Iran fire two ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Source:
Wall Street Journal 
March 21
Armed conflicts and attacks
March 20
Law and crime
American actor Kevin Spacey settles out of court with three men at the High Court of Justice in London, England, who accused Spacey of sexually assaulting them between 2000 and 2013.
Source:
AP
Disasters and accidents
At least 55 people are injured, including one in cardiac arrest, and 13 others are reported missing in a large fire at a car parts plant in Daejeon, South Korea.
Source:
Yonhap
A passenger plane crash lands at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. The Kenya Airports Authority confirms that the crew and all 39 passengers were unharmed.
Source:
The Kenya Times
International relations
Arts and culture
Filaret Denysenko, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate since 1995, dies at the age of 97.
Source:
Associated Press
Armed conflicts and attacks
Belgium says that it will consider participating in securing the Strait of Hormuz if a ceasefire is in place and if the operation is conducted within a clear international framework.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
A second Marine Expeditionary Unit of 2,200 Marines is being sent to the region.
Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)2026 Iran war2026 United States military buildup in the Middle East
Source:
CBS
U.S. president Donald Trump says that the United States is considering “winding down” military operations in Iran amidst the deployment of Marines to the Middle East.
Source:
Axios
Source:
Al Jazeera
Ceasefire mediators in Cairo give Hamas and all armed groups in the Gaza Strip 90 days to hand over their weapons in the coming months including their missiles and rocket launchers along with their tunnel network.
Source:
Times of Israel
Israeli forces strike Syrian military sites, including command and control centres and supply depots, in the south of the country, in response to Syrian government attacks on the local Druze population.
Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)Syrian conflict (2024–present)Druze insurgency in Southern Syria
Source:
BBC News
Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announces the withdrawal of Polish forces from Iraq, stationed there as part of the CJTF–OIR joint task force against the Islamic State, citing the regional threat from Iran.
Source:
Devdiscourse
United States Air Force general Alexus Grynkewich announces that NATO has withdrawn troops from Iraq and will relocate from the Middle East to Europe amidst the Iran war.
Source:
Reuters
Government forces arrest three men suspected of participating in the February attacks and mass abductions in two villages in Kaiama, Kwara State, Nigeria. The suspects are cooperating with authorities to locate the kidnapping victims.
Source:
The Punch
A drone strike from the Rapid Support Forces targets the Sudanese town of Al Dabbah including a local power station, causing a power outage in the area and injuring three people.
Source:
Sudan Tribune
March 19
Politics and elections
The National Assembly of Thailand re-elects Anutin Charnvirakul as prime minister following his Bhumjaithai Party's victory in the recent election.
Source:
AFP via CBS 19 News
Disasters and accidents
Seventeen bodies are recovered from a boat that washed ashore in the Comoros. The victims are believed to be migrants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Source:
Reuters
Arts and culture
The King Charles III England Coast Path, the world's longest coastal footpath, is formally opened by Charles III.
Source:
BBC News
Armed conflicts and attacks
The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom issue a joint statement condemning the Iranian attacks on commercial vessels and expressing their "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait".
Source:
Euronews
The BAZAN Group refinery in Haifa is struck in an Iranian missile attack, but with "no significant damage", according to Energy Minister Eli Cohen.
Source:
Al Jazeera
Source:
Arab News
Iranian Shahed drones strike the Mina al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah oil refineries and cause large fires, according to the Kuwait National Petroleum Company.
Source:
The Telegraph
A U.S. Air Force F-35 fighter jet is hit in Iranian airspace forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing at a regional U.S. airbase.
Source:
The Independent
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) reports its forces have destroyed a factory in Karaj, Iran, which assembled surface-to-surface missiles for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Source:
BBC News
The United States approves $16.46 billion in military sales to the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait amidst the Iran war.
Source:
Jordan Times
The Chadian government announces that 17 people have been killed at a funeral late Wednesday in the border town of Tiné following a drone attack orginating from Sudan.
Source:
The EastAfrican
A raid kills eleven members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Sinaloa, Mexico, with a senior cartel leader being captured along with many weapons. The daughter of El Mayo is initially detained and then released due to the lack of arrest warrants.
Source:
Heraldo USA
Business and economy
KLM says that they will not resume flights to Dubai, Riyadh, and Dammam until May 17, citing safety considerations as the US-Israel war against Iran continues.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
International relations
In a joint statement after talks hosted by the United States, DR Congo and Rwanda say they have "agreed to a series of coordinated steps to de-escalate tensions and advance progress on the ground".
Source:
BBC
The Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip reopens for limited movement, allowing a restricted number of Palestinian patients to enter Egypt for medical treatment and some people to return to Gaza under coordinated security procedures, following its closure as a security measure amid the 2026 Iran war.
Source:
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Germany drops out of defending Israel in South Africa's International Court of Justice genocide case against Israel, citing their need to defend themselves in a separate case launched against them by Nicaragua.
Source:
Haaretz
Law and crime
Source:
Euronews
An Iranian man and a woman whose nationality is unknown are arrested by Police Scotland for attempting to enter Royal Navy base HMNB Clyde.
Source:
BBC News
March 18
Business and economy
Aramco restarts operations at Ras Tanura oil refinery, the largest in Saudi Arabia, following a 16-day closure.
Source:
Oil Price
Sports
In basketball, the WNBA and its players' union reach a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement that, if ratified by the league and union, will increase average player salaries and the team salary cap more than fourfold.
Source:
ESPN
Armed conflicts and attacks
Israel strikes the Iranian South Pars natural gas field in the Persian Gulf and its neighboring refineries in Asaluyeh. Iran announces it will retaliate against regional energy infrastructure.
Source:
Oil Price
A foreign worker from Thailand is killed by an Iranian cluster bomb in Moshav Adanim, central Israel.
Source:
The Times of Israel
Iran launches a missile attack on Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar, the world's largest LNG export facility, causing "extensive damage" according to QatarEnergy.
Source:
Al Jazeera
Saudi Arabia's air defenses intercept and destroy multiple drones targeting gas and energy facilities in the Eastern Province, with no damage reported. In Riyadh, a refinery is attacked by ballistic missiles.
Source:
The Wall Street Journal
Kata'ib Hezbollah says that it will cease attacks in Iraq if certain conditions are met including for Israel to halt their military operations in Beirut, making it the first time an Iranian-backed militia group said it is open to ceasing attacks since the US-Israel strikes began on February 28.
Source:
Jerusalem Post
The U.S. Air Force uses GBU-72 bunker buster bombs for the first time in combat to destroy underground Iranian anti-ship cruise missile sites used to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Source:
TWZ
Israel assassinates Iranian intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib in an overnight airstrike in Tehran.
Source:
Reuters
Four Palestinians are killed and six others are injured when falling Iranian missile fragments strike a beauty salon in Beit Awwa, West Bank, Palestine.
Source:
The Times of Israel
The Foreign Ministers from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, met in Riyadh, issue a joint statement calling on Iran "to immediately halt its attacks".
Source:
Arab News
At least 20 people are killed and dozens injured in an Israeli airstrike on a building in Beirut, Lebanon.
Source:
Al Jazeera
Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to a temporary "pause" in hostilities during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr this week.
Source:
Al Jazeera
A drone strike attributed to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) kills 17 people, including at a funeral, near the border town of Tine, Chad.
Source:
Al Jazeera
In response to the drone strike, Chad president Mahamat Déby orders the military to retaliate against Sudanese belligerents, including the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Source:
Sudan Tribune
The Sudan Doctors Network says that 12 civilians were killed by the RSF in North Kordofan state.
Source:
Sudan Tribune
The Sudanese Armed Forces says that they have shot down a Bayraktar drone from Ethiopia near North Kordofan.
Source:
Ethiopanorama
Over 60 Boko Haram and Islamic State insurgents are killed in an operation by the Nigerian Army in Abadam, Borno State, Nigeria.
Source:
The Punch
International relations
Qatar declares Iran's military and security attachés and their staff and orders them to leave the country within 24 hours following an attack on Ras Laffan Industrial City.
Source:
Vanguard News
Disasters and accidents
Seven people are killed and three others are critically injured in an explosion and fire at a residential building in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Source:
NDTV
One person is killed when a cable car cabin crashes down a snowy mountainside in Engelberg, Obwalden, Switzerland.
Source:
CNN
Science and technology
Charles H. Bennett and Gilles Brassard are awarded the 2025 Turing Award for their work in quantum information science.
Source:
BBC News
Law and crime
Swedish foreign minister Maria Malmer Stenergard says that Iran has executed a Swedish citizen who was arrested in Iran last June.
Source:
Reuters
Health and environment
Rollouts of the meningococcal vaccine begin at the University of Kent in England in the wake of a recent meningococcal outbreak that killed two people amidst a rise in cases.
Source:
The Standard
Arts and culture
Cesar Chavez Day celebrations are cancelled in many communities across the United States after late labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez was accused by dozens of women and girls, including labor leader Dolores Huerta, of child grooming, sexual assault, and rape.
Source:
NBC News
Politics and elections
Venezuelan president Delcy Rodríguez appoints General Gustavo González López as Minister of Defense, replacing General Vladimir Padrino López who has served since 2014.
Source:
Reuters