• Police confront protesters with tear gas and stun grenades in the U.S. city of Oakland, California; more than 100 arrests are made. (BBC)(CNN)
• 2011–2012 Syrian uprising:
  • Syrian Army forces launch an offensive in areas of the capital Damascus, as 60 people are killed across the country in the latest violence. (Al Jazeera)
  • The Free Syrian Army orders a tactical withdrawal from the affected suburbs. (Reuters)
• The Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North claims to have captured 29 Chinese workers and 9 members of the Sudan People's Armed Forces following a clash with government forces. (AFP via Google News)
• Gunmen attack a police station in the Nigerian city of Kano, with Boko Haram believed responsible. (Reuters)

• Happy Mondays, at the forefront of the Madchester scene, reform. (BBC)
• Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • The 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards is held in the US city of Los Angeles with Jean Dujardin winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for his role in The Artist. (USA Today)
  • Viola Davis wins the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for her role in The Help. (AP via Yahoo News)

• Cyclone Iggy kills 14 people and injures 60 over a four day period in Indonesia. (CNN)
• At least 10 people die in an accident on the Interstate 75 south of the US city of Gainesville, Florida. (Newsday)

• Greece rejects outright German proposals for direct European Union control of the country's financial affairs, expressing opposition to further outside interference. (BBC)
• In Addis Ababa, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses the first African Union summit since the demise of Muammar Gaddafi, calling for improvement of LGBT rights. (BBC)
• The exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Abdullah II of Jordan meet in Khaled Meshaal's first trip to Jordan since his expulsion in 1999. (CNN)
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors begin a three-day visit to Iran. (BBC) (Times of India)
• Bangladesh and India sign a deal to build a US$1.5 billion power plant. (BBC)

• Former Papua New Guinea Army Colonel Yaura Sasa, who led a recent coup d'état attempt to restore former Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare to power, is charged with mutiny. (Reuters)
• At least three people are killed and 100 injured in clashes between Bangladeshi police and members of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party protesting against the government. (Reuters via Yahoo)
• Three members of the Shafia family are convicted of murder in relation to the Shafia family deaths in the Canadian city of Kingston, Ontario. (Toronto Star)

• Large crowds greet Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she begins a campaign for 1 April by-elections. (Bangkok Post)
• Voters in Egypt start voting in an election for the Shura Council (upper house), with Islamist parties seeking to consolidate their position. (AFP via Google News)
• Former President of Italy Oscar Luigi Scalfaro dies at the age of 93. (Reuters via The Star)
• The President of France Nicolas Sarkozy outlines an economic reform package increasing taxes and proposing a new tax on financial transactions. (AFP via France24)

• In tennis, Novak Djokovic of Serbia wins the Men's Singles championship of the 2012 Australian Open defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5. (The Guardian)
• The 2012 Men's European Water Polo Championship concludes with Serbia defeating Montenegro in the final. (SPP)