16, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Excellent work to get it up to scratch. yorkshiresky (talk) 19:07, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Great work on improving the article! --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 22:03, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Posted Stephen 22:10, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Comment Great work there - I was going to help when I got home from work, but it was already done. Black Kite (talk) 23:21, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

[Posted] RD: Togo D. West Jr.

Article: Togo D. West Jr. (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): The Washington Post
Credits:

• Nominated by TDKR Chicago 101 (talk · give credit)

Article needs updating
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Updated and well sourced --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 03:16, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support - Indeed, ready for posting.BabbaQ (talk) 11:06, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Looks good to go. –Ammarpad (talk) 18:18, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Posted Stephen 22:02, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

Chinese presidential term limits removed

Article: President of the People's Republic of China (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ At the 2018 National People's Congress, the Chinese legislature removes term limits for the President of the People's Republic of China (incumbent Xi Jinping pictured) (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ The National People's Congress removes term limits for the President of the People's Republic of China (incumbent Xi Jinping pictured)
Alternative blurb II: ​ The National People's Congress removes term limits for the President of the People's Republic of China, with Xi Jinping as the incumbent president.
News source(s): BBC,CNN, Reuters
Credits:

• Nominated by Starship.paint (talk · give credit)
• Updated by LukeSurl (talk · give credit) and Juxlos (talk · give credit)

Nominator's comments: Significant change in way of governing in one of the most significant countries now. More from The New York Times on why this is a big deal. Feel free to add more blurbs and suggest alternative target articles as the current one is not detailed. starship.paint ~ KO 09:27, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

• Conditional support Widely covered and highly notable, might very well not have more Chinese presidential succession for a while. Article needs significant extensions though. Also blurb feels a bit long. Juxlos (talk) 11:02, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

Change to Support focusing on the presidency instead of the meeting per below. Juxlos (talk) 07:41, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose on quality - article tells us nothing more than the blurb and is almost as long. The reason your struggling with the blurb is we can't say what RS are saying per WP:crystalball. The part we can say doesn't feel all that newsworthy. GCG (talk) 11:32, 11 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose. The PRC is free to use its legal processes to change its laws about how long the President serves whenever it wishes. This will have little effect. 331dot (talk) 12:16, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

I would add that this legislature is essentially a rubber stamp body anyway. If Xi didn't want it, they wouldn't do it. 331dot (talk) 12:20, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

With the exception of Mao Zedong, the term limit seems to be obeyed in general. While the body may not exactly be a proper democratic one this still implies a major event in Chinese politics. If Trump even formally proposes doing this it will be all over the news in a heartbeat. Juxlos (talk) 12:54, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

FYI the US President has no formal role in crafting US Constitutional amendments. He can't push one through Congress (2/3 vote needed) or through the states (3/4 of the states). He can propose whatever he wants but it's unlikely it would happen. I believe he has joked about doing something similar to this Chinese action. 331dot (talk) 19:14, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

• Notability wise, support. I'm seeing this development in multiple news sources. This was also in the news a few weeks ago when it was effectively passed by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, but in terms of the encyclopedia, the official change to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China is what we want to mark. When evaluating this, we can't use the same criteria as that we would evaluating a development in a Western democracy. In China power happens through closed-door meetings and not by elections, and this is one of the most significant occasions. I've suggested a shorter alt-blurb. Article will need some work. --LukeSurl ^{t c} 14:24, 11 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose on article quality. It's a stub and will require significant expansion before we can seriously consider posting to the main page. -Ad Orientem (talk) 14:42, 11 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support on notability as above; I was thinking about nominating this when the news first broke but knew that the response would be 'wait until it actually happens'. The article should be expanded. Davey2116 (talk) 17:06, 11 March 2018 (UTC)
• President of the People's Republic of China might be a good target, as the news is really about this post rather than the meeting. --LukeSurl ^{t c} 19:17, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

Agree. Stormy clouds (talk) 19:56, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support this saw coverage before the congress even happened (e.g. [3]). I'm for targeting President of the People's Republic of China as that's the position that's actually affected. Banedon (talk) 01:18, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• @GreatCaesarsGhost, LukeSurl, Ad Orientem, Davey2116, and Stormy clouds: - switched the target article. starship.paint ~ KO 08:30, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

There was an uncited section, now fixed. Juxlos (talk) 10:20, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

Sorry, still opposed. The new target has only a brief mention and offers no more information than what is in the blurb. -Ad Orientem (talk) 13:12, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support in principle, oppose on update. A historically significant change to one of the world's most powerful offices. However unless I'm missing something President of the People's Republic of China has just two sentences on the change, that say nothing more about it than the blurb does. I think we need a full paragraph of cited update somewhere before posting. Modest Genius ^talk 11:38, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• The difficulty of using President of the People's Republic of China as the target is that it's not really the place for an extensive commentary on recent events, especially when these events now mean there's an absence of a particular aspect of the position. --LukeSurl ^{t c} 12:19, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

Fair enough, but that's currently the bold link in the blurb. If there's a better location for an update, that's fine. We do need one somewhere. Modest Genius ^talk 13:03, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support in principle. If allowing presidency for life in the most populous country and second-largest economy in the world, which directly impacts 1.4 billion people and has large potential to affect international relations, does not merit a blurb, then I'm really wondering what the political news should be concerned with to get included.--Kiril Simeonovski (talk) 12:22, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Comment I think there is a lot of support in principle because this is a huge power grab for Xi. However, he is only the third leader of China since the President role became synonymous with the supreme leader, and he is just now entering his second term. The narrative that he is becoming Mao-like or ruling for life is highly speculative. GCG (talk) 13:37, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

Nominal or not, it’s still the head of state position, the same way we care about the Queen of the United Kingdom. Juxlos (talk) 15:34, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• Reluctant oppose as it's a significant story that is getting coverage, but neither proposed target has been sufficiently updated - the 2018 Congress article is still a stub and there has been a mere two line update to the new target that tells us little more than the blurb.--Pawnkingthree (talk) 18:33, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

[Posted] RD: Karl Lehmann

Article: Karl Lehmann (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Kardinal Karl Lehmann ist tot FAZ
Credits:

• Nominated by Iselilja (talk · give credit)

Article needs updating
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Not ready yet, but I'll work on it Iselilja (talk) 09:00, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

• Came to nominate him, pleased it's done. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 17:15, 11 March 2018 (UTC)
• I have now tried to improve the article and every paragraph should be referenced. I would appreciate some copyediting for language, and otherwise that people now start evaluating the article. It is still somewhat thin considered that this guy had a real career with real influence and I'll try to expand it somewhat more, but hope it can get posted within reasonable time. Iselilja (talk) 18:37, 11 March 2018 (UTC)
• Posted Stephen 22:15, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

March 10

Portal:Current events/2018 March 10

March 10, 2018 (2018-03-10) (Saturday) Business and economy Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Congolese President Joseph Kabila signs a law that increases taxes on mining and government royalties on international mining companies working in DR Congo, including on the mining of cobalt, despite the opposition from foreign companies. (BBC) Disasters and accidents East-Central Africa Division of Seventh-day Adventists Lightning strikes a Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nyaruguru District, Rwanda, killing 16 people and injuring dozens. (BBC) Health and environment Environmental issues in Chile Outgoing Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signs a new law which creates nine marine reserves. The new legislation will increase the area of sea under state protection from 4.3% to 42.4%. (BBC) International relations 2017–18 North Korea crisis North Korea–United States relations Jeju Island emerges as a possible location for U.S.–North Korea summit talks in May. (The Hankyoreh) North Korea–Sweden relations North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho will visit Sweden and meet with Deputy Prime Minister Margot Wallström. (Reuters via The Japan Times) Law and crime Aftermath of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting The NRA is suing Florida after it passed a gun control law which would raise the minimum age for purchasing guns from 18 to 21. (CNN) (BBC) The U.S. Department of Justice submits a regulation to ban bump stocks, a modification to semi-automatic guns that allows the user to fire at a faster rate. (Reuters)

---

RD: Hubert de Givenchy

Article: Hubert de Givenchy (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): NYT
Credits:

• Nominated by WaltCip (talk · give credit)

Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Supposedly the tip-top in his field with regards to fashion design. I'm not sure if that merits a blurb, but here it is for RD nonetheless. WaltCip (talk) 15:19, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support High profile, with probably sufficient sourcing. Brandmeister^talk 20:35, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Article looks good to be posted. –Ammarpad (talk) 20:55, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Weak Support - one CN which I added and cannot source, but otherwise we are good to go. Stormy clouds (talk) 21:15, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support - ready for posting.BabbaQ (talk) 21:23, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
• Very slight oppose Few CN tags, noting hard to fix up. --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 22:05, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

[Posted] RD: Millie Dunn Veasey

Article: Millie Dunn Veasey (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): WRAL
Credits:

• Nominated by TDKR Chicago 101 (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Article updated and well sourced --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 06:10, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support god enough. The Rambling Man (talk) 08:18, 11 March 2018 (UTC)
• Posted Stephen 22:12, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

March 9

Portal:Current events/2018 March 9

March 9, 2018 (2018-03-09) (Friday) Arts and culture Media of the United Kingdom British music journalism magazine New Musical Express (NME) issues its final print edition after 66 years, becoming a purely digital medium. (London Evening Standard) International relations 2017–18 North Korea crisis 2018 North Korea–United States summit White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says that the White House needs to see "concrete and verifiable steps" toward the denuclearization of North Korea before meeting with Kim Jong-un. (Business Insider) Australia–North Korea relations, Australia–United States relations Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull urges U.S. President Donald Trump to be cautious in North Korea talks. Turnbull also said that Australia must retain sanctions on North Korea. (Canberra Times) France–North Korea relations, France–United States relations French President Emmanuel Macron says that Trump should hold tough talks with North Korea. (First Post) Law and crime Yountville hostage crisis An Afghan War veteran and recently expelled resident takes an executive director and two psychologists into a room at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, California. Seven hours later, California Highway Patrol officers find all of them shot dead. (The New York Times) Crime in New York A Brooklyn federal court sentences Martin Shkreli to seven years in prison for securities fraud in his hedge fund and pharmaceutical companies. (CNBC) Federal pardons in the United States U.S. President Donald Trump pardons Kristian Saucier, who had served a one-year sentence for unauthorized possession and retention of national defense information. (The Washington Post) Politics and elections Politics of Mauritius Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is to resign over a financial scandal, where she was accused of using a charity bank card to make personal purchases worth tens of thousands of dollars. (Reuters) (BBC) Science and technology 2018 in spaceflight Arianespace launches mission VS18 from the Guiana Space Centre, a Soyuz rocket carrying a payload of four O3b communications satellites for SES. (NASASpaceFlight.com) Sports 2018 Winter Paralympics The opening ceremony of the 2018 Paralympic Games in South Korea takes place. (BBC) Figure skating in the United States American figure skating coach Richard Callaghan is suspended by the United States Center for SafeSport for alleged inappropriate sexual conduct with a 15-year-old pupil in 1985, first reported in 1999. (The Washington Post)

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[Posted] RD: George A. Sinner

Article: George A. Sinner (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Star Tribune, Bismark Tribune
Credits:

• Nominated by TDKR Chicago 101 (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Article updated and well sourced --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 18:50, 10 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support – Good article, well sourced. – Nixinova ⟨ T | E ⟩ 23:01, 10 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support - well referenced. Ready for RD. -Zanhe (talk) 00:53, 11 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support good enough. The Rambling Man (talk) 08:20, 11 March 2018 (UTC)
• Posted Stephen 22:11, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

[Closed] Martin Shkreli

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article: Martin Shkreli (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Businessman Martin Shkreli is sentenced to seven years imprisonment for money fraud. (Post)
News source(s): [4]
Credits:

• Nominated by BabbaQ (talk · give credit)

Nominator's comments: Feel free to add another blurb etc. I find this to be a article ready for posting at ITN. BabbaQ (talk) 21:56, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose Not significant.Zigzig20s (talk) 21:57, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose I was actually earlier in the process of writing up an ITNC about this, but realized that at the end of the day: it was only for 7 years, and it was nothing to do with why he's notable, being the phrama pricing issue (this was due to fraud from his earlier investing position). --Masem (t) 21:58, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose in summary: somebody deeply obnoxious is sent to prison for a short period. Not ITN material. The Rambling Man (talk) 22:01, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose. Not related to his notability. 331dot (talk) 22:09, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose. Hell no, this guy's mostly notable for being a dick on social media and it's not like that's rare. Juxlos (talk) 22:15, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose minor criminal case in the global, overall perspective that ITN takes. —LukeSurl ^{t c} 22:45, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Posted] Winter Paralympics

Article: 2018 Winter Paralympics (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ The 2018 Winter Paralympics open in Pyeongchang, South Korea (Post)
News source(s): BBC
Credits:

• Nominated by LukeSurl (talk · give credit)

The nominated event is listed on WP:ITN/R, so each occurrence is presumed to be important enough to post. Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article and update meet WP:ITNCRIT, not the significance.

Nominator's comments: 2018 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony exists but is a stub. For the Winter Olympics we posted the main article. LukeSurl ^{t c} 14:43, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support - Is a major sporting event. BabbaQ (talk) 17:04, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Article quality is sufficient. --Jayron32 17:09, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support - this is an ITN/R nomination, so there are no notability issues. Article quality of the main article, which we should post per the precedent set by the Winter Olympics, is fine. Stormy clouds (talk) 18:09, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support Major event, article is good. – Nixinova ⟨T|C⟩ 18:19, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Posted. I also tweaked it to remove the big whitespace. Black Kite (talk) 20:33, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

[Posted to Ongoing] Ongoing: Afrin operation

Article: Turkish military operation in Afrin (talk · history · tag)
Ongoing item nomination (Post)
Credits:

• Nominated by Fitzcarmalan (talk · give credit)

Nominator's comments: Having the Ghouta offensive posted but not this one is a bit strange. Maybe the civilian casualties are heavier in Ghouta, but Afrin has seen a lot more military losses. It's also a whole new front that is relatively unusual within the context of the 7-year long Syrian Civil War. And the involvement of pro-government forces against the Turkish military makes it even more unique. Fitzcarmalan (talk) 08:42, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support Article quality is sufficient (a few minor WP:PROSELINE issues, but not distractingly so) and well referenced, article is comprehensive, event is ongoing, and article is receiving regular updates. --Jayron32 15:08, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support per Jayron32. A situation with major international implications. Jusdafax (talk) 18:16, 10 March 2018 (UTC)
• Posted Stephen 01:02, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

[Closed] RD: Bernardo Bernardo (actor)

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article: Bernardo Bernardo (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): CBN
Credits:

• Nominated by Abishe (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: This actor is a well known actor not only in the Philippines and has been a recipient of the Gawad Urian Award for 2 times. Abishe (talk) 06:30, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose until the article is expanded. Three sentences on his career is not sufficient. 2A02:A451:8B2D:1:9812:AD74:9650:415A (talk) 06:46, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose article is not in the best condition, needs significant expansion before being posted. 161.6.7.1 (talk) 07:15, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose. Stub article with problematic sources. Challenger l (talk) 02:03, 10 March 2018 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Withdrawn] Trump and Kim agree to meet

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article: North Korea–United States relations (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un agree to meet by May, with Kim agreeing to discuss denuclearization. (Post)
News source(s): NBC BBC
Credits:

• Nominated by 331dot (talk · give credit)

Article needs updating

Nominator's comments: This announcement is significant and being widely covered. The relations article seems a logical one to update. 331dot (talk) 01:43, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

Wait until they actually meet in 2 months. SamaranEmerald (talk) 01:52, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

This mere announcement is unprecedented (unlike tariffs which nations are free to do). Even if the meeting does not occur, this announcement is a high point for relations. 331dot (talk) 01:56, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

Yeah, I have to agree. No opposition to posting this now, and I'd probably post it twice (now, and when it takes place). --Bongwarrior (talk) 02:00, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support pending article update, per 331. zzz (talk) 02:23, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Wait If the meeting still happens in May, consider this my clear support for that ITN item. But plans to make a meeting in 3 months - a lot can happen. Let's hold off and avoid the CRYSTALBALL issues. --Masem (t) 02:27, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Wait per Masem, this nomination is already falling under the influence of WP:CRYSTALBALL, anything could happen between now and then. I will support the nomination for when the meeting actually occurs, but until then, it is best to wait until it actually happens. Hornetzilla78 (talk) 02:35, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Wait per above. If/when this meeting actually takes place I think it will be ITN material. -Ad Orientem (talk) 02:46, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Wait premature nomination, this is undoubtedly ITN worthy, but only when it actually happens. Kirliator (talk) 02:51, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Wait still speculative at this point; who knows what nefarious intentions Kim has in mind? EternalNomad (talk) 03:10, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

"Nefarious intentions" are irrelevant. 331dot (talk) 11:33, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support - the announcement is already historic, even in the case this should not happen. Yes, sometimes announcements are newsworthy. Whether it happens in May or not, it will have a impact, more so than the usual ITN fare of bus accidents, fires and terrorist attacks. 2A02:A451:8B2D:1:9812:AD74:9650:415A (talk) 06:38, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Wait per all of the above minus zzz, widespread coverage yes, but premature in nature. Until this meeting is occurs, it is overhyped at best. 161.6.7.1 (talk) 07:14, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose which is really what all the wait votes mean, we're not keeping this nomination open for two months. Let's see what happens, if it happens. The Rambling Man (talk) 08:15, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• I'm not sure it is being appreciated how significant this is. This is one occasion where the announcement is significant as this sort of thing was avoided by US Presidents since the Korean War. It isn't "premature" to announce a future meeting when it is the annoucement that is notable. This is essentially the high water mark of US-NK relations and it comes so close to when war was being threatened months ago. The mere fact that the two men have announced that they want to meet is very significant, even if the meeting does not occur. This is being covered worldwide as significant, Le Monde, Irish Times, India, and many others. 331dot (talk) 11:33, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

Editorial discretion might be prudent here. There really is no doubting that the story is international in scope, and diplomatically, this would be a huge deal - if it wasn't for who the two leaders are that are making this arrangement. One of the two leaders is frighteningly unstable, and the other has a tendency to change their mind on an almost predictable basis (I'll leave it to your imagination to figure out which is which). The more significant story will be if the meeting actually occurs. As it is, this is not Nixon going to China.--WaltCip (talk) 11:58, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

Also worth considering that this is an encyclopedia and not a newspaper, so if you look back in time, do you honestly think you'll find discussions or entries where people agreed to do something that might lead to something in the short-term future? Or do you think you'll find the records reflect things that actually happened? The Rambling Man (talk) 12:17, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose. If/when this meeting actually happens it might be suitable for ITN, depending on what arises from it. But simply agreeing to meet in a few months time isn't historically significant. Make a new nomination when the meeting occurs. Modest Genius ^talk 12:22, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Since the closure with the editorialising note about some of us simply "not appreciating" the historic nature of this has been restored by an involved admin (thanks for watching!) then it's important here to note that no-one here suggested that the agreement wasn't notable and no-one here said they didn't appreciate its potential significance, but please don't editorialise when closing your own nominations. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:05, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

[Closed] US tariffs on steel and aluminium

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article: Trump tariffs (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ US President Donald Trump imposes a tariff on imported steel and aluminium amidst threats of retaliation from other countries (Post)
News source(s): [5]
Credits:

• Nominated by Banedon (talk · give credit)
• Updated by Classicwiki (talk · give credit) and ReadingAmerican (talk · give credit)

Article needs updating

Nominator's comments: This has been in the news for quite a while, and Trump's finally gone ahead with the plan, so nominating now. Article not updated yet as of time of nomination. Banedon (talk) 01:22, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

• Comment. This isn't a certainty yet, it goes into effect in 15 days, legal challenges are expected and Congress will attempt to stop it.[6] 331dot (talk) 01:27, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

I'd still say post and update blurb if Congress stops it. Waiting for something to really happen is to me similar to not posting the Cuban missile crisis until either side actually launched missiles. Banedon (talk) 01:29, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

I'm not saying don't post it per se but we will look silly if we post this and the next day a court halts the move or Congress repeals it. 331dot (talk) 01:45, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

Yeah, this is just like the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Rambling Man (talk) 12:17, 10 March 2018 (UTC)

• While I do think this is notable, I'd wait for it to actually come into effect first. Master of Time (talk) 01:47, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Wait until it goes into effect in 2 weeks. SamaranEmerald (talk) 01:50, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose at least for now, this will likely be challenged by numerous entities within the next 14 days before it is put into effect, if it overcomes all that outrage by then, it will be good to go. 161.6.7.1 (talk) 07:17, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Question has similar actions happened before were tariffs have been posted to ITN? This is out of curiosity. Hornetzilla78 (talk) 07:25, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose more whacky thinking from Trump, and certain to be challenged all over the place. Wikipedia doesn't need a Trump ticker. The Rambling Man (talk) 09:13, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Weak Oppose - The backlash by other countries barring trade with the U.S., if that happens, might be of considerable notability. Right now, though, the news media has it right in that this is not in effect yet.--WaltCip (talk) 13:55, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose Article has not been sufficiently updated (at least according to the giant orange-level tag at the top). --Jayron32 15:10, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose - this is an internal tax affair at present, and thereby lacks notability. Article quality is insufficient, and notwithstanding this, we should refrain from posting until the law takes effect (the whole updating a blurb which was rendered obsolete will, by precedent, likely not fly). Stormy clouds (talk) 18:14, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Wait - not 100% certain. Further discussion should be after it's on paper and not on Twitter. Juxlos (talk) 22:17, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

March 8

Portal:Current events/2018 March 8

March 8, 2018 (2018-03-08) (Thursday) Armed conflicts and attacks Turkish military operation in Afrin The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army seizes control of Jindires in Syria's Afrin District from the Kurdish YPG. The town is extensively destroyed by Turkish airstrikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Reuters) (France 24) Business and economy Economy of the United States Toys "R" Us considers closing all its stores in the United States. (CNBC) International relations 2017–18 North Korea crisis 2018 North Korea–United States summit Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says "potentially positive signals" come from North Korea, but that the two countries are "still a long way" from direct negotiations. (NBC News) U.S. President Donald Trump accepts an invitation from North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un to discuss North Korea's denuclearization sometime by May. (CBC) (The New York Times) Japan–North Korea relations Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe says inter-Korea talks could be a "meaningless" ploy by North Korea. (The Japan Times) United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, Foreign relations of Guatemala Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit demands Guatemala reverse its decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, Sandra Jovel says the move is "irreversible." (JPost) Protectionism in the United States Citing national security reasons, U.S. President Donald Trump imposes tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum imported from most countries. Canada and Mexico are provisionally exempt pending NAFTA renegotiations. The tariffs will take effect on March 23. (CBS News) Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Eleven countries in Asia, North America, Oceania, and South America sign the revised Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. (The New York Times) Politics and elections Democratic Republic of the Congo general election, 2018 Prime Minister Bruno Tshibala says the election – delayed repeatedly since President Joseph Kabila's term expired in December 2016 – will occur this December. (Reuters via Standard Digital) The first Aurat March (social/political demonstration) was held on 8 March 2018 being International Women's Day in Karachi, Pakistan, annually held since then and feminist slogan Mera Jism Meri Marzi (My body, my choice) in demand for women's right to bodily autonomy and against gender-based violence came into vogue in Pakistan. (Al-Jazeera)

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[Closed] RD: Wilson Harris

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article: Wilson Harris (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): Guardian
Credits:

• Nominated by Black Kite (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Important writer. Needs more sources, especially in biography section. Black Kite (talk) 12:10, 10 March 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose as noted, currently still not up to scratch. The Rambling Man (talk) 08:21, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[Posted] RD: Ron Franklin

Article: Ron Franklin (jockey) (talk · history · tag)
Recent deaths nomination (Post)
News source(s): The Baltimore Sun, BloodHorse
Credits:

• Nominated by TDKR Chicago 101 (talk · give credit)

Article updated
Recent deaths of any person, animal or organism with a Wikipedia article are always presumed to be important enough to post (see this RFC and further discussion). Comments should focus on whether the quality of the article meets WP:ITNRD.

Nominator's comments: Article updated and well sourced --TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 22:15, 9 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support sufficient. The Rambling Man (talk) 09:13, 10 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support looks ready. Pawnkingthree (talk) 11:52, 10 March 2018 (UTC)
• Posted. Black Kite (talk) 12:01, 10 March 2018 (UTC)

[Posted to Ongoing] Sri Lanka riots

Article: 2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka (talk · history · tag)
Blurb: ​ Sri Lanka declares State of Emergency and blocks access to social media amids ongoing ethnic riots. (Post)
Alternative blurb: ​ Sri Lanka declares State of Emergency amids ongoing ethnic riots.
Alternative blurb II: ​ Sri Lanka blocks access to social media to curb mobs organizing ethnic riots.
Alternative blurb III: ​ The ethnic riots in Kandy occurred for the first time in about 35 years since the Black July which was caused in 1983 between Tamils and Sinhalese Buddhists.
News source(s): 1

2
Credits:

• Nominated by Rehman (talk · give credit)
• Updated by Jesuschristonacamel (talk · give credit), Abishe (talk · give credit) and Randeepa (talk · give credit)

Article updated

Nominator's comments: The first time the country has declared State of Emergency after the 25-year civil war. And (probably) the first time ever that social media has been blocked. Rehman 03:02, 8 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support - Well referenced. Sherenk1 (talk) 08:33, 8 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose - The article has a couple tagged sections of almost unreadable text. Jusdafax (talk) 09:28, 8 March 2018 (UTC)
• Conditional support - subject to someone with the ability to write something legible in English touching up the whole article. Juxlos (talk) 10:08, 8 March 2018 (UTC)

Thanks for the pointers Jusdafax and Juxlos. I've made some changes to the article. Hopefully that's better. Rehman 11:00, 8 March 2018 (UTC)

There are still some minor grammar issues, but I guess it’s good enough now. Change to Support Juxlos (talk) 11:03, 8 March 2018 (UTC)

• I strongly support on significance and quality, but there's a lot of "who did what to whom when" going on in the talk pages, so I'd advise we proceed cautiously. Upon first glance, the article is well written and sourced, and seems to carry a neutral voice. The article title would be problematic *if* there is equal blame. GCG (talk) 12:24, 8 March 2018 (UTC)
• Comment this should be under 6 March as that's when the state of emergency was declared. Otherwise, this should be ongoing because the riots have been happening since the end of February. The Rambling Man (talk) 12:28, 8 March 2018 (UTC)
• Weak support I've been through the article once and worked over some of the prose. It isn't our best writing, but at the moment I'm not seeing egregious neutrality or verifiability issues. "weak" because I'd prefer the writing to be improved further. Vanamonde (talk) 13:06, 8 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support for Ongoing per TRM. I do think this passes on both quality and the importance of the story, but it's been going on for a while. Realistically it's stale for the ITN sidebar. -Ad Orientem (talk) 14:51, 8 March 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose blurb – I haven't seen much coverage on major news sites. After searching awhile, I found an unnarrated video on BBC, dated March 7, under the headline "Buddhist rioters dispersed in Sri Lanka." Seems to be over for now. Sca (talk) 14:54, 8 March 2018 (UTC)

A brief Google Search gives links from almost all major international news outlets including Al Jazeera, Reuters, etc. Juxlos (talk) 14:59, 8 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support Article is comprehensive, well written, and well referenced. Well done! Agnostic on blurb vs. ongoing, but the quality is good enough for the main page. --Jayron32 15:01, 8 March 2018 (UTC)

@Sca: Clear reports have been provided by the international news sites such as BBC and Al Jazeera on the tense situation which has been spread between Sinhalese Buddhists and Muslims in Sri Lanka. Abishe (talk) 15:05, 8 March 2018 (UTC)

⇒ Among major English-language non-aggregation news sites, seems to be mainly Reuters. Sca (talk) 15:08, 8 March 2018 (UTC)

• Support ongoing - per TRM, I feel that ongoing is preferable to a blurb in this case, and have no concerns vis-á-vis article quality or notability otherwise. Stormy clouds (talk 17:06, 8 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support ongoing per above, but I'd support a blurb if the consensus does. Davey2116 (talk) 17:47, 8 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support ongoing after reviewing all the sources I can find, my early concerns are assuaged. GCG (talk) 01:21, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support ongoing the suggested blurbs are abit of a jumbled collection of different claims, I suggest to avoid an blurb conflict, this nomination should be posted as ongoing, after all we did this with the Iranian protests earlier. SamaranEmerald (talk) 01:56, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support ongoing – Agree with previous posts regarding ongoing. Sca (talk) 02:51, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
• Posted to ongoing Stephen 03:53, 9 March 2018 (UTC)
  • Remove ongoing as riots were over and curfew lifted. Gfosankar (talk) 14:17, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

References

Nominators often include links to external websites and other references in discussions on this page. It is usually best to provide such links using the inline URL syntax [http://example.com] rather than using <ref></ref> tags, because that keeps all the relevant information in the same place as the nomination without having to jump to this section, and facilitates the archiving process.

For the times when <ref></ref> tags are being used, here are their contents: