March 17, 2012 (Saturday)
Armed conflict and attacks
- Syria:
- At least two bombings are reported of government facilities in the Syrian capital Damascus with several police and civilians reported dead. (Ninemsn) (BBC) (CNN)
- Saudi Arabia is sending weapons to rebels in Syria, according to a top Arab diplomat. (Times of India)
- A Tibetan monk sets himself on fire in southwest China, in the latest in a series of similar incidents where nearly 30 monks have now self-immolated. (Times of India) (Straits Times)
Arts and culture
- Pope Benedict XVI launches an internal investigation into leaks of confidential documents alleging corruption, financial mismanagement and power struggles among senior church officials. (AP)
- Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria, the leader of Egypt's Coptic Christian community, dies of cancer at the age of 88. (BBC)
Disasters
- Severe Tropical Cyclone Lua is upgraded to a Category 4 cyclone as it hits the town of Pardoo on the northwest coast of Western Australia. (The Australian)
International relations
- Burma signs an agreement with the International Labour Organization to end forced labour by 2015. (Bangkok Post)
- China expresses concern at North Korea's intention to launch a satellite next month to mark the centenary of founder Kim Il-sung's birth. (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
- Mauritania's state information agency announces that Abdullah Senussi, Muammar Gaddafi's former intelligence chief, has been arrested at the airport in Nouakchott upon arrival from Morocco. (AP) (CNN)
- Belarus executes Vladislav Kovalev, one of the men convicted of the 2011 Minsk Metro bombing. (Russia Today)
- London's Metropolitan Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the British Houses of Parliament on Friday evening. (BBC)
- Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk, convicted of accessory to the murder of 27,900 Jews during The Holocaust, dies at the age of 91. (BBC)
- Venezuelan police shoot dead the daughter of a Chilean diplomat at a police checkpoint at the city of Maracaibo after the vehicle she was travelling in refused to stop - 11 police officers are under investigation. (AP via San Francisco Chronicle)
Politics and elections
- Chinese leaders urge officials and residents in Chongqing to support the change of leadership in the city, after former chief Bo Xilai was removed. (Taipei Times)
- Leaders of the African Union meet in Benin to discuss a resolution of the leadership crisis after deadlocked elections in January. (IOL)
- Voters in East Timor go to the polls for a presidential election with incumbent President Jose Ramos-Horta standing against 11 other candidates. (AFP via France 24)[permanent dead link]
- Julian Assange announces plans to run for the Senate of Australia despite being under house arrest in the United Kingdom. (News Limited)
- Personal documents released from the papers of Margaret Thatcher show the former British Prime Minister held a private meeting with Rupert Murdoch at Chequers weeks before his purchase of Times Newspapers in 1981. (BBC)
Sport
- Association football:
- Fabrice Muamba collapses on live television in the 41st minute of the FA Cup quarter-final between Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton Wanderers. The match is abandoned, and Muamba is rushed to a London hospital in critical condition after being resuscitated for several minutes on the pitch. (The Guardian) (BBC) (Sky)
- Andrea Pirlo of Italian side Juventus dedicates his team's Serie A win to Muamba. (IBN)
- Wales win against France in rugby union's Six Nations Championship, achieving the Grand Slam for the 11th time.