Portal:Current events/2019 March 12

March 12, 2019 (Tuesday)

Disasters and accidents

Boeing 737 MAX groundings
- The European Union, Australia, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Turkey ground all Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets. This means 40% of the global fleet is now grounded, with Indonesia, China and several airlines grounding their aircraft yesterday. Boeing states they will issue a software update for the model within weeks. (The Guardian) (BNO) (AFP)
The sinking of the Grande America causes a 2,200 tonnes (4,900,000 lb) oil spill in the Bay of Biscay, France. (FreightWaves) (The Independent)

International relations

United States–Venezuela relations, Crisis in Venezuela
- The United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces that the U.S. will be withdrawing all remaining diplomatic staff from Venezuela. The withdrawal follows televised remarks from Nicolás Maduro calling colectivos (paramilitary groups) to active resistance, and alleging that U.S. President Donald Trump masterminded the ongoing nationwide power blackout as part of a "demonic plot" to oust him, by crippling the country's electricity sector with an "electromagnetic attack". (The Guardian) (Infobae)
In an annual report, the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service warns that Russia will "very likely" try to intervene in European parliamentary elections this May to undermine unity within the European Union "by sowing disorder and disbelief" within and between the 28 European Union member states. (Sky News)

Law and crime

2019 college admissions bribery scandal
- A college admission scheme across the United States results in the indictment of over 50 people including athletic coaches, CEOs, and two Hollywood actresses, accused of using bribery and fraud in order to cheat their children into universities such as Yale and Stanford. (CNN) (Reuters)
Catholic Church sexual abuse cases
- Cardinal George Pell, the most senior official of the Catholic Church to be convicted of sexual abuse to date, is sentenced to six years in prison for the sexual assault of two children in the late 1990s. (CNN)
Capital punishment in California
- It is reported that California Governor Gavin Newsom will sign an executive order placing a moratorium on the death penalty for all 737 inmates on California's death row, ensuring that no executions will take place while he is governor. (Los Angeles Daily News)
Crisis in Venezuela, Censorship in Venezuela
- Prominent Venezuelan journalist Luis Carlos Díaz is released after being taken by SEBIN, the national intelligence service, on Monday; he has been ordered not to speak of his time in detention or publish anything. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

2019 Micronesian parliamentary election
- President Peter M. Christian is defeated for re-election to his at-large seat in Congress by David Panuelo. (Pacific Islands Times)
Brexit negotiations
- The UK's parliament rejects Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal by 149 votes. A vote for leaving the European Union without a deal is scheduled for the thirteenth of March. If Parliament rejects the decision to leave with no deal, the UK could request its withdrawal from the EU be postponed with the unanimous consent of the other 27 member states. (The New York Times)

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