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Suicide And Suitcase Bombs Rip Through Brussels –
Hundreds of soldiers are on Brussels’ streets and Belgium is on its highest terror alert level after 34 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a series of explosions claimed by Islamic State. Shots were fired as attackers at Zaventem Airport were reportedly heard shouting in Arabic before two blasts ripped through the departure area, leaving at least 14 people dead. Maalbeek metro station was then hit by an “enormous” explosion about an hour later during the morning rush hour, killing at least 20 people. Footage from Maalbeek station shows black smoke pouring from the entrance, with people being moved on stretchers and victims seen with facial injuries. Nearly 200 people have been injured in the attacks. [Sky News]

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Dozens Killed in Brussels Terrorist Attacks (Wall Street Journal)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2016 Brussels bombings
  • Three explosions in the Brussels Airport and Maalbeek metro station kill at least 34 people and wound at least 170 more, according to Belgian media. Belgian federal Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw cautions it is too soon to know exactly how many people died in the bombings. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility. (BBC) (CNN) (CNN²) (The New York Times)
• Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
  • Airstrikes near the Yemeni port city of Al Mukalla, Hadhramaut Governorate, reportedly kill at least 30 Al-Qaeda militants. (Reuters)

Business and economics

• German tax authorities are investigating Citigroup over its use of a “dividend stripping” strategy, which allowed both the buyer and seller of a stock to claim the tax credits. (Reuters)
• 2016 Brussels bombings
  • In light of the Belgian attacks, Warner Bros. cancels the red carpet but will hold the European premiere of the highly-publicized film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, at London’s Leicester Squaretonight. (The Daily Telegraph)

International relations

• Colombian conflict
  • U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry holds a meeting with leaders of FARC in a sign of encouragement in ending Colombia’s half-century old conflict. (The Guardian)
• Finland–Russia relations
  • Finland and Russia agree to impose temporary restrictions at two Arctic border crossing points on the Finnish–Russian border following an increased flow of asylum seekers from Russia to Finland. Under a deal clinched by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Moscow, crossings at two popular entry points, Salla and Raja-Jooseppi, will be reserved only for Finnish, Russian and Belarusian citizens and their family members for a period of 180 days. (Reuters)
• Russia–United States relations, Syrian peace process, War in Donbass
  • U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry leaves for Moscow for talks on Syria and Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday. Kerry is also expected to discuss the case of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, who today was sentenced to 22 years in prison in the city of Donetsk. (AP via ABC News) (The Moscow Times) (BBC)

Law and crime

• A court in southern Russia finds Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko guilty of being complicit in the killing of two Russian journalists, killing civilians and illegal border crossing and is sentenced to 22 years in prison and a fine of 30,000 rubles. Savchenko denies all the charges and the Ukrainian government said that they would continue to press for her release. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
• FBI–Apple encryption dispute
  • A federal judge postpones Tuesday’s hearing at the government’s request. The FBI says a third party demonstrated a way to access Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone. Melanie Newman, U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman, says officials are cautiously optimistic a test of this method will allow access to the phone without compromising the data. (NPR) (ABC News)
• The United States Supreme Court, in a 6-2 ruling written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, upholds the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ $5.8 million class action judgment against Tyson Foods Incorporated filed by workers at an Iowa pork-processing facility who contended they were underpaid. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• United States presidential election, 2016
  • Voters in the U.S. states of Arizona, Idaho, Utah and the overseas territory of American Samoa head to the polls for Republican and Democratic Party primaries and caucuses. (International Business Times)
  • Donald Trump wins the Arizona primary. (Decision Desk HQ)
• Toronto city councillor and former mayor Rob Ford dies after an 18-month battle with liposarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. It was first diagnosed in the midst of his 2014 bid to be re-elected mayor. He was 46. (Toronto Star)(BlogTO)
• 2015–16 protests in Brazil
  • Brazil President Dilma Rousseff says she will not resign under any circumstances because she hadn’t committed a crime, and equated a bid to impeach her to a coup d’état against democratic rule. A congressional impeachment committee has started hearings. Rousseff could be suspended if the Chamber of Deputies approves the motion to impeach. The president urged the Supreme Court to remain impartial in this political crisis. (Reuters) (Yahoo7)

Sport

• Indian Wells (California) CEO and tennis tournament director Raymond Moore resigns following reactions of outrage, including by top-ranked Serena Williams and retired legend Martina Navratilova, to his comment that top-level women’s players rode “on the coattails of the men” and were “very, very lucky” to have equal prize money. This is the event’s second controversy involving female players. Serena and her sister Venus boycotted the tournament (also known as the BNP Paribas Open) until 2015 following verbal abuse directed toward the sisters in the 2001 open. (Reuters) (AFP via The Economic Times)(Time)

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