Portal:Current events/2013 March 26

March 26, 2013 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan:
- Australia announces that it will be closing its base in Tarinkot in Urozgan Province, with the majority of troops returning home by the end of this year. (ABC News Australia)
- A suicide attack on a police station in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, kills five police officers while seven attackers die. (BBC)
- One British soldier is killed and nine are wounded by Taliban insurgents in an attack on a patrol base with a truck bomb and small arms fire in Helmand Province, Nad Ali District, Afghanistan. (The Daily Telegraph)
2012–13 Central African Republic conflict:
- After declaring himself President of the Central African Republic, Seleka chief Michel Djotodia says that he has suspended the constitution of the country and dissolved its parliament. (BBC)
Syrian civil war:
- The United Nations prepares to move about half of its international staff in Syria out of the country as violence creeps closer to UN facilities. (AFP via GlobalPost)
Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- A roadside bombing kills the head of a local town council and a member of a provincial council in Tuz Khormato, Saladin Province, Iraq. (CNN)

Business and economy

2012–2013 Cypriot financial crisis: Cyprus's Ministry of Finance says banks will remain shut until Thursday to give regulators time to guard against a run on deposits, and that big depositors in Cypriot banks can lose up to 40% of their funds, while depositors with less than 100,000 euros in their accounts will not be affected by bailout plans. (BBC) (CNN)
Leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet in Durban for the 2013 BRICS summit. (BBC)
T-Mobile USA removes the contract requirement from its mobile phone payment plans, becoming the first of the four major national wireless carriers in the U.S. to do so. (The New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

2013 Madagascar locust infestation: A plague of locust descends upon Madagascar, threatening crops and other vegetation across roughly 50% of the country. (BBC) (International Business Times)

International relations

Italy's Court of Cassation overturns the acquittals of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in the murder of Meredith Kercher and orders a retrial. However, Knox, who returned home immediately upon release, is not expected to be there as the U.S. tends not to extradite its citizens to face legal action. (The Journal) (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera) (CNN)
The Arab League summit begins in Qatar, Doha, with the Syria conflict and possible talks between the Afghanistan government and the Taliban among the key issues. (Al Jazeera)
North Korea issues a new threat to strike targets on the United States mainland, Hawaii and Guam, as well as South Korea, days after a new US–South Korea military pact. (Press TV)
Vietnam accuses a Chinese vessel of firing on one of its fishing boats in disputed waters in the South China Sea, setting it on fire. (BBC)

Law and crime

A post-mortem examination finds Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky's death was "consistent with hanging", after the examination found nothing to indicate a violent struggle or involvement of another party. (BBC)
Congolese war crimes suspect Bosco Ntaganda appears before the International Criminal Court at The Hague for the first time, following his surprise surrender last week. (BBC)
Thousands of people sign an online petition requesting the Daily Mail to sack its controversial columnist Richard Littlejohn after the possible hounding to death of a primary school teacher Lucy Meadows by the British media. (BBC)
A court in South Africa sentences Nigerian militant Henry Okah to 24 years' imprisonment for his involvement in the Abuja car bombings which killed at least 12 people in October 2010. (BBC)
The United States Supreme Court weighs the case of a California constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions, passed after gay marriage became legal there. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Sport

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification:
- In the AFC Fourth Round, Japan, on the verge of becoming the first team to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, suffers a shock loss to Jordan, whose own chances of qualifying for their first ever FIFA World Cup are boosted by the result in Amman. (Reuters) (AFP via NDTV)
- In the UEFA Group I, Spain, the defending World Cup champions, defeats France 1–0, with a Pedro's winning goal at the Stade de France. (BBC) (FIFA)
- In the UEFA Group H, Montenegro secures a 1–1 draw against England in Podgorica. (BBC) (FIFA)
- In the CONCACAF Fourth Round, the United States and Mexico draw 0–0 at Estadio Azteca, giving the USA a point in World Cup qualifying at Azteca for only the second time ever. (ESPN)
- Based on the fact that it was not filed properly, FIFA rejects a protest filed by Costa Rica against a match played against the United States during a snowstorm at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. (AP via USA Today)
In cricket, England manage to bat through the 5th day of the final test match against New Zealand in Auckland, to draw the three match series 0–0. (ESPN Cricinfo) (BBC)