March 24, 2013 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War on Terror:
- A suicide bomber strikes a Pakistani military checkpoint in the tribal district of North Waziristan, killing at least 17 soldiers. (Al Jazeera)
- 2012–13 Central African Republic conflict:
- Rebels in the Central African Republic reportedly take the presidential palace in Bangui, as President François Bozizé flees to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
- Golan Heights clashes (2012–present):
- Israeli soldiers fire an anti-tank missile at a Syrian Army post after coming under fire for the second time in 12 hours in the Golan Heights area. (Al Jazeera) (The Times of Israel)
- Nigerian Sharia conflict:
- 25 people are killed in coordinated attacks by unidentified men armed with machine guns, bombs and rocket-propelled grenades in Northern Nigeria Adamawa State. (Indian Times)
Business and economy
- 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis: Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades begins a series of emergency meetings in Brussels in a last-ditch attempt to finalize a bailout. (BBC)
International relations
- Bolivia's President Evo Morales vows to take a border dispute with Chile to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. (AFP via GlobalPost)
- US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Iraq on an unannounced visit to press for greater co-operation over the conflict in Syria. (BBC)
Law and crime
- American politician Jessica Upshaw dies, reportedly after being shot in the head in the small town of Mendenhall, Mississippi. (CBS News)
Politics and elections
- 2013 in Pakistan:
- Tens of thousands gather in Lahore as Pakistan's cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan launches an election bid for the country's general elections in May 2013. (Al Jazeera)
- Mir Hazar Khan Khoso is appointed as interim Prime Minister of Pakistan ahead of general elections in May 2013. (AFP via The Express Tribune)
- Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf leaves Dubai for Karachi, ending his self-imposed exile and defying death threats from the Taliban. (BBC)
- Syria's opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib resigns from the Syrian National Coalition after inconclusive talks with the European Union. (Al Jazeera)
- Hundreds of thousands of people march in Paris against proposals to legalise same-sex marriage in France with violent clashes after police deny marchers access to the Champs-Élysées. (AP via NBC News)
Sport
- In Formula One, Sebastian Vettel wins the 2013 edition of the Malaysian Grand Prix ahead of Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton. (BBC)
- In cricket, India defeats Australia by six wickets in the final test match to clean-sweep the 2013 Border–Gavaskar Trophy 4–0. (BBC) (ESPN Cricinfo)
- In road bicycle racing, Daniel Martin wins 2013 Volta a Catalunya, the fifth stage of the 2013 UCI World Tour season, ahead of Joaquim Rodríguez. (The Guardian) (Cycling News)
- In curling, Scotland wins the 2013 World Women's Curling Championship defeating Sweden 6–5 in the final. (BBC) (WWCC2013)
- In cross-country skiing, Norway's Petter Northug and Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk win the overall 2012–13 FIS Cross-Country World Cup titles. (AP via CBC)
- In association football, the Costa Rican Football Federation files an official protest with FIFA requesting that their national team's 0–1 loss to the USA on March 22 in near-blizzard conditions at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, be replayed. (AP via ESPN)