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Chuck Berry

American guitarist, singer, and rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry (pictured) dies at the age of 90.
A colossal ancient Egyptian statue, discovered in Cairo, is preliminarily identified as depicting pharaoh Psamtik I.
The VVD, led by incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte, wins the most seats in the Dutch general election, but the governing coalition loses its majority.
Disputes over a Turkish constitutional referendum trigger a diplomatic incident between Turkey and the Netherlands.
South Korea's Constitutional Court removes President Park Geun-hye from office.

March 19, 2017 (Sunday)

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Politics and elections

The Social Democratic Party of Germany endorses Martin Schulz as its leader. (Reuters)

Sports

Racing 92 and Stade Français, two French rugby clubs, announce that they are calling off their proposed merger following widespread opposition to the project. (BBC)

March 18, 2017 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Around 1,500–2,000 people leave al-Waer district of Homs today for their preferred destination of either Northern Homs Governorate, Idlib Governorate or Turkish Army positions in Northern Aleppo Governorate. Up to 15,000 to 20,000 people including armed militants, their families and supporters will leave the besieged district in the coming weeks with the rest of the population reconciling and receiving aid. (BBC), (Al Masdar News)
Battle of Mosul
- Thousands of Iraqis flee western Mosul as the battle between Iraqi and allied forces and ISIL militants escalates in the densely populated Old City. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Chuck Berry, pioneering rock music singer and guitarist, dies in the U.S. state of Missouri at the age of 90. Berry was one of the first inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (BBC)

International relations

Estonia–United Kingdom relations
- Eight hundred British Army troops arrive in Estonia as part of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence to deter Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

March 2017 Île-de-France attacks
- French security forces shoot a man dead in Paris' Orly Airport during his attempt to take an assault rifle from a member of the army's "Sentinelle" operation, which has been responsible for patrolling airports and other key sites. The fugitive man had previously shot and wounded a police officer during a routine police check north of Paris. Airport security temporarily evacuates about 3,000 people from the terminal. (BBC), (Reuters)

March 17, 2017 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line incidents during the Syrian Civil War
- The Israeli Air Force launches several airstrikes on targets inside Syria, and for the first time, publicly claims responsibility. Syrian air defenses responded by launching missiles at the aircraft, and thereupon Israeli Arrow 3 missiles were launched in response to the counter-offensive. Israel stated that it was targeting suspected weapons shipments to Hezbollah in Lebanon, adding that the Israeli military will keep intervening until they believe such shipments have ceased. According to the Syrian Army, four Israeli jets entered its airspace and struck targets near Palmyra. (CNN), (AP)
Yemeni Civil War (2015-present)
- An unknown perpetrator using an Apache helicopter fires upon a boat carrying Somali refugees off the coast of Yemen, killing at least 40 of them, injuring 35 more. (Reuters), (AFP via MSN)
War in North-West Pakistan
- Gunmen raid a Pakistani military post near the border with Afghanistan, killing at least eight people. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, claim responsibility. (Al Jazeera)
Basque conflict
- In Spain, the Basque separatist group ETA announces that it will fully disarm by April 8, 2017. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Heavy flooding in Peru kills at least 67 people and forces thousands to abandon their homes. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

The former Democratic National Committee chair and ex-CNN contributor Donna Brazile admits that she had funneled inside info to Hillary Clinton during last year’s Democratic primary before two debates with Bernie Sanders. (The New York Daily News)

March 16, 2017 (Thursday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Piracy off the coast of Somalia
- The Somali pirates that hijacked the Aris 13, a United Arab Emirates-owned oil tanker, release it without condition. (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- An unknown perpetrator carries out an airstrike on a mosque in the rebel-held village of al-Jineh near Aleppo, killing at least 42 people. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

An eruption at Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily injures at least ten people, including several in a BBC News crew. (The Independent), (Reuters)
A fire in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, damages 10 buildings. (WNCN)

Law and crime

A shooting at a school in Grasse, France, injures at least eight people. Authorities arrest a 17-year-old student. (The Telegraph)
A letter bomb explodes at the office of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Paris, injuring one person. (BBC)

Politics and elections

United States immigration ban
- A second U.S. federal judge, Theodore D. Chuang of Maryland, grants that state's motion for a temporary restraining order on President Trump's revised travel ban. (The Washington Post)

Science and technology

List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches
- SpaceX successfully launches the EchoStar 23 satellite, a Direct-to-home television broadcast services for Brazil, into a geosynchronous transfer orbit, using the fully expendable version of their Falcon 9 launch vehicle. (NASA Spaceflight)

March 15, 2017 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli authorities shoot into a car incorrectly believing it was on a ramming attack at a bus shelter at the Gush Etzion Junction in West Bank of Israel where 13 Palestinians and 3 Israelis have been killed since October 2015. A 16-year-old Palestinian, Fatima Jibrin Taqatqa, had lost control of her car and the teenager now remains in critical condition. (Jewish Press), (Fars)
Syrian Civil War
- According to Syrian state media, two suicide bombers attack in Damascus, killing at least 31 people. (The Guardian)
- A second explosion occurs in the Rabwah area of Damascus.(Al Masdar News)
- Suspected Russian warplanes carry out airstrikes on the city of Idlib at dawn, killing 21 people including at least 14 children. (New Indian Express)
Boko Haram insurgency
- Four suicide bombers kill at least two people and wound 16 others in Maiduguri, Nigeria. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

An avalanche kills four skiers in Tyrol, Austria. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Dutch general election, 2017
- Voters in the Netherlands go to the polls for a general election. Exit polls suggest that incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy will win the most seats in the election.(BBC)
United States immigration ban
- A U.S. federal judge in Hawaii, finding the revised federal immigration/refugee executive order violates the U.S. Constitution's religious establishment clause, grants the state of Hawaii's motion for a nationwide temporary restraining order on these rules that were set to become effective at midnight. President Donald Trump vows to appeal this ruling. Two other federal courts held hearings on similar requests filed by the states of Maryland and Washington; neither of these judges issued a ruling. (Reuters) (Hoinolulu Star-Advertiser)

March 14, 2017 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Piracy off the coast of Somalia
- Off the northern coast of Somalia, Somali pirates hijack the Aris 13, a United Arab Emirates-owned oil tanker, kidnapping eight Sri Lankan crew members. This is the first hijacking of a large commercial vessel in five years. (AP via The Independent)

Disasters and accidents

A blaze at a fireworks warehouse near Netanya, central Israel, kills two people and injures five others. (Reuters)
2017 Irish Coast Guard S-92 crash
- An Irish Coast Guard helicopter crashes off the coast of County Mayo, killing one person and leaving three others missing. (RTÉ)
March 2017 North American blizzard
- The destruction from snow fall kills six people and leaves over 100,000 others without electricity, with some areas in the Northeastern United States receiving over 4 feet (1.2 m) of snow. (The Weather Channel)

Law and crime

Europol reports a total of more than 10,000 assault rifles and 400 shelling weapons were seized in northern Spain during an anti-trafficking operation in January. (News Front)

March 13, 2017 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- At least one person is killed and another eight are wounded after a suicide bomber attacks a bus carrying government employees in Kabul. (Al Jazeera)
Two UN officials with MONUSCO—an American and a Swede—are among six people kidnapped near the village of Ngombe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Kasaï-Central province. Congolese officials have not identified the kidnappers nor has any group claimed responsibility. (AP)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- A vehicle filled with explosives detonates near a hotel in Mogadishu, killing at least six people and wounding four others. (Al Jazeera)
Syrian Civil War
- According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the total number of people killed and missing in Syria's war is now 465,000. (Reuters)

International relations

2017 Dutch–Turkish diplomatic incident
- Turkey bans the Dutch ambassador, Cornelis Van Rij, from returning to the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ankara, and closes its airspace to Dutch diplomats in response to a Dutch ban on Turkish ministers speaking at pro-Erdoğan rallies. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

Proposed second Scottish independence referendum
- Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announces she will seek a second referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. (BBC)
United States immigration ban
- The state of Washington, joined by the states of California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Oregon, asks a federal judge to stop, on constitutional grounds, the revised federal immigration/refugee rules from taking effect on Thursday, March 16. The state of Hawaii has filed a separate, similar request. (Reuters)
Hungarian presidential election, 2017
- János Áder is re-elected President of Hungary by the National Assembly. (UPI)

Sports

In rugby union, the two Paris-based clubs in France's Top 14, Racing 92 and Stade Français, announce plans to merge effective with the 2017–18 season. (ESPN (UK))

More March 2017 events...

Ongoing events
Disasters UK and Ireland windstorm season Law Philippine Drug War Political European migrant crisis (timeline) Romanian protests South China Sea disputes United States immigration ban More details on ongoing conflicts below Sport 2017 World Baseball Classic 2017 World Rally Championship 2017 NASCAR Cup Series 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament 2016–17 Bundesliga 2016–17 La Liga 2016–17 NBA season 2016–17 NHL season 2016–17 PBA season 2016–17 Premier League 2016–17 Serie A 2016–17 EuroLeague 2016–17 EuroLeague Women edit sidebar

Recent deaths
March 2017 19: Jimmy Breslin 18: Chuck Berry 17: George Braziller 17: Hugh Hardy 17: Derek Walcott 16: James Cotton 16: Hasyim Muzadi 15: Sok An 15: Dave Stallworth 14: Royal Robbins 14: John Van de Kamp 13: Adib Boroumand 13: Danehill Dancer 13: Tommy LiPuma 12: Murray Ball 11: Lloyd Conover 10: Tony Haygarth 10: Bill Leak 10: John Surtees 10: Robert James Waller 9: Mick Adams 9: Howard Hodgkin 9: Joseph Nicolosi 8: Lou Duva 8: George Andrew Olah 7: Ron Bass 7: Dave Valentin 6: Robert Osborne 6: Rabi Ray 5: Jay Lynch 5: Fred Weintraub 4: Bonnie Burnard 4: Clayton Yeutter 3: Míriam Colón 3: Tommy Page 3: Lyle Ritz 3: René Préval 3: Thomas Starzl 2: Tommy Gemmell 1: John Hampshire 1: Paula Fox 1: Gustav Metzger February 2017 28: Paul Kangas 27: Alex Young 26: Gerald Kaufman 26: Joseph Wapner 25: Neil Fingleton 25: Bill Paxton 25: Elli Norkett 23: Alan Colmes 23: Bernie Custis 23: David Waddington 22: Ed Garvey 21: Kenneth Arrow 21: Jeanne Martin Cissé 21: Desmond Connell 21: Ion Croitoru 20: Vitaly Churkin 20: Mildred Dresselhaus 19: Charismatic 19: Larry Coryell 19: Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe 18: Omar Abdel-Rahman 18: Ivan Koloff 18: Norma McCorvey 18: Clyde Stubblefield 18: Dan Vickerman 17: Warren Frost 17: Robert Michel 17: Michael Novak 17: George Steele edit sidebar

Elections and Referendums
Recent February 19: Ecuador, President, National Assembly, Referendum 20: Nagorno-Karabakh, Constitutional referendum March 2: Northern Ireland, Assembly 15: Netherlands, House of Representatives Upcoming March 20: East Timor, President 26: Bulgaria, Parliament April 2: Armenia, Parliament 2: Ecuador, President (2nd round) 2: Serbia, President 6: The Gambia, National Assembly 16: Turkey, Constitutional referendum edit sidebar

Trials
Recently concluded Australia: Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara Cambodia: Sam Rainsy China: Wan Qingliang, Ling Jihua, Zhoi Bin, Guo Boxiong Netherlands: Geert Wilders Philippines: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Nur Misuari, Joel Villanueva Romania: Liviu Dragnea, Gheorghe Ștefan, Gabriel Sandu, Dorin Cocoş, Dumitru Nicolae Spain: Lionel Messi United Kingdom: Chris Denning, Ched Evans United States: Bob McDonnell, Paul Anthony Ciancia International ICTY: Radovan Karadžić Ongoing China: Bai Enpei, Pan Yiyang, Yang Weize Germany: Beate Zschäpe Indonesia: Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Mary Jane Veloso Pakistan: Waseem Azeem, Mufti Abdul Qawi Philippines: Andal Ampatuan Jr., Leila de Lima, Rodrigo Duterte, Jovito Palparan Romania: Dan Șova, Elena Udrea, Radu Mazăre, Gheorghe Nichita, Marian Vanghelie Russia: Alexei Navalny South Korea: Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil Spain: Gürtel case, Spanish Royal House, Bárcenas affair United States: Etan Patz United Kingdom: Rolf Harris, Barry Bennell International ICC: Laurent Gbagbo ICTY: Ratko Mladić Upcoming China: Wu Changshun Egypt: Mohamed Morsi Estonia: Edgar Savisaar Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi United States: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Bill Cosby edit sidebar

Ongoing conflicts
Africa Algeria and Tunisia Maghreb insurgency ISIL insurgency in Tunisia Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria Boko Haram insurgency Central African Republic Civil war Democratic Republic of the Congo Kivu conflict ADF insurgency Ituri conflict Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Libya Civil war Mali Northern Mali conflict Somalia Civil war South Sudan Ethnic violence (South Sudanese Civil War) Sudan War in Darfur South Kordofan conflict Sudanese nomadic conflicts Americas Mexico Mexican War on Drugs Peru Internal conflict in Peru Asia Afghanistan Afghanistan War China Xinjiang conflict India Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Insurgency in Northeast India India and Pakistan Kashmir conflict Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines Moro conflict Cross border attacks in Sabah Indonesia and Papua New Guinea Papua conflict Myanmar Internal conflict in Myanmar Pakistan War in North-West Pakistan Balochistan conflict Philippines CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion Thailand South Thailand insurgency Europe Armenia and Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Georgia Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Georgian–Ossetian conflict Russia Chechen–Russian conflict North Caucasus insurgency Ukraine War in Donbass Russian military intervention in Ukraine Middle East Egypt Sinai insurgency Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria Arab–Israeli conflict Iran Iran–PJAK conflict Iraq American-led intervention in Iraq Iranian intervention in Iraq Iraq and Syria (map) Military intervention against ISIL Israel and Lebanon Israeli–Lebanese conflict Israel and Palestine Gaza–Israel conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Syria American-led intervention in Syria Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Turkish military intervention in Syria Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon Turkey Turkey–PKK conflict Turkey–ISIL conflict Yemen Yemeni Civil War Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Al-Qaeda insurgency edit sidebar