March 4, 2013 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Northern Mali conflict:
- French officials announce that a soldier was killed in action during contact with Islamic militants over the weekend. It is France's third casualty since operations began in Operation Serval. (BBC)
- France claims that it is "probable" that al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb chief Abdelhamid Abou Zeid was killed in Mali in late February. (AP via Navy Times)
- March 2013 Karachi bombing:
- Gunmen shoot and kill two people returning from a funeral for victims of the bombing. (AP via ABC News)
- 2013 Lahad Datu standoff:
- The death toll in Malaysia rises to 26 as conflict between people claiming to follow the Sultanate of Sulu and Malaysian Armed Forces continue. (Time)
- 2012–2013 Egyptian protests:
- Akashat ambush:
Arts and culture
- Queen Elizabeth II returns to Buckingham Palace after spending one night in hospital. (BBC)
Business and economy
- Forbes releases its annual list of the world's wealthiest people, with Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim topping the list for the fourth year in a row. (USA Today)
- Latvia applies to enter the eurozone in 2014, in a move which could see it become the 18th member of the bloc. (BBC)
Disasters and accidents
- At least 11 children are killed after a school bus collides with a truck in Jalandhar district in the Indian state of Punjab. (NDTV)
- 2013 Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation crash: A Fokker 50 operated by Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation crashes in poor weather at Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nine people were in the aircraft, a crew of five and four passengers. At least three people survived the accident. (Bloomberg) (News24) (BBC) (Reuters)
- At least 9 people die after heavy snowfall hit the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido over the weekend. (BBC) (CNN) (The Guardian)
Politics and elections
- Kenyan general election, 2013:
- Voters in Kenya go to the polls for a general election with police issuing reports warning of possible violence. (BBC) (AP via Business Week)
- At least 17 people are killed in the port city of Mombasa, Kenya, and surrounding areas. (Reuters) (RTE)
- Hugo Chávez, the President of Venezuela is suffering from a new severe respiratory infection as he struggles to recover from cancer surgery conducted in Cuba. (Reuters)
Religion
- Papal conclave, 2013: More than 100 Roman Catholic cardinals meet in Rome to start the process of selecting a successor to Pope Benedict XVI. (CNN)
Science and technology
- A newly observed near-Earth asteroid 2013 EC passes Earth within the orbit of the Moon. (Universe Today)
- Scientists announce they have directly measured the polarization of light, overcoming aspects of the uncertainty principle. (Science World Report)