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March 2008 is the third month of the current leap year. It began on a Saturday and will end after 31 days on a Monday. It is the current month.
International holidays
St Patrick's Day has been moved from March 17 to March 15 in 2008. In addition, the Feast of the Annunciation has been moved from March 25 to March 31 for this year, so as not to conflict with Easter Week. See the main articles on these holidays for more information.
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- The remains of Padre Pio, the Capuchin monk who died in 1968 after living for decades with inexplicable, bleeding wounds on his hands and feet, are exhumed. (AP via International Herald Tribune)
- Iran considers shutting down private access to Internet service during its legislative elections. (International Herald Tribune)
- The U.N. Security Council approves a third round of sanctions against Iran with near unanimous support. (AP via Yahoo! News)
- A U.S. Navy submarine conducts at least one missile strike using Tomahawk cruise missiles in Somalia. The attack was aimed at Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, an al-Qaeda terrorist. (AFP via Google News) (AP via Yahoo! News) (CNN)
- A Pentagon report to the United States Congress states that the Peoples Republic of China's reluctance to explain the extent and purpose of its military buildup poses a risk to stability in Asia. (AP via Google News)
- Androulla Vasiliou replaces Markos Kyprianou as European Commissioner for Health. (European Council)
- Earth Liberation Front sets fires to five model luxury homes in Woodinville, Washington in an act of eco-terrorism. (CNN) (AP via Yahoo! News) (KIRO-TV)
- A gunman opens fire at a Wendy's restaurant in West Palm Beach, Florida, killing one person and critically wounding three others before committing suicide. (ABC News) (AP via Yahoo! News)
- Albertans go to the polls in a provincial general election, electing an eleventh straight Progressive Conservative government. (CBC)
- The bodies of six people are found in a Memphis, Tennessee home. Two of the dead are children, while three others remain in critical condition. (ABC News)
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- The discovery of the Rings of the Saturnian moon Rhea, the first known rings around a moon, is announced. (NASA)
- The United States Senate passes legislation providing for more rigorous inspection of toys and other playthings imported into the United States. (AP via USA Today)
- At least eight people, including four children, are killed and dozens wounded in a shooting attack on the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem. (AP via WTVJ)
- At least 54 people die and 130 are injured as two bombs explode in Baghdad, Iraq. (BBC News)
- Viktor Bout, one of the world’s most notorious arms dealers, is arrested at a hotel in Thailand. (The New York Times)
- Paul Burrell, Princess Diana's butler, refuses to be questioned about whether he lied to the inquest into her death in 1997. (Reuters)
- A bomb causes minor damage to the door of a U.S. military recruiting center in Times Square, New York City. (Reuters)
- Philippine authorities arrest three people accused of plotting terrorist attacks on foreign embassies in Manila. (BBC News)
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- The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces a major expansion of efforts to fight smog in cities and towns throughout the United States. (Associated Press)
- The total amount of digital information is estimated at 281 exabytes in 2007, exceeding available data storage for the first time. (Ars Technica), (IDC via EMC)
- Crude oil futures contracts end trading at a new closing high of $109.92 a barrel after earlier topping $110 a barrel for the first time. (MarketWatch)
- Israeli commandos kill four militants on the West Bank including three members of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine. (Reuters)
- Sweden’s largest lake, the Vänern, which is also the third largest lake in Europe, will be lowered by 15 centimeters, in order to avoid flooding. (Expressen)
- Southwest Airlines grounds 41 jets after the FAA discovers the airline failed to inspect its Boeing 737s for structural flaws during 2006 and 2007.(Reuters)
- The last French veteran of World War I, Lazare Ponticelli, an Italian immigrant who lied about his age to join the French Foreign Legion and fight in the trenches, dies at 110. (BBC)
- French Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner and his Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt pronounce their support for Serbian membership of the European Union. (Reuters)
- Chinese police fire tear gas to disperse protesters during the second day of demonstrations by Buddhist monks in Lhasa, Tibet demanding the region's independence. (AFP)
- Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer resigns effective March 17 amid a prostitution ring scandal. He will be replaced by David Paterson, the first African American and legally blind person to hold this position. (Yahoo Finance)
- A gunman opens fire at a bank in McComb, Mississippi, killing two people, before forcing his wife into a car and driving away, later killing her and committing suicide. (WAPT)
- A man under investigation for the sexual abuse of children at an orphanage in Sofia, Bulgaria, opens fire on teenage witnesses, killing one and wounding two others before committing suicide. (MSNBC)
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Scheduled events
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