More than 100,000 residents of Vanuatu's Pacific islands have been left homeless as a result of the disaster caused by Tropical Cyclone Pam. This preliminary assessment was provided by Oxfam. Red Cross spokesman Hannington Alatoa said half of the country's population was affected by the cyclone. According to Vanuatu President Baldwin Lonsdale, 90 percent of the houses in the city of Port Vila, the country's capital, have been destroyed or damaged.

The Latvian armed forces discovered two Russian submarines near the country's maritime border. One of them was seen at 27 nautical miles, and the second at 30 nautical miles from the territorial waters of Latvia. In addition, a hydrographic vessel GS-403 was found near the border. As stated in the message of the Latvian armed forces, submarines belong to the Kilo class according to NATO classification. These are diesel submarines of the Halibut project.

Moscow Vice Mayor Leonid Pechatnikov refuted the words of the new head of the city department of culture, Alexander Kibovsky, that the department had unearmarked expenses in the amount of 4.3 billion rubles. According to Pechatnikov, the amount of 4.3 billion is the plan of the public procurement department for 2015.

Zaur Dadaev's lawyer Ivan Gerasimov denied reports that the investigation had abandoned the version about the contract nature of the murder of Boris Nemtsov. According to Gerasimov, he does not know anything about the reclassification of the charges. At the same time, the lawyer noted that without his participation it could not be re-qualified, since the investigator is obliged to familiarize the accused and the defense counsel with the new resolution.

The Ministry of Transport of Russia is preparing an order to lift the ban on the use of mobile phones in aircraft during takeoff and landing. According to a spokesman for the ministry, the officials received a corresponding appeal from Transaero. “The Ministry of Transport of Russia received an appeal from Transaero with an initiative to lift the ban on the use of mobile devices on board aircraft,” a spokesman for the ministry said.

Lawyer Zaur Dadaev, the main suspect in the murder of Boris Nemtsov, said that his client had an alibi. According to lawyer Ivan Gerasimov, Dadaev was in Moscow at the time of the murder, but in a completely different place. Where exactly, the defender did not specify. Who can confirm Dadaev's alibi, Gerasimov also did not say. According to the lawyer Gerasimov, Dadaev came to Moscow on personal business and stayed in the capital for several days.

Frame: dannewstv / youtube MediaWorks, the owner of the New Zealand Channel TV3, kicked out of the X Factor show (in Russia, its analogue is called the “Main Scene”) of two jury members - Natalia Kills) and Willy Moon. This happened after Kills harshly criticized the 25-year-old contestant Joe Irvine-the singer claimed that the participant copied the style of her husband “from hair to costume”.

The leader of the French "National Front" Marine Le Pen invited the Swedish striker PSG Zlatan Ibrahimovic to leave France. Thus, she commented on his scandalous statement after the PSG match with Bordeaux. “In 15 years, I have never seen a good judge in this shitty country. They don't deserve PSG to play here," Ibrahimovic said.

Screengrab: Eurovision Song Contest / YouTube Russian singer Polina Gagarina has released a music video for her song A Million Voices , which she’ll perform at the 2015 Eurovision , an annual European music contest. There are 40 countries participating this year. The video was posted on the competition’s official YouTube channel.

In Riga, the Marsh of the SS Legionnaires was held. Reporting Ivan Kolpakov Photo: Nastya Golivhenchenko / "Medusa" In Riga on Monday, March 16, the procession of the Latvian legionnaires of the SS took place. According to eyewitnesses, in 2015, more people came to the march of memory than in previous years. According to preliminary estimates of the Riga police, one and a half thousand people (and only a few of the legionnaires themselves participated in the procession).

Continued: Deputy Mayor of Moscow denied reports of inappropriate spending in the Department of Culture The Department of Culture of Moscow has until the end of March 2015 to report to the city's Control Committee on the legitimacy of spending 4.3 billion rubles. This was stated by the new head of the department of culture of the city Alexander Kibovsky. At the end of 2014, Kibovsky explained, Moskontrol carried out a systematic review of contracts concluded by the Department of Culture.

In Moscow, by decision of the organizers, the National Exhibition-Fair “Books of Russia”, which was supposed to be held on March 25-29, 2015, was canceled. This was reported on the official website of the event. The message of the General Directorate of International Book Fairs and Exhibitions says that for a long time its management has been under constant pressure, as officials want to change the concept of the event.

Shot: KHL / YouTube The goalkeeper of Siberia, Alexander Salak, was deleted until the end of the meeting in the play-off of the Gagarin Poles-Off, in which Siberia played with Magnitogorsk Metallurg. In the first period, with a 2-0 score, in favor of Metallurg, Salak hit the Magnitogorsk team of Maxim Yakutsu several times several times. This happened immediately after Yakutsenaya drove into Salak, having lost his balance.

Frame: Lyleg Ermolaeff / YouTube On YouTube, a Russian “folk” cover for the song “Gotta GO” of the American hardcore punk group Agnostic Front appeared. Three men starred in the video - they hold a button accordion, a guitar and a balalaika - and two girls (they sing the whole song). LELEL ERMOMOLEEEFF What if Hardcore Was Born in Russia?))) Gotta Go Agnostic Front Fan Cover Who shot the cover and when, from the description of the video is unknown.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia is developing amendments to the federal law "On meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches and picketing", regulating new types of street protest, including motor rallies and tent camps. On March 16, a notification about the preparation of the relevant bill was posted on the Unified Information Disclosure Portal .