Portal:Current events/2013 March 21
March 21, 2013 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Gaza–Israel conflict:
- Two rockets fired from Gaza strip land in Sderot, Israel, in violation of the ceasefire brokered after the eight-day conflict in November 2012. (ABC News)
- Terrorism in Pakistan:
- A car bombing at the Jalozai refugee camp near the Pakistani city of Peshawar kills at least 12 people and wounds up to 30 others. (BBC)
- Kurdish–Turkish conflict:
- Jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party leader Abdullah Öcalan makes historic calls for dialogue with Turkey after almost thirty years of violent conflict. (BBC) (CNN) (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
- Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen:
- Three members of Ansar al-Sharia and two pro-government militia fighters are killed in an attack in Abyan Governorate. (Reuters)
- Syrian civil war:
- At least 42 people are killed and 84 injured after a reported suicide bombing at a Damascus mosque. Senior pro-government Sunni cleric Mohammed al-Buti is amongst those killed. (Reuters)
- President of the Syrian National Coalition Moaz al-Khatib condemns the attack, while placing his suspicion on the Syrian government for orchestratring it. The Free Syrian Army denies involvement in the attack on the grounds that it doesn't target mosques. (Al Jazeera)
Arts and culture
- Nigerian writer and literary icon Chinua Achebe dies at the age of 82. (Premium Times Nigeria) (The Guardian) (BBC)
Disasters and accidents
- 2013 Berlin helicopter crash: Two helicopters collide and crash near Berlin's Olympic Stadium in Germany, killing the pilot of one helicopter and injuring four people. (BBC) (Daily Mail)
- At least 45 people drown and 60 are missing after a boat carrying Nigerian migrants capsizes and sinks off shore from Libreville, Gabon. (BBC)
- At least 24 people are killed and more than 100 injured in a tornado and hail storm in southern China. (AFP via ABC News Australia)
International relations
- U.S. President Barack Obama, in a formal visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, states that "Palestinians deserve a state of their own". (NBC News)
- North Korea threatens to attack American military bases in Japan in response to the use of nuclear-capable B-52 bombers in joint military drills with South Korea. (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
- A dispute between a Muslim gold shop owner and Buddhist sellers escalates into communal violence that leaves 10 people dead, 20 injured, and 4 mosques burnt to the ground in Myanmar. (CNN)
- India's Supreme Court sentences actor and politician Sanjay Dutt to 5 years in prison over illegal arms possession, related to the 1993 Mumbai bombings. The death sentence of Yakub Memon, convicted mastermind of the bombings, has been upheld. (Times of India) (BBC)
- Seven people are shot and wounded at a nightclub in Chicago, Illinois, United States. (CNN)
- Several BBC Twitter accounts are hacked including its Weather, Arabic and Radio Ulster feeds by a group calling itself the Syrian Electronic Army. (BBC)
- The suspect wanted in connection with the shooting death of prison chief Tom Clements in Colorado, is believed to be the man that was killed in a shootout with deputies in Montague County, Texas, United States. A deputy was seriously injured in the shootout. (CNN)
Politics and elections
- Leader of the Australian Labor Party Julia Gillard calls a spill for all leadership positions. (ABC News Australia)
Religion
- Justin Welby is formally enthroned as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. (BBC)
Science and technology
- The European Space Agency releases the Planck space observatory's first all-sky map of the cosmic microwave background, the most accurate ever created. It determines that the Universe is older than expected, at 13.82 billion years old. (BBC) (NASA) (The New York Times)
Sport
- In snooker, Martin Gould wins 2013 Championship League defeating Ali Carter 3–2 in the final. (World Snooker) (SnookerHQ)
- In speed skating, the 2013 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships begins today at the Adler Arena Skating Center in Sochi, Russia. (ISU)
- New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur is credited with his third NHL goal when Jordan Staal of Carolina Hurricanes accidentally put the puck in his own empty net. (CBC) (SB Nation) (National Post)