Portal:Current events/2012 March 12

March 12, 2012 (Monday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Around 100 people are killed in ethnic clashes and cattle raids in South Sudan. (BBC)
Gaza-Israel clashes continue as Palestinian militants fire more Qassam rockets into Israel overnight. 2 people are killed, including a militant, and 25 are injured during Israeli Air Force strikes on the Gaza Strip. (Al-Arabiya) (Reuters via the Chicago Tribune) (Jerusalem Post)
At least 45 people including children are killed in a massacre by the Syrian army in Homs, amongst an ongoing uprising. (CNN)
The bodies of 70 ethnic Somali and Oromo people are discovered near the Yemeni-Saudi Arabian border. (IRIN)

Business and economy

The People's Republic of China records its highest trade deficit in over a decade, indicating a slowing economy. (Reuters)
India's Kingfisher Airlines cancels at least 40 flights due to pilots not turning up for work due to unpaid salaries. (Times of India)

Disasters

A new section of high-speed railway that had undergone test runs collapses near Qianjiang, China. (New York Times)
Over 45 people are trapped by avalanches in the remote Afghan villages of Poshan and Ghadoor in Nuristan province. (AP via Wall Street Journal)

International relations

United States Census Bureau has estimated the world population up to 7 billion people. (USCB)
Afghanistan:
- The Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel arrives in Afghanistan for an unannounced visit to Bundeswehr troops. (Deutsche Welle)
- The Taliban vows revenge for yesterday's massacre carried out by a United States Army soldier, in which 16 people were killed, 9 of them children. (AFP via NDTV)
- The Pentagon rejects a demand by the National Assembly of Afghanistan that the soldier responsible be publicly tried. (ABC News)
Belgium asks the International Court of Justice to order Senegal to put former Chadian President Hissène Habré on trial or to extradite him on charges of torture and crimes against humanity. (IOL)
A scuffle breaks out at the United Nations Human Rights Council after a North Korean diplomat said a U.N. report on the human rights situation in the country had been "fabricated". (Zee News India)

Law and crime

Robbers kill at least 9 people and injure 14 in a jewelry heist in East Baghdad, Iraq. (AP via Washington Post)
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that a 22 year sentence given to Ahmed Ressam for attempting to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport as part of the 2000 millennium attack plots was too light. (Reuters)
The loose-knit group of hackers known as Anonymous launch a second attack on the Vatican website. The vice director of the Holy See's Press Office, Father Ciro Benedettini, says the initial March 7 attack was not successful, failing in its attempt to bring the site down. (Catholic News Agency)

Politics

Sri Lanka orders media outlets to get prior approval before sending mobile phone alerts about the military or police. (Straits Times)
Tens of thousands of people demonstrate in Dhaka, Bangladesh, demanding the government step down and hold elections. (Al Jazeera)

Sport

In American football, the NCAA imposes a penalty on the North Carolina Tar Heels football of loss of post-season play for next season and loss of scholarships for code violations. (USA Today)