Portal:Current events/2012 March 22

March 22, 2012 (Thursday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Midi-Pyrénées shootings suspected perpetrator Mohammed Merah dies and three French policemen are injured as a siege ends outside Merah's Toulouse flat. (BBC)
Mali coup d'état during the insurgency in northern Mali:
- Soldiers storm the palace of the President Amadou Toumani Touré with heavy gunfire reported in Bamako as part of a coup d'état. (Reuters)
- Captain Amadou Sanogo, the President of the newly formed National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDR), declares an immediate curfew. (Reuters)
Syrian uprising:
- Syrian armed forces continue to shell the city of Hama and at least 59 civilians are reported killed across Syria, in Idlib, Homs, Hama, Daraa, Lattakia, Aleppo and Damascus. (CNN)
- Russian officials will meet with U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan to discuss his efforts to mediate a cease-fire in Syria and with a Syrian opposition delegation in the next few days. (The Washington Post)
12 people are killed in an operation against PKK rebels in southeastern Turkey. (AFP)
Several thousands of students in Montreal, Canada protest against proposed post-secondary education tuition hikes. (CBC News)

Art and culture

The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office says that Whitney Houston's official cause of death was drowning as a result of cocaine use. (CNN)

Business and economy

Ireland officially falls back into recession. (BBC)
Portuguese trade unions hold a 24-hour strike in protest of austerity measures. (AFP via Google News)
In the United States, about 350,000 people filed for unemployment benefits, hitting a four-year low, according to the United States Labor Department. (CNN)

Disasters

A massive fire raging on Mount Kenya devours thousands of hectares of ancient forests and threatens wildlife. (Al Jazeera)
A large fire sweeps through Hatibagan market, one of the oldest in the Indian city of Calcutta, destroying most of the buildings. (BBC)
More bodies are dug out of the wreck of the Costa Concordia. (Al Jazeera)
MCR breaks up

International relations

The United Nations Human Rights Council urges Sri Lanka to "credibly investigate" possible war crimes committed during the Sri Lankan Civil War. (Economic Times of India) (Daily Times of Pakistan)
South Sudan invites Sudan to discuss outstanding issues next month between the two countries that nearly resulted in a war. (IOL)
The United Nations appoints a special rapporteur to investigate the situation in Tibet, after hunger strikes occurred outside the United Nations Headquarters building in New York City. (CBC) (AFP)

Law and crime

The parents of an unarmed black teen boy killed by gunshot wound in a suburb of Orlando in the U.S. state of Florida address a mass rally in New York to call for justice. (BBC)
A court hears that two British men shot dead in the U.S. state of Florida last April were found with their shirts off and trousers round their thighs. (BBC)
Malcolm Naden, Australia's most wanted man, is captured after seven years on the run near the town of Gloucester in the state of New South Wales and will face murder charges today. (News Limited) (Al Jazeera)

Politics

After 15 years, the Mahon Tribunal into political corruption in Ireland concludes with findings against high-profile politicians, including two former Taoisigh. (BBC) (Financial Times) (RTÉ)
A draft report by government auditors estimates India lost $210 billion by selling coalfields too cheaply. Opposition politicians denounce the government for "looting the country". (BBC) (The Times of India) (Al Jazeera)
In Montreal the biggest protest in Quebec's history sets out against the government's tuition hikes and for free access to post-secondary education, with more than 200 000 people marching in the streets ("Huffington Post")