Portal:Current events/2013 March 16

• British Lance Corporal James Ashworth, who died in southern Afghanistan in 2012 while protecting his colleagues from a grenade blast, is to be awarded the Victoria Cross. (BBC) (The Telegraph)

• 2012–2013 Cypriot financial crisis: A deal is reached between Cyprus and the EC–ECB–IMF troika. The terms of the €10 billion "bailout" package cause widespread anger among Cypriots who queue from early morning to withdraw their savings as it emerges that up to 10% of each citizen's deposits are to be wiped out to raise billions. (BBC) (RTÉ News) (The Guardian)

• At least 24 Pakistan Army soldiers are killed and 5 are injured after their bus crashes into a ravine in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AAP via News Limited)
• A tour bus carrying the Seton Hill University women's lacrosse team veers off the Pennsylvania Turnpike and strikes a tree near Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States, killing the team's head coach, her unborn child, and the bus driver. (CNN) (USA Today)
• A United States helicopter crashes near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, killing one coalition service member and injuring another. (AP via News24)

• The United States scraps the final stage of its European missile shield. (BBC)
• The United States will spend $1 billion to deploy additional ground-based missile interceptors on the West Coast as part of efforts to enhance the nation's ability to defend itself from attack by North Korea. (CNN) (The New York Times)

• A group of eight men allegedly rape a 39-year-old Swiss tourist and assault her husband in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. (SAPA via News24)
• Seven people are shot and wounded at a family gathering in an apparent gang-related drive-by shooting in Galt, California, United States. (The Sacramento Bee)

• Voters in Zimbabwe go to the polls to vote on a new constitution with both major parties Zanu-PF and Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai supporting the new constitution. (BBC)
• In Italy, Laura Boldrini, member of the left-wing party Left Ecology Freedom, is elected President of the Chamber of Deputies. Pietro Grasso, a former anti-mafia magistrate and member of the centre-left Democratic Party, is elected President of the Senate. (La Repubblica)

• Giving his first audience at the Vatican, Pope Francis tells journalists he wants "a poor Church, for the poor". (BBC)

• Soyuz TMA-06M: Three astronauts return safely to Earth from the International Space Station aboard a Russian capsule. (AFP via News24)

• In rugby union:
  • Wales defeat England 30–3 in Cardiff to win the 2013 Six Nations Championship. (Sky News) (France 24) (The Guardian)
  • Cyprus defeat Bulgaria 79–10 in the European Nations Cup Second Division to earn their 18th consecutive Test victory. This at least ties the all-time record for consecutive Test wins, and (depending on the source) may be a new record. (ESPN Scrum)
• In figure skating, Kim Yuna of South Korea wins the Ladies Championship at the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships. (Yonhap)