Portal:Current events/2022 March 18

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian War
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • Battle of Zaporizhzhia
      • Nine people die after they are hit by Russian shelling in Zaporizhzhia. (National Post)
    • Southern Ukraine offensive
      • A Russian missile strike destroys a Ukrainian military barracks in Mykolaiv, killing at least 50 soldiers, many more are believed to be buried under rubble. (Sky News)

Business and economy

• Economic impact of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • The Russian Central Bank is considering splitting its stock exchange into two separate stock exchanges, one for Russian residents and the other for foreigners. (Forbes Russia)
• The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers organizes protests in Dover, Liverpool and Kingston upon Hull after P&O Ferries fired all British crew members across its entire fleet of ferries and replaced them with cheaper agency workers. (BBC News)
• The Çanakkale 1915 Bridge, connecting the European and Asian continents in Turkey, is opened for traffic. It surpasses Japan's Akashi Kaikyō Bridge as the world's longest suspension bridge. (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

• Four crew members are killed as a United States Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey aircraft crashes in Beiarn, Norway, while participating in the NATO military exercise Cold Response. (NRK) (CBS News)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    • Travel during the COVID-19 pandemic
      • The United Kingdom ends all remaining COVID-19 restrictions on international travel. (Centre for Aviation)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador
    • Ecuador ends the restrictions of public and private gathering designated to curb the spread of COVID-19 after the country reached 85% of its vaccinated population. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
    • Hong Kong surpasses 1 million cases of COVID-19. (CBC)

International relations

• Reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Russia–Ukraine relations
    • Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky says that progress has been made regarding the neutrality status of Ukraine. (Reuters)
• Western Sahara conflict
  • Spanish minister of foreign affairs José Manuel Albares announces that Spain supports Morocco's proposal to recognize Western Sahara as a Moroccan autonomy for the first time, as it considers it is "the most serious, realistic, and credible basis" for resolving the conflict. (The New York Times)

Law and crime

• Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov signs a law to rename the town of Isfana as Razzaqov in honor of former Secretary of the Communist Party of Kirghizia Iskhak Razzakov. The law was passed by the Kyrgyzstan Parliament on March 16. (AKIPress)

Science and technology

• Internet censorship in Russia, Censorship of YouTube
  • Russia's telecommunications regulator, Roskomnadzor, considers blocking YouTube as it accuses the platform of "terrorism and of endangerment of Russian citizens' lives." (Interfax Russia) (RIA Novosti)