The U.S. Coast Guard patrols near the cruise ship Carnival Triumph in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship was left adrift after an engine room fire. Now problems have been reported aboard the Carnival Dream.US COAST GUARD/Reuters
A summary of what you need to know today, compiled by The Globe's news desk on March 14, 2013.
Problems for another Carnival cruise ship
A month after a Carnival cruise liner became stranded for five days in the Gulf of Mexico, another one of the company's ships is reporting problems with its equipment, The Associated Press reports. The captain of the Carnival Dream, which is docked in St. Maarten, reported possible trouble with the ship's propulsion system to the U.S. Coast Guard, a spokeswoman for the agency said today. Passengers on the ship say there are power outages and overflowing toilets, CNN reports.
Francis to celebrate first mass as pope
The newly installed Pope Francis is to celebrate his inaugural mass today at the Sistine Chapel as Vatican watchers parse his homily for clues to his papal priorities. On his first full day as leader of the Catholic church, Jorge Bergoglio also slipped out to pray at a basilica and stopped by his Vatican-owned residence to pick up his luggage, reportedly asking whether he needed to pay the bill.
Physicists confident 'God particle' discovered
After reviewing all the data from last year, physicists are now confident they have discovered a long-sought subatomic particle known as a Higgs boson, The Associated Press reports. The particle, which is known as the "God particle", would explain why matter has mass and is considered a missing cornerstone of physics.
Israel reaches deal on coalition government
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached agreement over his new government, and a coalition agreement is likely to be signed today. "It's apparently the end. Or actually the start," Yair Lapid, the head of the new centrist Yesh Atid party, wrote on Facebook.
RIM stock surges on record BlackBerry order
Investors will be closely watching the stock of Research in Motion today after the company announced an order of one million new BlackBerry 10 smartphones, its largest single order ever, The Globe's Iain Marlow reports. The company's volatile shares surged more than 8 per cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange on the news Wednesday.
Jill Mahoney