February 28, 2012 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2011–2012 Syrian uprising:
- The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay calls for an immediate ceasefire and demands humanitarian access. (Al Jazeera)
- A new United Nations estimate puts the death toll to date at 7,500. (VOA)
- Political leaders of Palestinian group Hamas exit Syria for Egypt and Qatar, saying it could no longer operate in the country. (BBC)
- Pakistani gunmen open fire on a passenger bus in Kohistan, killing 18. (Reuters)
- A United States Department of Defense report finds that the partial remains of the victims of the September 11 attacks ended up at a military landfill site. (BBC)
Business and economy
- Millions of workers in India go on strike to demand improved rights and express anger at rising prices. (Hindustan Times)
Disasters
- The death toll after the Astrakhan apartment gas explosion rises at 6 with another 11 people missing. (Reuters)
International relations
- European Union Foreign Ministers support Serbia's candidacy to join the European Union despite opposition from Romania. (The Guardian)
- Belarus expels the ambassadors from the European Union and Poland and recalls its ambassadors in Brussels and Warsaw due to the imposition of sanctions. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- A Thai court sentences leftist political activist Surachai Danwattananusorn to seven and a half years in jail for lese majeste or insulting the Thai monarchy. (Reuters)
Politics
- Voters in the US states of Michigan and Arizona go to the polls for Republican Party primaries. Mitt Romney wins both states. (Voice of America)
- Occupy London protesters are evicted from outside St. Paul's Cathedral. (The Telegraph)
- Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine announces that she will not seek re-election in 2012. (New York Times)
Science
- Two new species of prehistoric penguin are discovered - Kairuku grebneffi and Kairuku waitaki. Standing nearly 5ft tall, Kairuku grebneffi is the largest penguin ever discovered. (Discovery)
Sport
- In auto racing, Matt Kenseth wins the Daytona 500 in Daytona, Florida. (USA Today)
Technology
- IBM claims to be on the verge of creating the world's first quantum computer. (PC Magazine)