On Grasswire
Turkey
Kurdish militant group TAK (Kurdistan Freedom Falcons) claimed responsibility for Sunday’s Ankara car bomb that killed 37 people in the Turkish capital.
Germany closed its embassy in Ankara and its general consulate in Istanbul because of a possible “imminent attack”
Meanwhile, German magazine Der Spiegel has moved its Istanbul-based reporter Hasnain Kazim from Turkey to Vienna after Turkish authorities did not renew his press accreditation.
Syria
A Kurd-led conference on Thursday voted to accept draft terms for the establishment of an autonomous federation in northern Syria, a further step towards a final declaration of a federal state within the country.
North Korea
University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor by North Korea’s Supreme Court on Wednesday for trying to steal a propaganda sign.
Warmbier, 21, had been visiting the country with a tour group based out of China when he was arrested on January 2.
Florida
Singer Frank Sinatra Jr. passed away Wednesday at the age of 72 due to cardiac arrest prior to a performance at Daytona Beach’s Peabody Auditorium.
SeaWorld
SeaWorld Entertainment announced Thursday that it will end its long-running orca breeding program.
As many as 30 whales have been bred in captivity in SeaWorld’s theme parks in Orlando, San Antonio, and San Diego since the program began in 1985.
Elsewhere
John Kerry determines Islamic State group committing genocide against Christians, others in Iraq and Syria: https://t.co/cMzuYgfdyt
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 17, 2016
Jackson, Miss, told "We are not Flint," tests showed residents drinking lead water in June 15. Not told til January https://t.co/pwPlNTBHmL
— Kyle Feldscher (@Kyle_Feldscher) March 17, 2016
Documents obtained by The Times reveal new details in the Bowe Bergdahl case https://t.co/s5ZhPYxicw pic.twitter.com/nfMVRjnXkI
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 17, 2016
In case you missed it
At least 15 people were killed with another 30 wounded when a bomb exploded on a bus Wednesday in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
The U.S. federal government issued the first guidelines aimed at reducing prescription opiate abuse Tuesday.
President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday, filling the seat vacated by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death this month.
In other news
Syrian 'trapped' at Istanbul airport for over a year https://t.co/z6VS28LeaB
— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) March 17, 2016
Found: two secret rooms in King Tut's tomb https://t.co/5sLjWBJbaj pic.twitter.com/PVy6Hy2riu
— Atlas Obscura (@atlasobscura) March 17, 2016
General interestingness
Lives behind the lifejackets abandoned by #migrants on the Greek island #Lesbos: https://t.co/kIUfsSOvKp #BBCShorts pic.twitter.com/HJlv0cLB5e
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 17, 2016
In lieu of text