Human Race

Filmed

For the first time ever, humans can see a True’s beaked whale on film swimming. The whale spends about 90 percent of its time deep under the ocean’s surface, and only a few people have seen the animal alive. Students vacationing in the Azores, a set of North Atlantic islands, captured on 46 seconds of video three males the size of elephants, with oblong bodies and dolphin-shaped noses, drifting through the pale blue water. Researchers released the video on March 7.

Fled

Thousands fled from Burma in early March after violence erupted between ethnic rebels and security forces. The rebels, dressed in police uniforms, launched a surprise raid that targeted police and military posts with assault rifles in one of the worst acts of violence to hit the region since 2015. Thirty people died. China opened its borders to those fleeing the violence, promising temporary care for around 20,000 refugees.

Found

A Danish boy, exploring for his history class March 6, uncovered the wreck of a German fighter plane with the pilot’s remains still in the cockpit. Daniel Kristiansen and his father Klaus had walked onto the field on their farm with a metal detector, hoping to find something for his class. They were following an old family story: Kristiansen’s grandfather had told him they were making Christmas cookies in 1944 when a German plane crashed in their field. Kristiansen and his son found scraps of plane debris, enough that they decided to bring in an excavator. They uncovered bones, pieces of clothes, and most of what authorities suspect to be a Messerschmitt plane. Historical authorities are investigating the pilot’s papers and think they can discover his identity.

Died

Guatemala has declared three days of national mourning after 31 teenage girls died in a children’s home fire March 8. The government-run home, near Guatemala City, burst into flames after residents set mattresses on fire during a riot and escape attempt. Reports allege the children were rioting over poor food and sexual abuses. Despite government rules, officials were using the shelter as a juvenile detention center, mixing girls suffering from abuse and young criminals indiscriminately. The police say the fire began in the female section of the shelter, where 19 girls, ages 14 to 17, died. Around 40 people were taken to the hospital with serious burns, and more girls died there. President Jimmy Morales has begun an investigation into the causes of the fire and allegations of abuse in the shelter.

Censured

The Wyoming Supreme Court on March 7 censured a Wyoming judge who refused to conduct same-sex marriages. Judge Ruth Neely is a part-time magistrate in Pinedale, a tiny town of 2,000 people. Most of her job is to conduct marriages, and Neely had told a reporter in 2014 that she wouldn’t marry a same-sex couple, prompting an investigation by her state ethics commission. They recommended she be removed from her position. Neely brought a case against the commission, arguing it was violating her constitutional rights of religious freedom. Despite the censure, the Wyoming Supreme Court decided not to remove her from her position.