Current events of 31 March 2008 (2008-03-31) (Monday) edit history watch

One of Mexico's most prolific serial killers, Juana Barraza, nicknamed the Mataviejitas (Little Old Lady Killer), receives multiple life sentences for the murders of at least 11 women. (BBC News) The New York City Council approved a measure urging state lawmakers to vote in favor of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to charge drivers to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street. (The New York Times) Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Šutanovac accuses allies of Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica of coordinating and leading anti-Western riots in Belgrade and Kosovo. (The International Herald Tribune) The Italian city of Milan is selected to host the 2015 World Exposition after winning 86 to 65 in a vote against Turkish İzmir. (Reuters via Yahoo! News) War in Somalia (2008): Somali Islamists have seized control of a central town after clashes with government forces that left 11 people dead, residents and Islamists said. (France 24) French liquor group Pernod Ricard is buying Vin & Sprit, the maker of Absolut Vodka, for SEK 55 billion ($9.24 billion). (MarketWatch) The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission starts releasing results of the Zimbabwean parliamentary election, 2008 and Zimbabwean presidential election, 2008 with the Opposition Movement for Democratic Change claiming victory on the basis of unofficial results. (BBC News)