Arab Inter-parliamentary Union, an advisory body to the Arab League, calls for the removal of its monitors in Syria, saying that they are inadvertently helping the government cover up ongoing violence. (Al Jazeera)(BBC)
Syrian opposition groups say that over 5,800 people were killed in violence in 2011. (CNN)
2011–2012 Bahraini uprising
:
A funeral of a Bahraini youth killed yesterday in a protest turns into another protest with police forced to use tear gas. (Reuters)
At least two people are killed in attacks on bars in northern
2011–2012 Syrian uprising: The Arab League calls for a ceasefire in Syria, saying that tanks and heavy weaponry have been withdrawn from Syrian cities, but warning that snipers remain a threat. (Al Jazeera)
Russian Federal Space Agency expects that parts of its failed Fobos-Grunt Mars probe will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere during the next week. (The Telegraph)
After 18 years of investigations and inquests, Gary Dobson and David Norris are convicted of the murder of Stephen Lawrence in the London suburb of Eltham on 22 April 1993. Dobson and Norris are later sentenced to 15 years and 14 years' imprisonment, respectively. (BBC)(The Independent)
commuting prison sentences and releasing more than thirty prisoners. (CNN)
Gary Dobson and David Norris are jailed for life for the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence. Dobson is given a minimum of 15 years and two months, and Norris 14 years and three months. (BBC)
Republican primary candidate and former Massachusetts governor
2012 Iowa Caucus, with candidate and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum behind by eight votes; Congressman Ron Paul had a strong showing in third place. (CBS News)
After her poor showing during the Iowa caucus, presidential candidate Michele Bachmann ends her campaign. (MSNBC)
suicide bomber blows himself up at a police station in Damascus. The Syrian opposition blames the Syrian government for orchestrating the attack, and alleges that they have leaked information from security forces that Aleppo is next. (Al Arabiya)(CNN)
Shiite militia that carried out deadly attacks on U.S. troops agrees to lay down its arms and join the political process in Iraq. (ABC News)
Eight people are killed and 10 wounded in Kano, in the latest in a series of attacks on church in northern Nigeria. (VOA)(CNN)
Symantec, maker of the popular Norton antivirus software, acknowledges that hackers have acquired "a segment of its source code," a partial confirmation of claims made by the Lords of Dharmaraja. (Reuters)
Piracy in Somalia: Georgia announces 15 Georgian sailors held hostage by pirates for over a year are released through the government's efforts. (AFP via Google News)
House of Commons that the power to hold a referendum is "reserved" to Westminster. (BBC)
HS2, a £33bn high-speed rail line that will eventually link several major cities in the United Kingdom to London and enabling quicker journey times. (BBC)
Rescue teams find two survivors trapped inside the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia, which ran aground off the coast of Tuscany on January 13, killing at least three people. The ship's captain is detained by police for questioning. (New Zealand Herald)
Insurgents trigger bombs and storm a police station in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, with six people reportedly killed and 14 injured. (BBC)
Clashes continue between demonstrators and riot police in Romania, after thousands take to the streets for a third day of protests. (BBC)
2011–2012 Bahraini uprising: Opposition leaders and activists say reforms proposed by KingHamad bin Isa Al Khalifa are "cosmetic" and will do little to stop the uprising. (Al Jazeera)
US Coast Guard icebreakerUSCGC Healy, prepares to deliver fuel to Nome, Alaska. A fall storm had blocked an earlier fuel delivery, leaving the city facing fuel shortages. (AP via Google)
Three trapped survivors are rescued from the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia, over 24 hours after it ran aground off the coast of Italy. Two corpses are also found, bringing the known death toll of the incident to five. (BBC)
2012 Republican Party presidential primaries and will endorse rival candidate Mitt Romney, according to media reports. (CNN)(BBC)
Science
Earth's atmosphere after a failed mission to the Martian moon Phobos. The 13-ton spacecraft disintegrates over the southern Pacific Ocean at approximately 16:45 UTC. China's first Mars probe, Yinghuo-1, which was launched together with Fobos-Grunt, is also destroyed. (BBC)(Spaceflight 101)
Standard & Poors credit rating agency lowers its long-term credit rating on the European Financial Stability Facility, the eurozone's bailout fund to help indebted European countries with their finances, from AAA to AA+ following the downgrade of France and Austria, who are two of the fund's backers. (FT)
The online shoe retailer
hackers, and has warned its customers to change their passwords. (The Guardian)
Kim Jong-un, predicts the regime will fall if reforms are not made soon. (UPI)
Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng orders an investigation into a guerrilla-style standoff with farmers who laid land mines and firing improvised shotguns amid a land eviction. (Straits Times)
Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, California, close to where a man's severed head was recently discovered. Los Angeles police continue their search for more body parts connected with the case. (Huffington Post)
Federal prosecutors in the
Dell Inc., alleging that the ring made a criminal profit of nearly $62 million. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
Protests against
Protect IP Act
:
Several major websites, including
undergo blackouts in protest against controversial internet legislation proposed by the United States Congress. The two pieces of legislation in question are designed to combat online piracy, but are feared to inadvertently threaten online innovation and freedom of speech. (New York Times)
Yousuf Raza Gilani, appears before Pakistan's Supreme Court, facing contempt proceedings that could see him barred from holding public office if found guilty. (BBC)
Around 2,000 women in Malawi stage a protest against attacks on women wearing trousers, who were stripped in the streets by unemployed youths and street vendors. (The Telegraph)
a series of co-ordinated bombing attacks in Kano, Nigeria, rises to more than 140. The attacks, which targeted police stations across the city, are attributed to Islamist group Boko Haram. (The Guardian)
Disasters
Costa Concordia disaster: The body of a woman is discovered by search teams aboard the stricken cruise shipCosta Concordia, bringing the confirmed death toll of the ship's capsizing to 12. Rescue efforts continue apace, as it is feared the ship may soon slip into deeper waters off the Italian coast. (MSNBC)
Law and crime
Under new guidelines to come into force from April 30, clinics which charge for pregnancy services, including abortions, will be able to advertise on radio and television in the United Kingdom, after the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice ruled there was no justification for barring such clinics from advertising their services. (BBC)
Floods in Mozambique cut off the country's main north-south motorway. (IOL)
Law and crime
Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, who indicted the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998, is put on trial for supposedly overstepping his powers after he tried to investigate the disappearance of 114,000 people between 1936 and 1975 during the reign of Francisco Franco. (BBC)
The Democratic Republic of the Congo's main opposition leader condemns parliamentary elections as rigged and calls for a general strike on Monday in protest at his house arrest. (BBC)
In the
Council of Ministers vote in favor of a ban on the Burqa, an outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions. (DutchNews)
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)
Greece rejects outright German proposals for direct European Union control of the country's financial affairs, expressing opposition to further outside interference. (BBC)
Pakistani Army suffering seven casualties and another 10 soldiers killed. (AFP via Google News)
An Afghan woman was killed by her husband and mother-in-law 3 months after giving birth to her third daughter after not producing a son. (New York Times)
