Portal:Current events/2025 March 13

March 13, 2025 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war
- Western Syria clashes
  - 2025 massacres of Syrian Alawites, March 2025 Western Syria clashes
    - Spiritual leader of Syria's Druze community Hikmat al-Hajari rejects any deal with the new Ahmed al-Sharaa-headed transitional government, accusing it of being "extremist in every sense of the word" and refusing to "recognize a terrorist" in reference to the concurrent sectarian massacres of Syrian Alawites. (Rudaw) (The Jerusalem Post)
War against the Islamic State
- Puntland counter-terrorism operations
  - Islamic State insurgency in Puntland
    - Puntland forces claim to have killed a senior foreign ISIL commander responsible for orchestrating drone attacks using explosive-laden unmanned aerial vehicles in the Lugta-Huraanhur and Togga Raq-Raq valleys of the Cal Miskaad Mountains in Puntland's Bari Region. (Garowe Online) (Hiiraan Online)
Gaza war
- Palestinian genocide accusation, Gaza genocide
  - The United Nations Human Rights Council accuses Israel of committing genocidal acts and other war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza, including committing gender-based violence and sexual assault against prisoners and the systematic destruction of healthcare systems in the region. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses the reports and accusations, calling them biased and "antisemitic". (DW) (Reuters)
Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia–United States relations
  - Russian President Vladimir Putin says that the U.S. proposal for the ceasefire in Ukraine would depend on Russia's conditions being met, and that there will be further discussions. (Euronews) (Politico)

Business and economy

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces that NHS England will be abolished in a drive to reduce bureaucracy and bring National Health Service management back under "democratic control". The move is expected to result in around 6,500 job losses. (BBC News)
Qatar begins supplying natural gas to Syria via Jordan to increase production at the Deir Ali power plant in Rif Dimashq Governorate, which will provide electricity to Damascus and other major cities. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

American expansionism under Donald Trump
- Panama–United States relations
  - The Trump administration reportedly orders the U.S. military to plan options to expand the presence of American troops in Panama and potentially try to reclaim the Panama Canal. (NBC News)
- Proposed United States acquisition of Greenland
  - During a meeting at the White House with Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte, U.S. President Donald Trump refuses to rule out the U.S. annexation of Greenland when questioned. (Sky News)
Armenia–Azerbaijan relations
- Armenia and Azerbaijan agree on a peace treaty to formally end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and establish a mutually-agreed border between both countries. (Reuters)
Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan relations
- Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon sign a deal to formally end the border dispute between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Railways, roads, and air transport resumes between both countries. (Reuters)

Law and crime

2025 United States federal mass layoffs
- U.S. District Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California orders the U.S. departments of agriculture, energy, interior, veterans affairs, and the Treasury to reinstate probationary workers who were fired by the Office of Personnel Management. (Reuters)
Corruption in Belgium
- Federal Police searches Huawei's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on suspicion of bribery. (Euronews)

Politics and elections

Union State
- Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that Russian citizens permanently residing in Belarus will be able to vote and run in local elections in Belarus, and that Belarusian citizens permanently residing in Russia will be able to vote and run in local elections in Russia. (Belsat)