March 24, 2012 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 15 Kurdish militants, all women, are killed by Turkish security forces in south-eastern Bitlis Province. The women were members of the PKK. (BBC)
- 30 people are killed across Syria as Syrian Army tanks storm the town of Saraqeb and are met by resistance from Syrian Army defectors. (Ynet News)
- The African Union deploys a 5,000-strong force in the hope of catching or killing warlord Joseph Kony. (BBC)
Disasters
- Six children and two adults are killed in a house fire in Charleston, West Virginia, United States.(USA Today)
- A small piece of Kosmos 2251 satellite debris from the 2009 satellite collision safely passes by the International Space Station, allowing the six Expedition 30 crew members on board the orbiting complex to exit their Soyuz spacecraft and resume normal activities. (NASA Television)
International relations
- Following the 2012 Mali coup d'état, Canada and Denmark suspends aid to Mali. (CBC News)(CPH Post)
Law and crime
- At least one person is killed and 18 injured after clashes in Port Said between Egyptian security forces after the Al-Masry Club is banned for two seasons from the Egyptian Premier League following the Port Said Stadium disaster. (Al Jazeera)
- China announces phase-out practice of taking and selling organs from executed prisoners. (MSNBC)(New York Times)(Wall Street Journal)
Politics
- Voters in the Australian state of Queensland go to the polls for a state election, with the Liberal National Party led by Campbell Newman winning government in a landslide. (Brisbane Courier-Mail) (Brisbane Times)
- Voters in the US state of Louisiana go to the polls for the Louisiana Republican primary with Rick Santorum winning. (Fox News), (BBC)
- The Sunday Times releases a video showing British Conservative Party co-treasurer Peter Cruddas allegedly offering undercover reporters access to UK Prime Minister David Cameron for £250,000. (BBC) (Sky News)
- Former United States Vice President Dick Cheney receives a heart transplant from an unknown donor. (CBC)
- Thomas Mulcair wins the election to replace Jack Layton as leader of Canada's New Democratic Party. He becomes the Leader of the Official Opposition. (CBC)