March 31, 2019 (Sunday)
Disasters and accidents
- A plant explosion in the Jiangsu province of China kills seven and injures five others. The explosion is the second deadliest in the month after the 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion. (Reuters)
- Severe thunderstorms in Nepal leave at least 25 people dead while more than 400 others are injured. (ABC News) (The Guardian)
International relations
- Cross-Strait relations
- Taiwan condemns China after two PLAAF fighter jets pass the maritime line on the Taiwan Strait. Though there was no immediate response from China, the move comes after a week when the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard sent ships through the Strait. (Reuters) (Channel NewsAsia) (The Japan Times)
- United States recognition of the Golan Heights as part of Israel
- During the 30th Arab League summit held in Tunisia, leaders condemn the United States' claim that the Golan Heights belong to Israel, and stated the establishment of a Palestinian state is essential for stability. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) (The Washington Post)
Law and crime
- Fourteen suspected communist rebels are killed in the Philippines. However, human rights groups dispute the claims by police forces stating those killed were farmers. (The Bangkok Post) (Channel NewsAsia)
- Three teenage migrants who partook in the hijacking of Elhiblu 1 are charged in Malta. (The New York Times)
- American rapper Nipsey Hussle is shot and killed outside a Los Angeles clothing store. Two other people with him were also shot and wounded. (Global News)
Politics and elections
- 2019 Ukrainian presidential election
- Voters in Ukraine go to the polls today in the first round of the presidential election. President Petro Poroshenko is seeking re-election, with comedian Volodymyr Zelensky and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko the primary challengers. All three have expressed largely pro-European views. Former Vice Prime Minister Yuriy Boyko is the front-runner among the pro-Russian candidates. A total of 39 candidates are on the ballot, increasing the probability no candidate will win more than 50 percent of the votes. If so, the top two will meet in a second round on 21 April. (BBC News)
- 2019 Slovak presidential election
- Anti-corruption candidate Zuzana Čaputová of the Progressive Slovakia party wins the second round of Slovakia's presidential election, defeating the governing party candidate Maroš Šefčovič, 58 percent versus 42%. She will be the country's first female head of state. (BBC News)
- 2019 Turkish local elections
- Voters head to the polls in Turkey to vote on metropolitan and district municipal mayors along with provincial and municipal councillors. The election is believed to be contested on challenging the current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (BBC News) (Al Jazeera)
Sports
- Elvis Luciano of the Toronto Blue Jays becomes the first person born in the 2000s to play in a Major League Baseball game. (MLB.com)