Portal:Current events/2017 March 1
March 1, 2017 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- At least 16 people were killed and 40 more wounded after two suicide bombers attacked Kabul. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Business and economics
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rises above 21,000 points, reaching an all-time high. (Los Angeles Times)
International relations
- Georgia–European Union relations
- The European Union formally grants Georgian citizens visa-free travel to its member states, with the exception of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The signed documents will be published on March 8, and officially enter into force on March 28. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
- Syrian Civil War
- Russia and China veto a draft United Nations Security Council resolution sponsored by France, the United Kingdom and the United States calling for sanctions against the Syrian government and President Bashar al-Assad over allegations that the government used chemical weapons in the conflict. (RT) (The Guardian)
Law and crime
- Philippine Drug War
- After a temporary suspension due to the kidnapping and killing of a South Korean national, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte orders the Philippine National Police to resume his controversial campaign. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
- Kim Jong-nam's assassination
- Two women, Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Đoàn Thị Hương, are charged with murder in relation to the death of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The women, who reportedly thought they were involved in a prank TV show, did not enter pleas. (CNN) (The Globe and Mail)
Politics and elections
- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir names Vice President Bakri Hassan Saleh as Prime Minister of Sudan, the first person to hold the post since it was abolished following the 1989 Sudanese coup d'état. (Reuters)
- Pakalitha Mosisili, the Prime Minister of Lesotho loses a confidence motion in the Parliament of Lesotho, and may call a snap election. (SABC)
Science and technology
- Origin of life
- Scientists announce the finding of microfossils up to almost 4.3 billion years old, within rocks from the Hudson Bay shoreline in northern Quebec, Canada, that may represent the oldest-known evidence of life on Earth. (Reuters)
- An American Atlas V successfully launched an NRO payload from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The launch is the 70th successful Atlas V launch and the 14th successful mission for the NRO. (SpaceflightNow)