Portal:Current events/2013 February 24

Current events of February 24, 2013 (2013-02-24) (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian civil war: French freelance photographer Olivier Voisin, who was wounded near Idlib in January 2013, dies in Antakya, Turkey, after surgery. (France24) Northern Mali conflict: 10 Chadian soldiers and 28 Islamist insurgents are killed in heavy fighting in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains of northern Mali. (Reuters) War in Afghanistan: Two guards and an Afghan police officer are killed in coordinated suicide bombing attacks in Jalalabad and Logar Province in eastern Afghanistan, while a third such attack on the National Directorate of Security in Kabul is foiled. (Los Angeles Times) President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai orders the United States to leave Wardak province amid allegations of torture associated with US special forces. (BBC) Nigerian Sharia conflict: At least six people die in an attack in Ngalda, Yobe State, Nigeria. (AP via Google) M23 rebellion: Eleven African nations including all the members of the African Great Lakes region sign a United Nations brokered peace deal for the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (BBC) Arts and culture The 85th Academy Awards are held at the Dolby Theatre in the Los Angeles district of Hollywood. (CNN) Argo wins the Academy Award for Best Picture. (BBC) Ang Lee wins the Academy Award for Best Director for Life of Pi. (AP) Daniel Day-Lewis wins his third Academy Award for Best Actor for Lincoln. (Reuters) Jennifer Lawrence wins the Academy Award for Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook. (AFP via The Australian) Health and environment Anemia drug Omontys is recalled due to reports of fatal anaphylactic reactions in 0.02% of patients. (Medpage Today) Politics and elections Voters in Italy go to the polls for the first day of a general election. (Business Insider) Nicos Anastasiades of the conservative Democratic Rally party wins the Cypriot presidential election. (Bloomberg) Raúl Castro is elected by the National Assembly of People's Power to a second term as the President of Cuba with Miguel Díaz-Canel announced as the First Vice-President of the Council of State. (Reuters) Science and technology A new study finds that chimpanzees will solve puzzles for the fun of it. (The Telegraph) Sport In stock car racing, Jimmie Johnson wins the 2013 Daytona 500. Pole winner Danica Patrick finishes eighth, marking the highest ever finish by a woman. (USA Today) In association football, Swansea City beat Bradford City 5–0 to win the 2013 Football League Cup Final. (BBC) Derby della Madonnina: Inter Milan and AC Milan battle to a 1–1 draw in their 2012–13 Serie A local derby. AC Milan's striker Mario Balotelli was the target of racial abuse from fans of his ex-club Inter Milan. (Goal.com) (BBC) Slovenian alpine ski racer Tina Maze secures the ladies overall title in the 2013 Alpine Skiing World Cup with nine races still remaining. (AP via The New York Times) (Eurosport)