Portal:Current events/2012 March 30

March 30, 2012 (Friday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Arab Spring:
- Syrian uprising:
  - The Syrian government says that the revolt against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has ended, but it will still keep soldiers inside cities, "for security". (Fox News) (Reuters)
  - At least 45 people are killed. (Naharnet)
Pakistan:
- A United States drone attack kills two alleged militants in the Pakistani town of Miran Shah in North Waziristan. (AP via Google News)
Gunmen kill Zain-ul-Abdeen, a leader of the ethnic Pashtun Awami National Party, in Karachi. (IRNA)^{[permanent dead link]}
Land Day 2012:
- A 20-year-old Palestinian is killed and 13 others are wounded by IDF gunfire as they try to breach the Gaza border fence in order to infiltrate into Israel near the Erez crossing.(BBC) (Al Jazeera) (Ynet)
- Thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians protesters protest peacefully in the Crusader-built Beaufort Castle in Southern Lebanon.(Ynet)

Amnesty International urges the release of imprisoned Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja "immediately and unconditionally". (BBC)

Arts and culture

Australian artist Tim Storrier wins the 2012 Archibald Prize for a self-portrait The historic wayfarer (after Bosch). (The Daily Telegraph)

Business and economy

The Spanish government cuts 27 billion euros from the country's budget as part of one of the toughest austerity drives in its history. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
VISA and MasterCard warn banks across the United States about a "massive" breach of security with more than ten million credit card numbers potentially compromised. (Sydney Morning Herald)
The Mega Millions jackpot in the United States is up to $640 million, becoming the world's largest lottery jackpot. (CBS News)

Disasters

Huanglongbing or citrus greening, a disease which has killed millions of citrus trees in Brazil and Florida, is discovered in a residential section of Los Angeles County, California, in the United States. (Washington Post)

International relations

Malaysia expels 173 Indonesian workers for various legal violations. (Jakarta Post)

Law and crime

London's Metropolitan Police is embroiled in a racism scandal after a black man used his mobile phone to record police officers subjecting him to a tirade of abuse in which he was told: "The problem with you is you will always be a nigger". (The Guardian)
Indian police introduce a curfew in the city of Sangareddi in Andhra Pradesh due to an outbreak of communal violence. (Times of India)
French police arrest 19 suspected Islamists in dawn raids. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Leonid Shebarshin, the former head of the KGB's foreign intelligence branch, apparently shoots himself dead. (BBC)
Nine top officials are jailed for their role in the near-bankruptcy of one of Vietnam's largest state-owned companies. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Ousted Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai is reportedly confined to his house in Beijing as he undergoes investigations from Chinese authorities. (The New York Times)
Naoki Tanaka, Japan's Minister of Defense, issues orders to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it falls towards Japanese territory. (AFP via News Limited) (Al Jazeera)
Bradford West by-election: Respect Party candidate George Galloway tours the City of Bradford on an open-top bus in celebration of his shock victory over Labour, a result which has been described as the "Bradford Spring". (The Guardian)

Sport