Portal:Current events/2017 March 4

March 4, 2017 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- According to provincial officials, at least eight people are killed and another 22 are injured by a roadside bomb in Farah Province. However, according to locals, the attack was actually an airstrike. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Second Libyan Civil War
- The Benghazi Defense Brigades, an ally of the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, claims to have captured five cities and two oil-production areas from forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar in the east of Libya. (Al Jazeera)
Syrian Civil War
- East Aleppo offensive (February 2017)
  - CJTFOIR deploys U.S. forces near Manbij to "reassure Coalition" members and to "deter aggression." This comes days after the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces' Manbij Military Council agreed to hand over territory west of Manbij to the Syrian Army to create a buffer zone between the SDF and Turkish-backed rebels. (Rudaw)
- A Syrian Air Force MiG-23 fighter jet crashes in Turkey's Hatay Province near the Syria–Turkey border after an engine failure. (Al Masdar News) (Daily Sabah) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

At least 110 people have died of starvation in the drought-hit region of Bay, Somalia, in the past 48 hours, according to Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre. This comes as the United Nations and various non-governmental organizations are warning of potential famine in the country. (The Independent)

International relations

Malaysia–North Korea relations
- Malaysia expels Kang Chol, North Korea's ambassador, after he criticised the former's investigation into the death of Kim Jong-nam. (BBC)
Mexico–United States relations
- Mexico opens legal aide centers in its 50 U.S. consulates to defend its citizens' rights amid the United States "crackdown" on illegal immigration. In a video, Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray Caso said Mexico supports following the law but notes that current circumstances highlight the need for immigration reform. (Reuters) (AP via The Toledo Blade)
Canada–United States relations
- Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says Canada will not tighten its border because more migrants, reacting to the United States immigration crackdown, are illegally crossing into Canada from the U.S. Goodale added the issue had not risen to a scale that required hindering the flow of goods and people moving across the world's longest undefended border. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Capital punishment in Jordan
- Jordan says the country executed 15 people today, including 10 who were convicted on terrorism charges with others related to incidents that go back as far as 2003. Amnesty International protests the executions which were carried out in "secrecy and without transparency." Jordan restored the death sentence by hanging in 2014. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Trump Tower wiretapping allegations
- U.S. President Donald Trump accuses former President Barack Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower the month before the 2016 presidential election but offers no evidence to support his claim. A spokesman for President Obama rejects these claims. (The New York Times) (The Washington Post) (AAP via SBS)