The day

Sunday 22 March 2026

16 stories, biggest first.

1. 1

   NewsAir Canada Express Flight 8646

   A Bombardier CRJ900LR operating as an Air Canada Express flight from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, collides with a firetruck while landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, United States. Both pilots are killed and 41 others are injured.

2. 2

   Culture

   The funeral of Patriarch Ilia II, the former head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, is held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, Georgia. He is laid to rest at the Sioni Cathedral.

3. 3

   News2026 Iran war

   Iran threatens to retaliate against the energy and water systems of the Gulf countries if United States president Donald Trump follows through with his 48-hours ultimatum to ​hit Iran's electricity grid.

4. 4

   News2026 Lebanon war

   One person is killed after a rocket fired from Lebanon struck a vehicle near Israel's northern border, marking the first reported Israeli fatality from cross-border fire since hostilities with Hezbollah resumed earlier in March.

5. 5

   News2026 Hatzola arson attack

   At least four Hatzalah ambulances are set ablaze and destroyed in an apparent anti-semitic arson attack in Golders Green, London, England. No casualties are reported.

6. 6

   News2026 Iranian strikes on Israel

   Fifteen people are injured in central Israel in Iranian ballistic missile strikes.

7. 7

   Politics2026 Italian constitutional referendum

   Italians begin voting on a constitutional amendment that proposes separating the careers of judges and public prosecutors by splitting the High Court of the Judiciary into two bodies, while also establishing a High Disciplinary Court to oversee disciplinary proceedings.

8. 8

   Politics2026 Rhineland-Palatinate state election

   In Germany, the Social Democratic Party declines to second place in Rhineland-Palatinate for the first time since 1991. The Christian Democratic Union party becomes the largest in seats in the Landtag, while Alternative for Germany advances to third place.

9. 9

   News2026 Lebanon war

   The Israeli military destroys the largest bridge crossing the Litani River in southern Lebanon.

10. 10

    Politics2026 Slovenian parliamentary election

    Slovenians vote for 90 seats in the National Assembly. A tight race is forecasted between the incumbent prime minister Robert Golob and his predecessor Janez Janša.

11. 11

    PoliticsProtests against the 2026 Iran war

    Between 200 and 300 National Council of Resistance of Iran-alligned demonstrators of the Iranian opposition gather in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to protest the war and the Iranian government.

12. 12

    News

    One person is killed and 10 others are injured, including one critically, when a natural gas explosion collapses two residential buildings in Fatih district, Istanbul, Turkey.

13. 13

    News2024–2026 Cuba blackouts

    Cuba restores its power after the power grid collapsed the previous day.

14. 14

    Politics

    Following the March 15 elections to the 15th Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, Kim Jong Un is reelected chairman of the State Affairs Commission (head of State) and Pak Thae Song is reappointed as premier.

15. 15

    Politics2026 French municipal elections

    The second round of municipal elections takes place in France.

16. 16

    Crime

    Thieves steal three paintings, one each by artists Henri Matisse, Paul Cézanne, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, from a private museum in Parma, Italy.

Stories adapted from Wikipedia’s Current events portal for 22 March 2026, by Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.