On 18 march 2016, the earlier appointment of Lula da Silva, former President of Brazil, to become the Chief of Staff by current President Dilma Rousseff - who is facing a possible impeachment - was annulled by a top judge. The decision was made by judge Gilmar Mendes, member of the Supreme Court. The move comes as an earlier decision by a Federal Judge was overturned earlier to annul his appointment. Lula da Silva is currently charged for corruption related to the Petrobras scandal, and Dilma Rousseff has lost public trust, as her former mentor among others is related to corruption, while Brazil is in economic decline and facing an ever greater political crisis. 

After the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution on the 14th of March, the U.S. government has labelled the IS atrocities against minorities as a genocide, acknowledging the fact and recognizing that serious war crimes have been committed by the terrorist organization. During a news conference on the 17th of March, Secretary of State John Kerry declared IS to be responsible for mass genocide against groups in areas under its control including Yazidis, Christians and Shiite Muslims. This is the first time that the U.S. has declared genocide since the Darfur atrocities in 2004. The move is aimed at putting pressure on the Obama administration to take more aggressive military action against IS and could additionally give weight to calls by lawmakers and humanitarian groups to welcome more refugees into the country.

On 16 March President Dilma Rousseff made a reshuffle of her government and appointed former President and corruption alleged Lula da Silva as Chief of Staff, the highest public position after the President. The move was expected as rumours emerged earlier in the week. Following the news, the Brazilian Real dropped further and the Central Bank Governor is said to resign soon due to the concern of the implication this will have for economic policies. The appointment is expected to generate even more protests in the already politically and economically instable Brazil.

On 15 March 2016 primaries were held in the important and populous states of Florida, North Carolina, Illinois, Ohio and Missouri. Donald Trump managed to win all of those states apart from Ohio, which was won by John Kasich, who is currently the governor of Ohio. Hillary Clinton managed to beat Bernie Sanders in all of them. The victories bring both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton closer to getting the nomination. Following the election outcomes, Marco Rubio decided to drop out as he lost his own state Florida, for which he is currently senator.

On 14 and 15 March 2016 the national currency of Brazil, the Real, plunged after the biggest newspaper of Brazil confirmed that former President Lula da Silva is trying to become Minister in the Cabinet of Dilma Rousseff. The currency dropped by 2% on Monday and by another 0,6% on Tuesday. Stock market values dropped over 7,4%. It is said Lula da Silva is trying to prevent being prosecuted and potentially jailed, which he wants to accomplish by receiving immunity that a Minister post would give. 

More than a million Brazilians have joined anti-government rallies across the country, ramping up the pressure on embattled president Dilma Rousseff. Opponents blame Ms Rousseff for a severe recession and a corruption scandal also engulfing her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The peak of the march reached 1.4 million people in Sao Paulo, the city's state security office said. Smaller marches took place in many cities across the country.