March 12, 2015 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- A U.S. drone strike in Somalia near the town of Bardhere kills the mastermind al-Shabab terrorist Aden Garaar responsible for the September 2013 three-day siege Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya, in which 67 people were killed by four gunmen. (AP)
Business and economy
- The United Steelworkers union and Royal Dutch Shell negotiate a contract, pending union ratification, to end of a six-week strike that began February 1 that has affected twelve U.S. refineries. Previously, the strike had been cited as a reason for recent oil price increases. (AP)
- In New York City, U.S. district court judge Thomas Griesa expands the force of his existing remedial rulings in the ongoing litigation over the Argentine debt restructuring, blocking planned bond payments by Citigroup. The Citigroup processing of payments would violate a requirement that Argentina treat bondholders equally. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- 2014–15 South Pacific cyclone season
- Vanuatu prepares for Tropical Cyclone Pam which is predicted to reach Category 5 on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale. (ABC Australia via Weatherzone)
- 2014–15 Australian region cyclone season
- Tropical Cyclone Olwyn intensifies with the potential to reach Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale before making landfall in Western Australia's Pilbara region on March 13. (Perth Now)
- The roof of a cement factory under construction collapses killing at least eight people and trapping dozens more in Mongla, Bangladesh. (BBC) (ABC)
Law and crime
- Ferguson unrest
- An unknown gunman shoots two policemen in front of the Ferguson city police headquarters in the U.S. state of Missouri. (AP)
- The anti-graft agency of the Communist Party of China (CCFDI) investigates former Urumqi party chief Li Zhi. He is the first official investigated from Xinjiang since the campaign began in 2013. (SCMP)
Science and technology
- CERN's Large Hadron Collider, which went into shutdown for upgrades to increase beam energy, will resume operation later this month with the hope of creating more Higgs boson particles. (ZD Net)
Sports
- FIFA expels Zimbabwe Football Association from qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup for failing to pay former head coach José Claudinei arrears. (FIFA)