Top story: An attack by a female suicide bomber at the newly reopened National Theater in Mogadishu on Wednesday killed at least 10 people, including the heads of Somalia's Olympic committee and soccer federation, according to the BBC. AFP reports that the explosion took place as Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali was delivering a speech to mark the first anniversary of the country's satellite television network. The prime minister appears to have escaped unharmed.
The Islamic militant group al-Shabab, which retreated from the Somali capital in August but has continued to carry out attacks on the presidential palace and other locations, claimed responsibility for today's bombing.
The blast shatters a period of relative calm and cultural resurgence in Mogadishu -- one documented today by the New York Times in an article on the capital's "remarkable comeback." The Times notes that "Somali singers just held their first concert in more than two decades at the National Theater, which used to be a weapons depot and then a national toilet." Today it is a scene of carnage.
Russia on Syria: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Western and Arab leaders of undermining Kofi Annan's peace plan in Syria by sending money and communications equipment to opposition fighters, who Lavrov said could not defeat the Syrian army even if they were "armed to the teeth."
Europe
- French police detained 10 suspected Islamic militants in raids across France.
- Serbian President Boris Tadic is resigning so that he can seek reelection in May.
- James Murdoch stepped down as chairman of BSkyB amid the ongoing phone hacking scandal.
Asia
- Afghanistan and the United States are close to striking a deal to continue night raids with more oversight by Afghan authorities, amid reports of deadly attacks against NATO troops and Afghans in the north.
- The first U.S. Marines are arriving in the northern Australian city of Darwin as part of Washington's pivot toward the Pacific region.
- Southeast Asian leaders called on Western countries to lift sanctions on Myanmar after the country's recent by-elections.
Middle East
- Clashes between militias from rival towns in Western Libya killed at least 22 people.
- Turkey has put the two surviving leaders of a 1980 military coup -- including former Turkish President Kenan Evren -- on trial.
- The International Criminal Court declined a request by the Palestinian Authority to investigate alleged Israeli war crimes during the 2008 offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
Africa
- Coup leaders in Mali proposed a national convention on the country's future and suggested they may charge the overthrown president with treason and financial misconduct.
- Thousands of protesters in Mauritania's capital demanded that the president resign and make way for democratic elections.
- The African National Congress has condemned expelled youth leader Julius Malema for calling South African President Jacob Zuma a "dictator."
Americas
- Soldiers and police officers released by Colombia's FARC rebels are speaking out about their captivity.
- The United Kingdom has sent its most powerful warship to the Falkland Islands on what British officials claim is a routine deployment.
- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
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