Portal:Current events/2016 March 21

Current events of March 21, 2016 (2016-03-21) (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks A man detonates a grenade inside a bakery in Belgrade, Serbia, killing himself. No other casualties were reported. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Gunmen attack a European Union military training operation housed in a converted hotel in the Mali capital, Bamako. There are no casualties among the mission personnel. One suspect is killed and two are arrested. No group has claimed responsibility. (Reuters) Business and economics The competition regulators of the European Union have halted their investigation into a prospective acquisition of Baker Hughes by Halliburton, effectively freezing any such combination between two giant providers of oilfield services. (Reuters) Disasters and accidents Erasmus bus crash A Catalan official says the 13 exchange students killed in Sunday's accident were 19-to-25-year-old women, seven from Italy, two Germans, an Austrian, a woman from France, a Romanian and an Uzbek. Twenty-four people are being treated in hospital with one student in critical condition, and six people, including the driver, in serious condition. Reports from officials indicate the driver lost control of the coach and crashed to the other side before running into an oncoming car. The bus driver, who passed alcohol and drug tests, is being investigated for possible negligent homicide as police seek to determine the cause of the crash. (AP via the Washington Post) (AFP via Yahoo! News) International relations North Korea and weapons of mass destruction A South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff official reports North Korea launched five short-range missiles from the eastern city of Hamhung into the Sea of Japan. (AFP via msn.com) United States–Cuban Thaw At a 55-minute joint press conference, following their two-hour closed door meeting, United States President Barrack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro agreed this “new day” of openness between the two countries benefits the entire hemisphere as well. Each acknowledged more needs to be done. Obama said he spoke frankly about human rights, free expression, and democracy; Castro said the U.S. needs to remove the military base at Guantanamo Bay, and completely end the U.S. embargo. Obama's experience gave him an advantage when journalists delved into sensitive areas. (The Washington Post) (The New York Times) Law and crime Tea tape scandal New Zealand Prime Minister John Key settles a defamation case with freelance cameraman Bradley Ambrose, acknowledging comments he made about the man caused him professional and personal harm. (AP) The International Criminal Court finds ex-Vice President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty of war crimes. Bemba is accused of not taking steps to stop his militia from committing mass murder, rape and pillage in neighbouring Central African Republic. (The Guardian) The United States Supreme Court, in a 6-2 ruling, essentially upholds the state of Colorado's legalization of marijuana, turning down complaints by the neighboring states of Nebraska and Oklahoma that, by federal and their state law, Colorado's statutes allow "illegal marijuana" to pour into their states. Last year, the justices asked the federal government to weigh in; in December, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. urged the court to turn away the lawsuit. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. (San Francisco Chronicle (NBC News) (USA Today) Politics and elections Myanmar's new parliament, in its first legislative act, votes (611-3) to eliminate 15 government ministries. President-elect Htin Kyaw says by eliminating the ministers' salaries, the nation will save $4 million over five years. No civil servants will lose their jobs. (AP) Science and technology Two possibly-twin near-Earth objects, 252P/LINEAR and P/2016 BA14, will safely pass by Earth at relatively close distances today and Tuesday. (Christian Science Monitor) (Science Alert) (NASA) (Virtual Telescope Project)