Portal:Current events/2013 March 11

• War in Afghanistan (2001–2021):
  • Two US and three Afghan soldiers are killed in Wardak Province in the latest insider attack against coalition forces. In a separate incident, two Afghan civilians are shot dead by American soldiers after failing to stop at a checkpoint near Kabul. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
• Akashat ambush:
  • The insurgent group Islamic State of Iraq claims responsibility for ambushing a convoy of Syrian Army soldiers on March 4. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)

• The European Union bans the sale of cosmetics developed through animal testing. (BBC)
• Italian stocks lose value after Fitch Ratings downgrades the country's creditworthiness. (The Wall Street Journal)

• Five U.S. service members are killed after a helicopter crash during a rainstorm in Daman district of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. (BBC) (CNN)
• An EA-6B Prowler military plane crashes about 50 miles west of Spokane, Washington, United States, and kills three American Navy crew members. (CNN)
• Three minor earthquakes strike Southern California, United States. (Fox News)
• 2013 Huangpu River dead pigs incident: More than 12,000 dead pigs are found rotting in the Huangpu River that supplies Shanghai, China, with drinking water. (The Guardian) (BBC) (BusinessWeek)

• Five species of shark and two species of manta ray receive international protection as part of CITES. (Environmental News Service)
• A new study suggests that regular aspirin use may reduce the risk of melanoma in women. (Counsel & Heal)
• A study of mummies concludes that heart disease was common among ancient people. (ABC News)

• North Korea breaks the 1953 armistice with South Korea and cuts the phone line between the two countries, after United States and South Korea have begun military drills. North Korean officials say that the army is ready to attack at any given order. (BBC)

• 13 people are shot and injured during a drive-by shooting in Washington, D.C., United States. (International Business Times) (The Washington Times)
• Ram Singh, one of the six alleged rapists in the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, is found dead in Tihar Jail. (BBC)
• Former Mayor of Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick is convicted on corruption charges. (The Guardian)
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accuses the state of Illinois of securities fraud by misleading investors about the health of the state's public pension fund. (New York Times)
• A New York state judge invalidates a New York City ban on the sale of soft drinks larger than 16 ounces that was set to take effect on March 12. The office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg indicates it will appeal. (CNN)
• Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce are each jailed for eight months for perverting the course of justice. (BBC)

• Interim President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro files papers to stand in the presidential election on April 14 with Henrique Capriles Radonski standing as an opposition candidate. (CNN)
• Hungary's parliament passes a series of constitutional changes to counteract previous court rulings. Critics claim the move undermines the rule of law. (BBC)
• The results of the Falkland Islands sovereignty referendum are announced with 99.8% of voters supporting the Islands staying as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom. (BBC) (AFP via Google News)

• Astronomers announce that the newly discovered double star system WISE 1049-5319 is the third-closest neighbor to the Solar System. (Ars Technica)
• A group of astrobiologists including Chandra Wickramasinghe say that algae-like structures inside a Polonnaruwa meteorite, that fell on December 29, 2012, in Sri Lanka, are clear evidence of panspermia, the idea that life exists throughout the Universe. (MIT Technology Review) (arXiv)

• English football club Reading fires coach Brian McDermott after a fourth successive loss in the 2012–13 Premier League. (Sky Sports) (AP via USA Today)