Portal:Current events/2019 March 2

• 2019 India–Pakistan standoff
  • Indian and Pakistani soldiers target each other’s posts and villages in Kashmir, killing at least six civilians and two Pakistani troops. (Associated Press)
• Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War
  • Douma chemical attack
    • The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons's Fact-Finding Mission in Syria issues its report regarding the April 7, 2018 chemical attack in Douma. It reveals that there is conclusive evidence that proves a toxic chemical containing molecular chlorine was used in the attack. However, it did not assign blame for the attack. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition blame each other for the attack. (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons)

• At least 20 people are killed in flash floods in six districts including Kandahar City, Afghanistan. (The Hindu)
• Ten people are killed and 34 injured in three separate road accidents in Jammu-Kashmir, India. (The Indian Express)

• South Korea–United States relations
  • The United States and South Korea announce that their annual large-scale exercises, commonly known as Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, will end and will be re-configured into smaller exercises. The joint exercises will be done on a small unit level and may include virtual training similar to the 2018 exercises. (CNN)

• Through a royal decree, King Salman of Saudi Arabia revokes the citizenship of Hamza bin Laden, Osama bin Laden's son, who works in the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization. The announcement comes after the United States government offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the identification or location of him. Interpol has issued an Interpol notice for him after United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on him which includes assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo. He remains at large. (CBS News), (Interpol), (United Nations Security Council)
• Tashonty Toney, son of a police officer, was arrested for vehicular homicide, vehicular negligent injury, hit-and-run and reckless operation of a motor vehicle after he veered into a bike line near a Mardi Gras parade route in New Orleans. He accidentally killed 2 and injured 7 cyclists while drunk and drugged. (fox8live) (Advocate)

• 2019 Algerian presidential election
  • Tens of thousands of Algerians take to streets to protest President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's bid to seek re-election in 2019 presidential election in what is Algeria's biggest anti-government protests since the 2011 protests. 183 people have been injured. (Reuters)
• 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis
  • Colombia's Immigration Authority states that 567 Venezuelan soldiers have defected to Colombia from Nicolás Maduro's government since February 23, 2019. They were members of Venezuela's Armed Forces and Venezuela's National Police. (Business Insider), (CNN Spanish)

• 2019 in spaceflight
  • SpaceX launches the first Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of the Crew Dragon Demo-1 mission, with the first stage of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle making a successful landing on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You. (The New York Times)