Clear All
March 19
2021

People

Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in as president of Tanzania two days after the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli. She had served as vice-president since 2015

March 19
2020

Medical Science Technology

Italy overtook China as the country with the highest number of deaths registered to Covid-19. The toll stood at 3,405 dead, up 427 from the previous day

March 19
2019

Society Law Politics

Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned as President of Kazakhstan after 29 years in power since independence from the Soviet Union

March 19
2018

Deaths

Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhinoceros, died at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The 45-year-old rhino was euthanised after suffering from “age-related complications”

March 19
2011

Disasters Accidents Riots

A coalition of countries, led by Britain, France and the U.S., launched airborne attacks on Libyan air defences and command and control facilities, as well as Gaddafi’s forces advancing on Benghazi

March 19
2011

Deaths

Knut the polar bear, who became world famous when he was hand-reared by keepers at Berlin Zoo after his mother rejected him, died suddenly at the age of four

March 19
2010

Military

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared that a six-year war against Houthi fighters in the north of the country was over

March 19
2010

Geography Geopolitics

The UN, U.S., EU and Russia condemned Israel for announcing plans to build hundreds of new homes in East Jerusalem and also called on Israel to “freeze all settlements in Palestinian territories”

March 19
2009

Crime Espionage Terrorism

Austrian Josef Fritzl was jailed for life for the 24-year imprisonment and rape of his daughter Elisabeth, by whom he fathered seven children

March 19
2009

People

North Korea arrested two female U.S. journalists near its border with China. The arrests came amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington over North Korea’s plans to launch a satellite into space

March 19
2008

Deaths

British science fiction writer Sir Arthur C. Clarke died in his adopted home of Sri Lanka at the age of 90. Clarke came to fame in 1968 when his short story The Sentinel was made into the film 2001: A Space Odyssey by director Stanley Kubrick. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, and foresaw the concept of communication satellites, though he said he did not patent the idea because he did not think it would happen in his lifetime. In the 1940s, he maintained man would reach the moon by the year 2000, an idea dismissed at the time

March 19
2008

Deaths

Paul Scofield, one of Britain's greatest Shakespearean actors, died from leukaemia at the age of 86. He is best remembered as Sir Thomas More in the play A Man for All Seasons, which opened in London in 1960, and in which Scofield made a triumphant debut on Broadway the following year. He also won an Oscar for the film version in 1967. In 1962 he played what is generally regarded to have been his greatest role, King Lear in Peter Brook’s production, first at Stratford, then in London, Paris, Moscow and New York. In 2004, his portrayal was voted the greatest performance in a Shakespeare play by a panel of Royal Shakespeare Company actors, including Sir Ian McKellen, Ian Richardson and Sir Antony Sher

March 19
2007

Disasters Accidents Riots

The government of the Marshall Islands declared a state of emergency and sent ships to supply drinking water to outlying islands due to a prolonged drought

March 19
2006

Disasters Accidents Riots

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said he believed Iraq was engaged in a civil war, although the country had not yet passed “the point of no return”. U.S. and British officials disputed calling the conflict a civil war

March 19
2005

Sport Recreation

Wales won its first rugby union grand slam in 27 years, defeating Ireland 32-20 in the final match of the Six Nations championship