current Events/2024 March 19

• Gang war in Haiti
  • Four armed men storm the Bank of the Republic of Haiti in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, injuring a security guard. All the attackers are killed in the ensuing shootout with police. (The Haitian Times)
• Israel–Hamas war
  • Israel announces the death of senior Hamas military leader Marwan Issa, following an airstrike on a tunnel complex last week, making Issa the highest ranking Hamas official killed in the war so far. (BBC News)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Russia claims to have captured the village of Orlivka in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Anadolu Agency)
• Somali Civil War
  • Two Somali National Army airstrikes kill 39 alleged al-Shabaab militants in Afgooye, Somalia. (Horseed Media)

Disasters and accidents

• A bus crashes into a tunnel wall on an expressway in Linfen, China, killing 14 people. (AP)

Law and crime

• Rankin County torture incident
  • Former Mississippi sheriff's deputy Hunter Elward is sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for his role in torturing two men in January 2023. (CBS News)
• Founder of Chinese property developer Evergrande Group Hui Ka Yan is fined 47 million yuan ($6.53 million) and barred from the securities market for life after the China Securities Regulatory Commission accused the group of inflating its revenue. (Reuters)
• The pro-Beijing Legislative Council of Hong Kong unanimously passes the local enaction bill on national security, which had been tasked by Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law. (Reuters)
• Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is indicted over accusations of lying about his COVID-19 vaccination status. (AP)

International relations

• Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis
  • Armenia begins a process of border demarcation with Azerbaijan in the Tavush Province, amid Azerbaijiani demands that Armenia withdraw its forces from the disputed villages of Bağanis Ayrum, Aşağı Əskipara, Xeyrimli, and Qızılhacılı. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says that failure to compromise could result in war "by the end of the week". (Reuters) (RFE/RL)

Politics and elections

• 2024 United States presidential election
  • 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries
    • The Democratic Party holds presidential nominating contests in Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio. (The Hill)
  • 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries
    • The Republican Party holds presidential nominating contests in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio. (The Hill)
• Haitian crisis
  • CARICOM and United Nations officials appoint seven seats out of eight of a presidential council to address the political crisis in Haiti. Once the council is installed, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry will resign. (Miami Herald)