March 15, 2019 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Christchurch mosque shootings, Terrorism in New Zealand
- At least 50 people are killed and dozens others are injured during two attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. (NBC News)
- Four people—three men and one woman—are arrested in connection to the shootings, according to New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush. It is later learned that one of them was an armed citizen trying to help police and was released. (Sky News)
- A gunman involved in the shootings of at least one of the two mosques is identified as Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian man. (Associated Press)
- 2019 Tel Aviv rocket strike
- In response to a possible accidental launching of two rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Tel Aviv the day before, Israel launches hundreds of counter strikes directed at the town of Khan Yunis. (The New York Times) (Associated Press)
Health and environment
- School strike for climate
- Hundreds of thousands of students protest worldwide for climate change mitigation. (ANSA) (Archynewsy.com) (The Sydney Morning Herald)
- Keystone pipeline expansion
- A U.S. appeals court denies TransCanada's request to lift an injunction preventing pre-construction work on the Keystone XL expansion from beginning. The company claims this will delay the project by a year. (CBC)
International relations
- United States and the International Criminal Court, United States war crimes, War crimes in Afghanistan
- United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo bars the entry of International Criminal Court investigators into the United States as part of the ICC's investigation into possible war crimes committed by the United States military in Afghanistan. (Associated Press)
- North Korea and weapons of mass destruction, North Korea–United States relations
- North Korea has reportedly threatened to suspend negotiations with the United States regarding nuclear weaponry, as well as resume related missile testing. (The New York Times)
Law and crime
- Volkswagen emissions scandal
- The Securities and Exchange Commission alleges in a court filing that Volkswagen has "perpetrated a massive fraud" and repeatedly lied to U.S. investors in connection with diesel emissions. (CNBC)
Politics and elections
- 2019 Algerian protests
- The 2019 Algerian protests, the largest protests since the Algerian Civil War, have led the government to cancel the Presidential elections, to replace the Prime Minister, and to promise Abdelaziz Bouteflika would not run for re-election. (The Washington Post)
- National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States
- U.S. President Donald Trump issues his first ever veto after Congress attempts to block his emergency declaration to fund construction of the wall along the Mexico–United States border. (The New York Times)
- Lawmakers in Mexico's lower chamber of Congress approve a constitutional reform that would allow for recall referendums to cut short the six-year presidential term limit; the measure still needs the approval of the Senate and the state legislatures. (Reuters)