• Syrian uprising: The Syrian army attacks rebels in northern Syria; dozens of people in the city of Idlib are reported killed with heavy shelling in areas around Idlib and around Homs; rebels kill at least 10 troops in an ambush in the same area (New York Times) (CBS) (Jerusalem Post)
• 19 people are shot dead in an attack on a bus in southwest Ethiopia. (News 24)
• According to the Nigerian military, the group Boko Haram has killed 1200 people since the end of 2009. (La Repubblica)
• Israeli-Palestinian clashes subside as a truce between Israel and Palestinians militants in the Gaza Strip comes into effect. (BBC)(CNN) (The Jerusalem Post)
• Afghanistan:
  • Students in Afghanistan hold protests in response to the Kandahar massacre by a member of the United States Army. (AFP/Reuters via ABC News Australia)
  • Taliban militants open fire on an Afghan government delegation visiting one of the two villages where the massacre occurred. (AP and CBS News)

• Encyclopaedia Britannica, the oldest encyclopedia still in print in the English language, announces that it will no longer be producing printed versions but continuing online editions. (Reuters via Yahoo 7 Australia)
• Interviews Before Execution, a Chinese television talk show that interviews death row inmates shortly before they are executed, is reportedly cancelled as a result of a BBC documentary on the programme which has attracted international attention. (MSNBC) (The Independent)

• The United States, Japan, and the European Union file a case against China at the WTO regarding export restrictions on rare earth metals. (BBC)
• Auto manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover announces plans to hire an additional 1,000 workers in its car plant in Halewood on Merseyside, England. (BBC)
• Most of the largest financial institutions in the United States pass a Federal Reserve System stress test although Citigroup, MetLife, Ally Financial and SunTrust do not. (Reuters)

• At least 30 people are dead and dozens missing after the MV Shariatpur 1 ferry carrying 200 people collides with an oil tanker. It capsizes on the Meghna River in Bangladesh's Munshiganj District near the capital Dhaka. (AP via Brisbane Times) (BBC) (The Telegraph) (AP via Newsday)
• At least 28 Belgians are killed in a bus crash in a motorway tunnel near the town of Sierre in the Swiss canton of Valais. (BBC) (AFP via Sydney Morning Herald)

• Argentina's Supreme Court rules that abortions following rape are not punishable. (Buenos Aires Herald) (Inquirer)
• Pedro Pimentel Rios, a participant in the Dos Erres massacre of the Guatemalan civil war, is sentenced to 6,060 years in prison. (BBC)
• British police arrest six people on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to phone hacking in the media including Rebekah Brooks, a former top executive of News International. (AP via Washington Post) (The Telegraph) (Washington Post)

• Minister for Foreign Affairs Bob Carr is sworn in as a member of the Senate of Australia, replacing Mark Arbib, representing New South Wales.(Daily Telegraph)
• Republican Party presidential primaries:
  • Voters in the US states of Alabama and Mississippi head to the polls for primaries with Rick Santorum winning in both states. (CNN) (USA Today)
  • Voters in the state of Hawaii and the territory of American Samoa go to the polls for caucuses with Mitt Romney winning both. (Fox News) (Radio New Zealand) (AP via Google)

• A research study conducted by Harvard Medical School shows that red meat increases the risk of death and has other negative health implications. (BBC)

• In basketball, the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament gets underway with first round games in Dayton (NY Daily News)
• In sled dog racing, Dallas Seavey becomes the youngest winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race run in the US state of Alaska. (SB Nation)