March 20, 2012 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Human Rights Watch raises claims of serious human rights abuses in a clash between Myanmar Armed Forces and the Kachin Independence Army in a dispute in Kachin State that has displaced approximately 75,000 people. (Reuters)
- At least 50 are killed and more than 240 injured in a wave of terror attacks across 10 cities in Iraq. (CNN) (AFP via The Australian)
- Militants attack Somalia's presidential palace in Mogadishu for the second night running. (Reuters)
Arts and culture
- John Carter records one of the biggest losses in cinema history, forcing Disney to take a $200 million writedown. (New York Times) (BBC)
- Jamie Waylett is convicted of participating in violent disorder and handling stolen goods, but cleared of intent to destroy or damage property during last year's riots throughout England. Waylett is jailed for two years. (BBC)
Business and Economy
- India's official poverty rate falls to an all-time record low of 29.8% for the 2009-2010 survey. (BBC)
- The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejects two patents held by Prometheus Laboratories, a unit of Nestlé S.A., continuing a trend in recent years toward a narrowing of the grounds of patentability. (Reuters)
Disasters
- A 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes near the border of the Mexican states of Guerrero and Oaxaca. (AP via Newsday)
- Record breaking rainfall hits northern New Zealand. (New Zealand Herald)
- A train crash in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh leaves 15 people dead after the train collided with a vehicle. (BBC)
International relations
- A Pakistani parliamentary committee calls for an end to NATO drone strikes and an apology for an air strike in November 2011 that killed 24 Pakistani Army soldiers. (Dawn)
Law and crime
- Ross Mirkarimi, the head of the Sheriff's Department in the US city of San Francisco is put on probation for three years for false imprisonment of his wife on New Years Eve 2011. (Los Angeles Times via Boston Herald)[permanent dead link]
Politics and elections
- Media reports in the People's Republic of China claim that former Chongqing Communist Party boss Bo Xilai interfered in a police investigation into a family member before he was dismissed. (AP via Washington Post)
- Voters in the US state of Illinois go to the polls for the Republican primary with Mitt Romney projected as the winner.(National Journal) (Fox News)
- For the United States, Pope Benedict XVI appoints new bishops for the dioceses of Baltimore, Maryland; Rockford, Illinois; and Tallahassee-Pensacola, Florida. (Catholic News Agency)