March 8, 2018 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Turkish military operation in Afrin
- The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army seizes control of Jindires in Syria's Afrin District from the Kurdish YPG. The town is extensively destroyed by Turkish airstrikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Reuters) (France 24)
Business and economy
- Economy of the United States
- Toys "R" Us considers closing all its stores in the United States. (CNBC)
International relations
- 2017–18 North Korea crisis
- 2018 North Korea–United States summit
- Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says "potentially positive signals" come from North Korea, but that the two countries are "still a long way" from direct negotiations. (NBC News)
- U.S. President Donald Trump accepts an invitation from North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un to discuss North Korea's denuclearization sometime by May. (CBC) (The New York Times)
- Japan–North Korea relations
- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe says inter-Korea talks could be a "meaningless" ploy by North Korea. (The Japan Times)
- 2018 North Korea–United States summit
- United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, Foreign relations of Guatemala
- Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit demands Guatemala reverse its decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, Sandra Jovel says the move is "irreversible." (JPost)
- Protectionism in the United States
- Citing national security reasons, U.S. President Donald Trump imposes tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum imported from most countries. Canada and Mexico are provisionally exempt pending NAFTA renegotiations. The tariffs will take effect on March 23. (CBS News)
- Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
- Eleven countries in Asia, North America, Oceania, and South America sign the revised Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. (The New York Times)
Politics and elections
- Democratic Republic of the Congo general election, 2018
- Prime Minister Bruno Tshibala says the election – delayed repeatedly since President Joseph Kabila's term expired in December 2016 – will occur this December. (Reuters via Standard Digital)
- The first Aurat March (social/political demonstration) was held on 8 March 2018 being International Women's Day in Karachi, Pakistan, annually held since then and feminist slogan Mera Jism Meri Marzi (My body, my choice) in demand for women's right to bodily autonomy and against gender-based violence came into vogue in Pakistan. (Al-Jazeera)