Portal:Current events/2017 March 14

March 14, 2017 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Piracy off the coast of Somalia
- Off the northern coast of Somalia, Somali pirates hijack the Aris 13, a United Arab Emirates-owned oil tanker, kidnapping eight Sri Lankan crew members. This is the first hijacking of a large commercial vessel in five years. (AP via The Independent)

Disasters and accidents

A blaze at a fireworks warehouse near Netanya, central Israel, kills two people and injures five others. (Reuters)
2017 Irish Coast Guard S-92 crash
- An Irish Coast Guard helicopter crashes off the coast of County Mayo, killing one person and leaving three others missing. (RTÉ)
March 2017 North American blizzard
- The destruction from snow fall kills six people and leaves over 100,000 others without electricity, with some areas in the Northeastern United States receiving over 4 feet (1.2 m) of snow. (The Weather Channel)

Law and crime

Europol reports a total of more than 10,000 assault rifles and 400 shelling weapons were seized in northern Spain during an anti-trafficking operation in January. (News Front)
An AMBER Alert is issued in Tennessee and Alabama for Elizabeth Thomas, who is believed to have been kidnapped by her former high school teacher Tad Cummins. (WKRN)