March 16, 2012 (Friday)
Armed conflict and attacks
- 2011–2012 Syrian uprising: Protests referred to by activists as "The Friday for International Military Intervention" spread from the northern city of Aleppo to the central regions of Hama and Homs, and southern province of Daraa. (Al Jazeera)
- Afghanistan:
- At least ten people, including a woman and two children, are killed after a Turkish NATO helicopter crashes into a house on the outskirts of the Afghan capital Kabul. (AFP via News Limited) (Al-Arabiya) (Al Jazeera)
- United States Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales is identified as the suspect in the Kandahar massacre. (New York Times)
Arts and culture
- American actor George Clooney is arrested at a protest outside the Embassy of Sudan in Washington, D.C. together with Nick Clooney, Martin Luther King III, NAACP President Ben Jealous and several congressmen. (E Online) (BBC)
- U.S. sportswear company Nike, Inc. controversially gives its new Saint Patrick's Day runner the name "The Black and Tan", prompting comparisons from concerned netizens with the controversial British paramilitary unit, which was known as the Black and Tans. (The Irish Times)
- Dr. Rowan Williams announces his intention to retire as Archbishop of Canterbury at the end of the year. Having headed the Anglican Church since 2003, he will subsequently take up the role as Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Disasters
- The Commission of Inquiry into the 2010–11 Queensland floods hands down its report with engineers at the Wivenhoe Dam outside Brisbane to be referred to the Crime and Misconduct Commission. (ABC News Australia) (News Limited)
- A tropical cyclone warning is issued for Western Australia's Pilbara and Kimberly regions as Cyclone Lua approaches at Category 3 strength. (TV New Zealand)
- Belgium holds a day of national mourning in memory of the victims of the Sierre bus collision in Switzerland earlier this week. (BBC)
International relations
- David Petraeus, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, is honored with the Grand Cross with swords in the Order of Orange-Nassau in The Hague for his service as a four-star general in Iraq and Afghanistan. (NOS)
Law and crime
- Former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi is found guilty of a hate crime and invasion of privacy for his role in the suicide of Tyler Clementi. (BBC)
Politics and elections
- Nicolae Timofti becomes the fourth President of Moldova, after nearly 3 years without an elected head of state and political stalemate in the country. (AP via The Seattle Times)
Science
- North Korea announces plans to launch a new satellite in honour of regime founder Kim Il-Sung's birthday in April. (WTOP) (Al Jazeera)
Sport
- Sachin Tendulkar of India becomes the first cricketer to score 100 international centuries in an Asia Cup match against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. (AFP via Herald-Sun)