1. Turkey carries out air raids

    Turkey’s air force hit Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Monday, hours after a suicide car bombing in the capital killed 37 people and heightened* tensions with the militants.

    Nine F-16s and two F-4 jets raided 18 positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq, including the Qandil mountains where the group’s leadership is based, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

    Police, meanwhile, carried out raids in the southern city of Adana, detaining 38 suspected PKK rebels, the agency reported. Fifteen suspected Kurdish militants were also detained in Istanbul, Anadolu said.

    2. 8 killed in accident at Thai bank’s HQ

    Eight people died and seven others were injured at the headquarters of one of Thailand’s largest banks when workers accidentally released fire extinguishing chemicals during an upgrade of the building’s safety system, officials said on Monday.

    The accident occurred on Sunday night in the basement of the Siam Commercial Bank’s headquarters in Bangkok. The bank said in a statement that an initial investigation found that the accident was caused by “negligence* on the part of our contractors hired to improve fire protection in the building.” Workers activated* a system that mistakenly released Pyrogen* aerosol*, a chemical fire retardant*, the statement said.

    3. Violence erupts in Melbourne

    Police have condemned an escalation* in violence by a gang they say is responsible for a “chaotic” brawl* that caused panic in Melbourne’s CBD on Saturday night.

    The group, known as Apex and based in Melbourne’s southern suburbs, forced a shutdown of parts of the CBD, as police brought out capsicum* spray and batons* to break up the commotion*.

    Commissioner Ashton said Taskforce Tense had been set up in November to monitor Apex and would now be given extra resources.

    4. Germans vote in polls in test for Merkel

    Germans voted in three regional state elections on Sunday, with the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party looking to profit from popular angst* about Chancellor Angela Merkel’s migrant policy.

    Migration is the hot topic as many people worry how Germany will cope with an influx, totaling more than a million last year alone, that has come to define Merkel’s leadership, and on which she has staked* her reputation.

    Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) have been losing support to the AfD, which has profited from the growing unease. A poor CDU performance would weaken Merkel just as she tries to push through a deal to resolve Europe’s migrant crisis.

    5. Macedonia closes border to migrants

    Macedonia has closed its border completely to illegal migrants after Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia announced tight new restrictions on migrant entry, a police official said on March 9.

    Thousands of migrants have built up on the Greek side of the Macedonian border. Macedonia had been allowing small numbers of Syrians and Iraqis through but stopped after its neighbors tightened up their policies.

    “We have completely closed the border,” said the police official, who declined to be named.

    6. North Korea liquidates Seoul’s assets

    North Korea on Thursday nullified* all agreements on economic cooperation and exchanges with South Korea, and said it would liquidate* South Korean assets left behind in the Kaesong industrial zone and Mount Kumgang tourist zone in its territory.

    South Korea’s unification* ministry said on Thursday such unilateral* claims by Pyongyang can never be accepted. A statement by a spokesman for North Korea’s Committee for Peaceful Reunification of Korea said the plan was made in response to a series of unilateral sanctions by Seoul on North Korea.(SD-Agencies)