1. French Killer of Seven Dies after Shootout. Mohammed Merah, who police believe to be responsible for the shooting deaths of three off-duty French paratroopers and four civilians at a Jewish school, died on March 22. A French marksman shot him once in the head after he shot repeatedly at police who were entering his apartment. Police had surrounded the building for over thirty hours, trying to bring about a peaceful end to the standoff. Merah had carried out three attacks in and around the city of Toulouse, the most recent of which led to the deaths of three children and a rabbi. Merah claimed to be trained by al-Qaeda while vising the tribal areas of Pakistan, where extremism is most prevalent. Members of Merah’s family have been arrested for complicity in the attacks. (Source: BBC)

2. President of Mali Deposed in Coup. Soldiers in Mali seized power from the president on March 22 after storming the presidential palace. Military leaders closed the country’s borders and declared themselves in control of the country’s public services, including the police force. Low-level officers led the coup d’état against the president in response to what they saw as ineffective handling of a separatist conflict in the country. The army has been underequipped in the fight against rebels. Military leaders have promised elections, but did not specify when they would be held or under what conditions. (Source: Reuters)

3. Reports of Russian Involvement in Syria Amid Crackdown. Russia’s Ministry of Defense confirmed the presence of Russian troops at the Syrian port of Tartus, claiming that they were part of a mission to assist the navy’s anti-piracy operations. Russia had previously vetoed a resolution which would have condemned the Syrian government for its crackdown against pro-democracy protesters. Estimates of the death toll vary; the Syrian government claims that about 6,000 were killed in the violence, while the United Nations places the death toll at around 10,000. (Source: Fox News)

4. Obama Nominates New World Bank Chief. President Obama nominated Jim Yong Kim, the president of Dartmouth College, to be the new head of the World Bank. The announcement came as a surprise to those familiar with the World bank, as Kim is not well known in the field of finance or politics. Kim was the president of the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS department prior to becoming the president of Dartmouth in 2009. Since 1944, when it was created, the World Bank has always been headed by an American. The World Bank is tasked with issuing development loans to its 187 member-states. (Source: The Los Angeles Times)

5. Pope Benedict XVI Begins Latin America Tour in Mexico. On March 23, Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Guanajuato to a crowd of thousands. This will begin the Pope’s lengthy tour of the predominately Roman Catholic countries of Latin America. While in Mexico, the Pope denounced the drug violence that has defined much of the nation in recent years, stating that it was vital “to fight this evil.” The Pope will also be visiting Cuba in the wake of earlier remarks that Communism “did not work” for the island nation, which has been under Communist leadership since the late 1950s. (Source: BBC)