Portal:Current events/2024 March 21

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Eastern Ukraine campaign
    • The Russian Ministry of Defence announces that its forces have captured the Ukrainian village of Tonenke in Donetsk Oblast. (Al Arabiya)
  • Kyiv strikes
    • Russia launches a massive attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region with ballistic and cruise missiles, injuring at least 17 people. (CNN)
  • Mykolaiv strikes
    • At least one civilian is killed and four others are injured in a Russian ballistic missile attack on Mykolaiv, Ukraine. (Reuters)
• Islamic State–Taliban conflict
  • 2024 Kandahar New Kabul Bank bombing
    • A suicide bomber kills 21 people and injures 50+ at a New Kabul Bank in Kandahar, Afghanistan. ISIS-K claims responsibility. (TOLO News)
• Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)
  • The Islamic Resistance in Iraq launches drone attacks on Kiryat Shmona Airport and Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. (Mehr News Agency) (Islamic Republic News Agency)

Disasters and accidents

• A capsized boat carrying Rohingya refugees is found off the coast of Aceh, Indonesia, with 69 refugees rescued. (NOS)
• The death toll of the capsized South Korean-flagged tanker Keoyoung Sun increases to nine with one person still missing. (Reuters)

International relations

• Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union
  • The European Council agrees to open talks on Bosnia and Herzegovina's membership of the European Union days after the recommendation by the European Commission. (AP)

Law and crime

• A court in Russia sentences the Volga Maniac serial killer to life in prison for the murders of 31 elderly women in Tatarstan in 2011 and 2012. (Reuters)
• Pope Francis laicizes Belgian bishop Roger Vangheluwe due to allegations of abuse. (NOS)
• The Dutch Royal Marechaussee arrests three British soldiers of the HMS Prince of Wales after multiple incidents in Rotterdam, Netherlands. (NOS)
• Filipino former legislator Arnolfo Teves Jr. is arrested in Dili, East Timor, after being placed in the Interpol Red Notice in connection with his role in the 2023 massacre in Negros Oriental, Philippines. (AFP via Barron's)

Politics and elections

• President of Vietnam Võ Văn Thưởng resigns after just over a year in office amid the Communist Party's anti-corruption campaign, making him the shortest-serving president in Vietnamese history. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) (Bloomberg)