Monday

March 7, 2016

Armed conflicts and attacks

Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002-present)

At least 50 people are killed, including 33 militants, seven civilians and ten soldiers, in armed clashes between the Tunisian Army and Islamist militants in the town of Ben Gardane, near the border with Libya. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) (AFP via Daily Mail)

War in North-West Pakistan

A Taliban suicide bomber hits a court complex in the town of Shabqadar killing at least 13 people and injuring 36. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Pakistani Taliban faction, says the attack is retaliation for Mumtaz Qadri's execution last week. (Voice of America) (UPI)

Somali Civil War (2009–present)

According to the Pentagon, more than 150 al-Shabaab fighters are reportedly killed Saturday by U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft strikes targeting a training camp near the central Somali town of Buloburde. (FOX News) (The New York Times)

The Royal Australian Navy seizes a large cache of weapons from a fishing vessel near Oman's coast, that was bound for Somalia. The Australian Navy, which patrols waters around the Indian Ocean as part of an international maritime force, said it has seized nearly 2,000 AK-47 rifles, 100 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 49 PKM machine guns, 39 PKM spare barrels and 20 mortar tubes from the stateless vessel. 20 tonnes of weaponry in total. (Reuters)

Syrian Civil War

A Syrian Arab Air Force or Russian airstrike reportedly kills a dozen people at a market selling diesel fuel in the rebel-held Idlib Governorate. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the death toll is likely to rise. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Germany's BASF SE, the largest chemical producer in the world, is pursuing a counterbid for DuPont that could short circuit the Delaware-based company's announced merger with fellow American firm, Dow Chemical Company. (Bloomberg) (Fortune)

Apple Inc. must pay the $450 million July 2014 settlement in a price fixing case since the U.S. Supreme Court will not hear its appeal of the June 2015 Court of Appeals ruling that it played a "central role" in a conspiracy with publishers to eliminate retail price competition and raise e-book prices. (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (AppleInsider)