Portal:Current events/February 2011

2011

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

February 2011 was the second month of that common year. The month, which began on a Tuesday, ended on a Monday after 28 days.

Portal:Current events

This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from February 2011.

Current events of February 1, 2011 (2011-02-01) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Egyptian protests Protesters plan a "million-man march" on President Hosni Mubarak's presidential palace in Cairo starting at Tahrir Square. (Voice of America) (Al Jazeera) At least two million people gather in Tahrir Square in the biggest demonstration since the popular revolution against the Mubarak regime began. (The Hindu) (Al Jazeera) (The New York Times) (AFP via The Sydney Morning Herald) The government closes down Egyptian National Railways as well as Internet and mobile phone services. (CNN) Mubarak addresses the nation to tell the people of his refusal to leave Egypt, though promises to resign at the end of his term. He tells the people of Egypt that he is "proud of his achievements over the years in serving Egypt and its people". (Reuters) (AFP via The Sydney Morning Herald) (Al Jazeera) (ABC News) Protesters vow to stay in Tahrir Square until Mubarak goes. (Jerusalem Post) International response to the 2011 Egyptian protests: President of the United States Barack Obama urges Hosni Mubarak not to run for the presidency again, though stops short of telling him to resign immediately. He also called for the transition to democracy "to begin now". (BBC) (The New York Times) (The Guardian), (Washington Post) Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan completely backs the people of Egypt in their battle against the Mubarak regime. Newspapers had previously criticised him for his lack of a response to the revolution there. (Al Jazeera) Google and Twitter team up to build a voice-to-tweet system to allow Egyptians to tweet despite the closure of Internet and mobile phone systems. (Fortune) Al Jazeera reports that its signal is being jammed in parts of the Middle East, days after Egypt shut the news network's operations there. (Reuters) Abdullah of Jordan sacks the Jordanian government amid protests over prices in the country. (Al Jazeera) (Xinhua) (M&C) A Buddhist family of four is shot killed by suspected Muslim separatists seeking autonomy from predominantly Buddhist Thailand in the latest attack in an escalation of violence in the southern Thailand. (Reuters) Business and economy The owner of China's fourth-most visited website, Sohu.com Inc, posted a better-than-estimated 41 percent gain in profit after the company raised prices and boosted services such as video sharing. (China Daily) A court in London bars the oil company BP from entering into a planned joint venture and share swap with Rosneft, a state-controlled Russian company. (Reuters) Disasters Cyclone Yasi The Australian state of Queensland evacuates off-shore islands and low-lying parts of North Queensland ahead of Cyclone Yasi which is expected to hit the state as a Category 4 tropical cyclone late on Wednesday or early Thursday. (Courier Mail) (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Cyclone Yasi is upgraded to Category 5 and is predicted to be the worst storm to hit Australia in generations. (Sydney Morning Herald) US blizzard The United States National Weather Service issues a blizzard warning for nine states in the Midwestern United States with a storm affecting a total of 30 states from Texas to Maine. (Chicago Tribune), (Bloomberg), (AP), (Washington Post), (AFP via Adelaide Now) The storm is expected to affect as much as a third of the U.S. population, and has already created dangerous travel conditions and forced the cancellation of thousands of flights and the closure of major interstate highways.(Reuters)(VOA) Chicago's Midway International Airport closes due to the snow with 1,300 flights cancelled at O'Hare Airport. (Chicago Sun Times) The Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker declares a state of emergency in southern Wisconsin as a result of the blizzard. (Channel 3000) The Shinmoedake volcano on the Japanese island of Kyūshū erupts again with its biggest explosion since becoming active again. (AP via Google News) Indonesian police arrest three people in connection with a fire on a ferry last week that killed 27 people. (AP via Minneapolis Star Tribune) International relations Shanghai Cooperation Organization to mark 10th anniversary in Astana, Kazakhstan. (Rian) The United States urges Iran to halt executions after the hanging of a Dutch-Iranian woman, Zahra Bahrami, accused of being drug smuggler; the U.S. State Department expresses concern that Iran "continues to deny its citizens their human rights" and that cases, trials, and sentences continue to proceed "without transparency and the due process rights enshrined in Iran's own constitution." (CNN) North and South Korea agree to hold working-level military talks on 8 February, their first since the attack on Yeonpyeong Island in November last year. (Yonhap) Palestine is recognised within its 1967 borders by Suriname.(Maan News)(Jerusalem Post) Law and crime U.S. soldier Bradley Manning, the alleged whistleblower who is thought to have revealed secret U.S. government documents to the international public, is reported to be held in solitary confinement awaiting trial by the United States for seven months now, treatment which the United Nations deems a form of torture when used for such prolonged periods. (Al Jazeera) The Karmapa Lama, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, Tibetan Buddhism's third-highest lama, is questioned by police after large amounts of foreign money are found at his monastery in Dharamsala, northern India. Some Indian media allege he is acting as a spy for China. (Asia Times Online) Politics and elections Irish general election, 2011: Brian Cowen resigns by requesting the dissolution of the 30th Dáil, allowing a general election to take place, the first such election of the eurozone debt crisis. (Reuters) (BBC) (RTÉ) (CNN) (The Guardian) 25 February is later announced as the date of the election. (RTÉ) In the wake of several recent deadly plane crashes in Iran, the Parliament of Iran passes a vote of no confidence in the country's Minister of Roads and Transportation Hamid Behbahani and impeaches him. (Press TV)(The Washington Post) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak cancel the appointment of Yoav Galant to the post of Israel Defense Forces chief. The announcement came after months of scandal surrounding his appointment due to allegations that he had illegally seized public lands near his home in Moshav Amikam, and after the State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss stated that Galant lied to in a sworn affidavit about exceeding his building rights.[1] [2] Science Russia starts a search for a missing military satellite launched into the wrong orbit. (Antara) Current events of February 2, 2011 (2011-02-02) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Egyptian protests: Egyptian protesters continue nationwide demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak for a ninth day. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian) Mohamed ElBaradei, an emerging leader of anti-regime protests, and other protesters say that Mubarak must leave Egypt by Friday at the latest to avoid further bloodshed and turmoil. (The Australian) The protestors increase their demands for the end of the Mubarak regime and are not impressed by Hosni Mubarak's promise to resign at the end of his current term. (Al Jazeera) Clashes occur in Cairo and Alexandria between supporters and opponents of President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak with one person dead and 700 injured. (BBC) (Euronews) (Fox News) (Al Jazeera) Mubarak supporters, rumored to be directed by the Mubarak regime, protest in central Cairo, Alexandria and other cities, attacking anti-government protestors with stones, knives and Molotov cocktails. (The Washington Post) Some supporters of the Mubarak regime ride horses and camels and attack anti-government protesters with whips. (AP via The Guardian) Two Molotov cocktails are thrown into the grounds of the Egyptian Museum. (The Guardian) The United Nations (Navi Pillay) believes as many as 300 people have been killed in Egypt over the last nine days. (Almasry Alyoum) Amr Moussa, Arab League Secretary General and a former Egyptian foreign minister, says he would "seriously" consider whether to seek the Egyptian presidency. (The Jerusalem Post) The Egyptian Army calls on protesters to "help restore normal life". (Reuters) Mohamed ElBaradei, of the Egyptian opposition, raises concerns that clashes in Cairo could escalate into a "bloodbath". (Los Angeles Times) Egyptian state television warns the people of Egypt to evacuate Tahrir Square in Cairo. (The Guardian) Internet access is partially restored in Egypt after a five-day blackout. (Al Jazeera) Al Jazeera urges Egyptian satellite company Nilesat to resume broadcasting its signal or face legal action. (Reuters) Al Arabiya journalist Ahmad Abdallah is reported missing but later found after being beaten by pro-Mubarak supporters. (The Guardian) Pro-Mubarak protestors attack CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and his crew. The attack is successfully filmed. (Huffington Post) (The Guardian) The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) compiles a list of members of the media who have come under attack in Egypt today. (The Guardian) (Committee to Protect Journalists) International response to the 2011 Egyptian protests: President of the United States Barack Obama makes his first comments on Egypt since President Hosni Mubarak announced he would step down before the next elections; Obama tells the people of Egypt "We hear your voice", and calls for an "orderly transition" of power that "must begin now". (The Jerusalem Post) United States Department of State spokesman P. J. Crowley is criticised after appealing for "all sides" in Egypt to "show restraint and avoid violence". (The Guardian) Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon warns against attacks on demonstrators while visiting the English cities of Oxford and London. (Reuters) (Bangkok Post) Other world leaders offer their views on the ongoing crisis in Egypt. (CNN) (Al Jazeera) 2011 Yemeni protests: President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh backtracks on his plan to rule Yemen for life and to then allow his son to inherit his rule during an emergency session of parliament ahead of tomorrow's "day of rage" against his three-decade rule. (Al Jazeera) (AP) (The Times of India) The army in Mauritania destroy a car packed with explosives outside the capital Nouakchott, killing three people suspected of being members of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. (BBC) (AFP via Google News) WikiLeaks reveals that the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation had launched an investigation of a previously unknown group of men believed to be involved in the September 11 attacks. (Daily Telegraph) At least two people are dead and ten injured following the explosion of a car bomb in a commercial area of the Pakistani town of Peshawar. (AP via Atlanta Journal Constitution) (Jerusalem Post) Arts and culture American rock duo The White Stripes announce that they are breaking up. (AP via ABC News America) Disasters Cyclone Yasi: The Australian state of Queensland braces for Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi predicted to be one of the most powerful in the nation's history. (Reuters) Airports in North Queensland including Cairns Airport and Townsville Airport are closed ahead of Cyclone Yasi. (New Zealand Stuff) Cyclone Yasi crosses northeastern Australia. (Al Jazeera) Over 60,000 people are evacuated in China's Yunnan Province following an earthquake. (Xinhua) (Jerusalem Post) Fourteen job seekers traveling home on the rooftop of an overcrowded train, are killed when they hit a low overhead bridge in northern India. (Times of India) (Jerusalem Post) Six thousand flights are cancelled in the United States following the January 31–February 2, 2011 North American winter storm. (AP via Centre Daily) A fire destroys a five-star Sheraton hotel in the Heping District of Shenyang, Liaoning, China, then the tallest building in Northeastern China, after midnight fireworks celebrating the Chinese New Year set ablaze flammable thermal insulation outside the hotel walls. Firefighters were unable to put out the blaze as ladders could not reach the higher storeys of the building, but no casualties or injuries were reported. (Sky News) (Xinhua) (RTHK English News) International relations The Sudanese government, in its first official reaction after preliminary results were announced indicating a landslide vote in favor of Southern Sudan's independence, agrees to accept the results; Vice-President Ali Osman Taha says the government intends "to pursue a policy of good neighbourly relations with the south". (The Australian) Awards for the WikiLeaks website and Julian Assange: Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is awarded the Sydney Peace Medal. (News Limited) A Norwegian MP nominates WikiLeaks for the Nobel Peace Prize, saying "Wikileaks have contributed to the struggle for human rights, democracy and freedom of speech globally, by exposing (among many other things) corruption, war crimes and torture — sometimes even conducted by allies of Norway". (Daily Nation) (Al Jazeera) (Reuters) Law and crime Colleen LaRose, known as "Jihad Jane", pleads guilty to participating in a terrorist plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist whose work offended many Muslims. (The Australian) The Indian Central Bureau of Investigation arrests former minister for communications A. Raja and other officials associated with the 2G spectrum scam. (DNA India) (Al Jazeera) United States federal judge Carl J. Barbier rules that Deepwater Horizon oil spill compensation fund administrator Ken Feinberg should advise people that he is working for BP. (AP via Newser) Politics and elections The parliament of Kazakhstan approves a bill giving the President the power to declare a snap presidential election. (RIA Novosti) (AFP via Google News) (Trend News Agency) The Palestinian Authority announces that it will hold local elections originally due to be held in June 2010. (Jerusalem Post) Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visits rural Jinzhai County in Jiangxi province to celebrate Chinese New Year with local farmers. (Xinhua) Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, announces a general election for November 26, giving an unusually long notice for poll. (The Australian) The President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, expands the Kremlin's human rights council and authorises it to investigate the cases of Sergei Magnitsky and Mikhail Khodorkovsky. (The Moscow Times) BBC executive Craig Oliver is chosen to replace Andy Coulson as British Prime Minister David Cameron's Director of Communications. (BBC) (The Guardian) The United States Senate votes down a repeal of healthcare reforms 47-51. (The Hill) Science Part of New Zealand's Pink and White Terraces, a natural wonder apparently destroyed in an eruption 125 years ago, has been rediscovered by scientists. (New Zealand Herald) South Korea orders the culling of three million animals to control foot and mouth disease. (Yonhap) NASA's Kepler Mission announces the discovery of a planetary system of six planets circulating the star Kepler-11. (Tha Indian) Sports Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe announces that he will come out of retirement to compete in the London Olympics in 2012. (The Australian) Japanese police investigate allegations of match fixing in professional sumo wrestling. (AP via Sacramento Bee) England and Manchester United football player Gary Neville announces his retirement. (Goal) Current events of February 3, 2011 (2011-02-03) (Thursday) Armed conflict and attacks 2011 Egyptian protests: Anti-government protestors continue to protest against the Mubarak regime for a tenth day. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian) Protesters detain 120 people with IDs linking them to the police or ruling party; most were attacking protesters at the time. (The Guardian) (Ynetnews) A tense standoff between supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak continues in Cairo, with at least three people killed and 1,500 injured in fighting on Wednesday. (CNN) (AP via PhilStar) (Sky News) At least three people are killed as a result of gunfire in Cairo's Tahrir Square. (AFP via Brisbane Times) (Al Jazeera) Egyptian prime minister Ahmad Shafiq says "sorry" for all the violence that has occurred in Tahrir Square and promises there will be no more. (Al Jazeera) Journalists from Al Jazeera and the BBC are among those targeted in fresh attacks from Mubarak regime "thugs". The UK's Channel 4 News reports that Mubarak's "secret police" are threatening journalists to keep off the streets of Cairo. (The Guardian) Prominent Egyptian blogger and anti-Mubarak activist sandmonkey is arrested and his blog is taken offline by authorities in Egypt. (The Guardian) (Hot Air) Egyptian state television forments the unrest by reporting that "Israeli spies" have infiltrated Cairo, leading to an increase in antisemitic sentiment among the pro-Mubarak forces attacking people and journalists on the streets. (Al Jazeera) (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) (Channel 4 News) Two Al Jazeera journalists are attacked on their way from the airport to central Cairo. (The Guardian) Nile TV (state television) journalist Shahira Amin, deputy head of the station, resigns after being threatened and intimidated; she tells Al Jazeera "I can't be part of the propaganda machine and I refuse to be a hypocrite", adding that she feels "liberated". (iloubnan) (Gulf News) Journalists from Al Jazeera and The Washington Post are arrested by Egyptian authorities; Swedish television loses contact with correspondent Bert Sundström. (M&C) (The Guardian) (The Washington Post) Representatives of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are arrested. (Amnesty International) (BBC) (The Guardian) Mobile phone firm Vodafone says the Egyptian authorities have hijacked its network to send unattributed text messages supporting the government. (BBC) Egypt's attorney-general bans several former ministers and Ahmed Ezz, a prominent member of the ruling party who resigned last week, from travelling abroad; their bank accounts are also frozen. (Al Jazeera) Video footage emerges on YouTube of a police van being driven at high speed into peacefully marching anti-regime protesters. (The Guardian) (Direct link) Four members of the April 6 Youth Movement, an opposition group known for organising events on Facebook, are arrested by Egyptian authorities. (The Guardian) (Wired) Hosni Mubarak breaks his silence to grant an interview to Christiane Amanpour of America's ABC News inside his palace. (The Guardian) (Reuters) (BBC) An ABC News crew are carjacked and threatened with decapitations by pro-Mubarak supporters. (The Guardian) (The Hollywood Reporter) (The Huffington Post) The United States Senate passes a motion supporting democracy in Egypt and calling on President Hosni Mubarak to begin transferring power. (Washington Post) 2011 Yemeni protests: Thousands of pro- and anti-government supporters demonstrate in Yemen over the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in a planned "day of rage". (Al Jazeera) 2010–2011 Algerian protests: President Abdelaziz Bouteflika vows to lift the country's state of emergency, in force since 1992, in the "very near future". (BBC) 2011 Syrian protests: Social media mobilises the people of Syria for rallies demanding freedom, human rights and the end to emergency law, scheduled for Friday and Saturday in front of the parliament in Damascus and at Syrian embassies internationally. (Al Jazeera) Gunmen open fire in Thailand's majority Muslim Pattani Province killing five people and injuring three people. (AFP via ABC News) (Thai News Agency) Awal Gul, an Afghan accused of being a Taliban base commander, who has been imprisoned without charge since 2002, dies while exercising at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. (Miami Herald) (BBC) Business and economy The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation announces that world food prices have risen to a record high. (FAO) (Reuters) (BBC) The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil rises to $103 following violent clashes in Egypt. (Reuters) Disasters Cyclone Yasi Cyclone Yasi hits North Queensland in Australia with the worst affected towns including Mission Beach, Tully, Cardwell and Innisfail. (Melbourne Age), (Herald Sun), (ABC News Australia) So far, there have been no reports of deaths or serious injury caused by the cyclone. (Sydney Morning Herald) (Al Jazeera) The cyclone is downgraded from a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone to a category 1 tropical cyclone. (News Limited) (The Sydney Morning Herald) Death toll of second blast reaches 18 in Ankara, Turkey. (TRT) (Anadolu Agency) (CNTV) Two people are killed and 223 injured in Beijing as a result of fireworks set off on the first day of the Chinese New Year. (Xinhua) Law and crime Italy's parliament rejects a search request by prosecutors investigating Silvio Berlusconi for having sexual intercourse with an under-age prostitute. (BBC) A former policeman questions the suicide verdict recorded in the 1979 death of French cabinet minister Robert Boulin, claiming he could not have drowned. His family believe he was murdered. (BBC) Politics and elections Lawmakers in Nepal vote to elect a new Prime Minister. (BBC) (Review Nepal) Lawmakers in Burma elect two out of three Vice Presidents, one of whom will become the President. (BBC) (One India) Haiti's presidential run-off candidates are named. They are former First Lady Mirlande Manigat and popular singer Michel Martelly. (BBC) (Reuters) Science and technology The world runs out of Internet Protocol Version 4 addresses. (Reuters) Protein folding is advanced by the announcement of a discovery of a key mechanism in the relationship of protein folding to surrounding water by Olivier Collet at Nancy University (Nancy-Université). (Technology Review) Current events of February 4, 2011 (2011-02-04) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Egyptian protests: Anti-government protesters demonstrate against the Mubarak regime for an eleventh day - the "Day of Departure". (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera) Organisers of the 2011 Egyptian protests call on supporters to fill every square in Cairo after two days of clashes between supporters and opponents of President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak. (Washington Post) Protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square chant "Leave! Leave! Leave!", "Allahu akbar!" and "Today is the last day". (The Guardian) Al Jazeera investigates the hacking of its news website, allegedly carried out "apparently by opponents of the pro-democracy movement in Egypt". (The Guardian) Nederlandse Omroep Stichting cameraman Eric Feijten is arrested again after being released from his previous arrest. (The Guardian) Al Jazeera's Cairo office is stormed by "gangs of thugs" who ransack it and set it on fire as attacks on foreign journalists continue. (The Guardian) Reporter Bert Sundström of Swedish public broadcaster SVT, reported missing yesterday, is hospitalised and undergoing surgery for serious "knife injuries" in Cairo after being kidnapped and stabbed. (AFP via The Swedish Wire) Mohammed al-Beltagi, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, tells Al Jazeera that the movement has no ambitions to run for the Egyptian presidency. (Al Jazeera) Fighting shifts from Tahrir Square to Cairo's side streets. (CNN) Ahmad Mohamed Mahmoud of Al-Ta'awun becomes the first journalist to die covering the protests as attacks on journalists continue. (Committee to Protect Journalists) Al-Arabiya TV reports that former interior minister Habib Ibrahim El Adly and other former ministers are under house arrest pending an official probe. (MSNBC) Fox News reports that a recent assassination attempt on Vice-President of Egypt Omar Suleiman left two bodyguards dead. (Fox News) International response to the 2011 Egyptian protests: Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon calls for the "violence and intimidation" to "stop", saying that events have taken "a deeply troubling turn" and branding restrictions on the media as "utterly unacceptable". (The Guardian) The chiefs of the European Union condemn the violence and a statement is jointly issued by Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. (AFP via The Australian) Police beat with batons and shoot tear gas at student protesters in the Sudanese state of Sennar in demonstrations inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. (Reuters) (The Guardian) 2011 Syrian protests: Syrian protestors call for "a day of anger" against the Syrian government. (France 24) Plainclothes Syrian security agents are deployed outside Parliament in Damascus ahead of the anti-government demonstrations there. (CP via Google News) Cambodian–Thai border stand-off: The Thai Army and the Cambodian Armed Forces clash on the border near the Preah Vihear Temple. (Bangkok Post) Several artillery rounds land on the Thai side of the border, killing one civilian. (Bangkok Post) Islamic militants kill two Thai security guards in the south of the country. (Straits Times) A new centre to help rape victims in the Democratic Republic of the Congo opens in the eastern city of Bukavu. (BBC) At least ten people are killed and several others injured in separate incidents of violence across Afghanistan. (PressTv) Business and economy Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, and Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France, jointly propose a new set of policies for the euro zone defined to defend the euro as a currency, such as higher retirement ages and the abolition of inflation-indexed wages. (Reuters) The court-appointed trustee for creditors of Bernie Madoff claims that the owners of the New York Mets owes $300 million. (NBC New Tork) Target Corp. has agreed to pay $22.5 million in settlement with the Government of California and local governments in settlement over alleged illegal hazardous waste dumping. (Los Angeles Times) A court in Canada strikes down the government's decision to allow Globalive to operate a wireless telecomm network in that country, given the extent of foreign holdings. (Reuters) Disasters Five people lose their lives in flash floods that swamp parts of Iran's Southeastern province of Kerman in the towns of Sirjan, Roudbar and Kahnouj. (Fars News) A 6.4 magnitude earthquake strikes the India-Burma border region. (Straits Times) A man from Bamboroo, Queensland becomes the first casualty of Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi in Australia. (AAP via Brisbane Times) The death toll from the January 31–February 2, 2011 North American winter storm is at least a dozen. (AP via Los Angeles Times) A small plane crashes in Sulaimaniya in Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region killing all seven people on board. (Reuters via ABC News) Flooding in Victoria is worsened by the remnants of Cyclone Yasi and Anthony, causing major street flooding in Melbourne. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (Bayside Leader) (Taipei Times) International relations The BBC apologises for remarks about Mexicans made on its Top Gear television programme but defends the original remarks as well. (Reuters via The Irish Times) (BBC) (Sky News) (TIME) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, says that the 2011 Egyptian protests and Tunisian uprising are a result of "Islamic awareness". (AP via Yahoo News) Politics and elections Thousands of people attend the funeral of Hmong General Vang Pao in Fresno, California. (Los Angeles Times) Nepalese Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal begins forming a new national government. (One India) (RFI) Cuba is to free two more dissidents, according to the Catholic Church on the island. (BBC) The Parliament of Myanmar elects Thein Sein as President, succeeding Than Shwe who was in power since 1992. He is the first civilian president in half a century. (Al Jazeera) (AP via Yahoo! News) President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev calls an early election for April 3, rejecting a plan for a referendum intended to allow him to rule for another decade. (Al Jazeera) (Reuters) Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi ignores his recent sex scandals to claim to the media at a summit in Brussels that he is the most popular national leader in the European Union. (Times LIVE) Science NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of Rep Gabrielle Giffords shot last month, announces that he will resume training to command the Space Shuttle Endeavour's final mission STS-134 in April. (Politico) Researchers report that fishing rates in the Arctic are 75 times higher than those reported by the U.N., suggesting future increased exploitation is less possible than previously thought. (Reuters) Sport American football Falling ice injures seven people at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, due to host Super Bowl XLV on Sunday. (Dallas News) Albert Haynesworth of the Washington Redskins is charged with assault in Reston, Virginia, following an alleged road rage incident. (Washington Post) The Cleveland Cavaliers match the United States National Basketball Association record for a single-season losing streak by losing their 23rd straight match to the Memphis Grizzlies. (ESPN) Current events of February 5, 2011 (2011-02-05) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Egyptian protests: Anti-Mubarak forces continue their nationwide protests for a twelfth day, remaining in Cairo's Tahrir Square. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian) (Sky News) The media reports that President Mubarak's son Gamal resigns as head of the National Democratic Party bureau. Secretary Safwat el-Sharif and the six-member Steering Committee of the General Secretariat also resign. (USA Today), (The New York Times) (Sky News) Protesters form a human chain in Tahrir Square to prevent tanks from entering the area. (CNN) (Al Jazeera) International response to the 2011 Egyptian protests: President of Israel Shimon Peres, speaking at a European Friends of Israel (EFI) conference in Jerusalem, defends Mubarak, calling him a "peacemaker" whose "contribution to peace would never be forgotten". (Los Angeles Times) (Ynetnews) U.S. TV coverage of the uprising in Egypt is criticised for being both pessimistic and superficial and for its focus on what events mean for the U.S. and its regional allies. (Al Jazeera) France halts sales of arms and riot equipment to Egypt. (France 24) 2010–2011 Tunisian uprising: Tunisian police shoot dead two people and injure another 17 during a protest in the city of El Kef. (BBC), (France24) Cambodian–Thai border stand-off: A Thai soldier is shot dead and four wounded in clashes with Cambodian troops in a disputed border area. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) At least 20 people are killed in a shootout among the military in Malakal, Southern Sudan. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) Arts and culture Pope Benedict XVI ordains five new bishops, including a Chinese prelate from Hong Kong despite attempts by China's official church to ordain bishops without his approval. (AP via Google News) Comedian Steve Coogan criticises the presenters of BBC television series Top Gear in relation to their recent insulting of Mexicans. He also criticies the BBC's "pitiful" and "mealy-mouthed" apology after it offended Mexicans. (The Guardian) Inception and The Social Network win top prizes at the Writers Guild of America awards. (Los Angeles Times) Disasters Cold weather persists in northern Mexico in the aftermath of the January 31–February 2, 2011 North American winter storm with power shortages. (AP via Sun-Sentinel) (BBC) An explosion at the Uricani Coal Mine in southwestern Romania kills five people. (AFP via France 24) Six firefighters die and two are injured fighting a fire in China's Zhejiang Province. (China) International relations UK prime minister David Cameron uses an important speech at a security conference in Munich to say "state multiculturalism" has failed, adding that the UK needs a stronger national identity and promising to promote Western values. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian) The Daily Telegraph publishes WikiLeaks cables stating that the United States provided Russia with the United Kingdom's serial numbers of every Trident missile, which are manufactured and maintained in the U.S. and supplied to Britain, in return for the Russians signing the New START treaty. (The Telegraph) Former President of the United States George W. Bush cancels a planned appearance in Switzerland; Human Rights Watch link the cancellation to growing pressure for Bush to be arrested over his approval of waterboarding torture, saying Bush is "avoiding handcuffs". (Deutsche Welle) (Radio New Zealand) (Reuters) Politics The largest anti-government demonstration in years occurs in Belgrade, with thousands of disenchanted Serbs travelling to the parliament building from across the country to call for early elections there. An opposition party leader at the event compares it to the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. (BBC) (Deutsche Welle) (Reuters) Thousands of Italians attend a rally to demand the resignation of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi over a sex scandal. (Sky News) Sports The ICC bans Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir for five years for match-fixing. (BBC Sport) (Al Jazeera) Richard Dent, Marshall Faulk, Ed Sabol, Deion Sanders, Chris Hanburger, Les Richter and Shannon Sharpe are elected to the United States Pro Football Hall of Fame. (USA Today), (Washington Post) English Premier League news: (AP via MSNBC) A new Premier League scoring record is set with 41 goals scored in 8 matches. League leaders Manchester United are stunned 2–1 by last-place Wolverhampton Wanderers, ending United's 29-match unbeaten streak in Premiership play. Second-place Arsenal become the first team since the establishment of the Premier League in 1992 to blow a 4–0 lead, as Newcastle United storm back to draw 4–4. The Cleveland Cavaliers set a new record for consecutive losses in a single National Basketball Association season in the United States. (ESPN) Current events of February 6, 2011 (2011-02-06) (Sunday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Egyptian protests: People demonstrate against the Mubarak regime for the thirteenth consecutive day, dubbed the "Day of Martyrs" in memory of those killed. (Press TV) (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian) Graphic rooftop footage emerges of a protester being gunned down in Alexandria. (The Guardian) Protestors express anger at the governments of France, Israel and the United States due to their support of the thirty-year Mubarak dictatorship. (Press TV) Human Rights Watch expresses increased concerns at the continuing targeting by the Egyptian authorities of journalists, human rights defenders, and youth activists, while another Al Jazeera reporter is arrested. (The Guardian) (The Guardian) An Israeli man is released from custody. (Press TV) Traffic to Al Jazeera's English-language website, which features a live stream of events, increases by 2,500 per cent during the past week of its coverage of the events in Egypt, with as much as 60 per cent of this coming from the United States. (Los Angeles Times) Two people are married in Tahrir Square. (The Guardian) Images emerge on YouTube of a man being shot at close range, possibly by police, in Cairo / Alexandria; his condition is unknown. (Al Jazeera) Egyptian banks reopen for the first time in a week. (Reuters) (BBC) (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera) 2010–2011 Tunisian uprising Police in Tunisia kill at least two people during a protest in the northwestern town of El Kef demanding the resignation of a police chief - crowds retaliate by burning the police station. (BBC), (Houston Chronicle) (Al Jazeera) Tunisia's interior minister suspends activities of the former ruling party Constitutional Democratic Rally. (Reuters) (BBC) Cambodian–Thai border stand-off Cambodia says a disputed 11th Century temple has been damaged on the third day of cross border clashes with Thailand. (BBC) U.S.-led forces kill four civilians, including a woman, in northern Afghanistan. (Press TV) Israeli soldiers have shot three Palestinians, two while they collected gravel from destroyed homes in Gaza, and another while he worked in the northern Gaza Strip. (People's Daily)(The Palestine Telegraph) The Indian Army insists it is to inquire "on its own" the death of a man in Kashmir, allegedly killed in an army ambush. His family says he was snatched from his home before being shot. (Sify) (Kashmir Observer) At least 50 people have died in a mutiny of the Sudan People's Armed Forces in southern Sudan. (Reuters) (BBC) The President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai says that a transfer of security authority from international to Afghan forces will begin on March 21. (CNN) The Indian Navy captures 28 suspected Somali pirates on a Thai fishing vessel in the Indian Ocean. (AP via the Washington Post) Arts and culture A United Nations World Heritage Site is damaged and collapses due to a dispute between Cambodia and Thailand. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Police on Easter Island evict indigenous protesters battling for ancestral lands and a larger share of tourist revenues from the grounds of a luxury hotel. (AP via San Francisco Chronicle) Disasters Severe flood kills 13 in Sri Lanka. (Xinhua) Australia: Thousands of people in the Australian state of Victoria are forced to evacuate due to flooding. (News Limited) Sydney experiences record weather conditions, hottest night on record. (The Sydney Morning Herald) More than 100 people flee their homes from bushfire in Perth's east. (The Sydney Morning Herald) Bushfires threaten the suburbs of Brigadoon, Baskerville, Willendon, Red Hill and Herne Hill in Perth, Western Australia. (Sky News) Widespread blackout in eight Brazilian states. (MercoPress) (The Wall Street Journal) International relations Palestinian leaders express disappointment at the refusal of the Middle East Quartet — United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia — to hear their call for unilateral statehood and failure to take a strong stance on Israel's settlement construction at its February 5 meeting in Munich. (RIA Novosti) The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton expresses what she believes is the even more crucial need for progress in peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians due to events in Egypt and other countries. (Sunday Independent) Spanish police remove more than 100 rowdy Belgian students from an aeroplane. (BBC) Law and crime 24-year-old Anat Kamm, a former soldier of Israel, signs a plea bargain to plead guilty in Tel Aviv District Court to a lesser charge of leaking more than 2,000 secret military documents to the Haaretz newspaper; she may be jailed for 15 years. Haaretz reported a possibly-illegal Israeli assassination operation against Palestinians in the West Bank; her lawyer says she "believed she stumbled onto evidence of war crimes". (CP via Google News) (BBC) (Reuters) (The Guardian) The trial of three American hikers Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal on espionage charges begin today in Iran. (Al-Arabiya) (Al Jazeera) One student is killed and 11 injured following shootings at a party in Youngstown, Ohio. Two men are later arrested in connection with the incident. (AP via Lexington Herald-Leader), (CNN) Reputed Mexican drug cartel leader Sandra Ávila Beltrán is sentenced to a year in jail for weapons possession charges. (AP via El Paso Times) Russian billionaire Ashot Egiazaryan, facing charges of financial crimes, flees to the United States claiming persecution. (AP via Yahoo! News) Politics and elections Nepal's prime minister Jhala Nath Khanal takes his oath of office. (Al Jazeera) Embattled Kevin Foley resigns as deputy premier and treasurer of South Australia but insists on maintaining his defense portfolio. (The Sydney Morning Herald) Sports The Japan Sumo Association cancels the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in light of a match fixing scandal, the first time the event has been canceled since 1946. (Daily Yomiuri Online) (BBC) "Marathon Man" Stefaan Engels sets a new world record by completing 365 marathon races in a year. (BBC News) Dane Thomas Bjørn birdies three of his last four holes to achieve a four-shot victory of the Qatar Masters at the Doha Golf Club. (Al Jazeera) Formula 1 racer Robert Kubica crashes at a rally in Italy, fracturing his right arm, leg and hand. He undergoes surgery as a result. (BBC Sport) National Football League In American football, the Green Bay Packers defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV by a score of 31-25. (USA Today), (Fox Sports) Aaron Rodgers, the Packers' quarterback, is named as the Most Valuable Player. (USA Today) Current events of February 7, 2011 (2011-02-07) (Monday) Armed conflicts and attacks Cambodian–Thai border stand-off Clashes occur between Thai and Cambodian forces near the Preah Vihear Temple. (WA Today) Tunisia calls up recently retired soldiers to contain recent unrest. (AP via MSNBC) Business and economy AOL purchases online publisher The Huffington Post in a $315 million deal. (Huffington Post), (New York Times) Iraq is poised to sign $12b gas deal with Shell Oil Company. (Tehran Times) Continental Airlines announces that it plans to lay off 500 staff in Houston, Texas following its merger with United Airlines. (KHOU) Disasters Bushfires in Perth, Western Australia continue to burn out of control after having destroyed up to 40 homes. (Perth Now) (WA Today) International relations United States diplomatic cables leak: Newly released cables reveal Australia and the United States formed an alliance in February 2008 to share secret intelligence from spy satellite. (The Sydney Morning Herald) Newly released cables sent from the U.S. embassy in Cairo in 2008 refer to Egypt's Defence Minister, Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, as "Mubarak's poodle", though conclude that he "retains Mubarak's support, and could easily remain in place for years to come". (The Sydney Morning Herald) Luke Harding, The Guardian's Moscow correspondent is expelled from Russia as a result of the paper publishing cables about Russia becoming a "mafia state". (The Guardian) Thirty-one North Koreans arrive in South Korea after crossing the Yellow Sea by boat. (Yonhap News) Israel approves plans for two new buildings to be built in East Jerusalem, Palestine with the Palestinians currently living there to be evicted.(Press TV) Law and crime Julian Assange and the WikiLeaks website: The defence team for Julian Assange, facing allegations of sex crimes, prepares to argue that Assange cannot receive a fair trial in Sweden as such cases are heard in secret without any transparency. (The Sydney Morning Herald) 39-year-old Australian Julian Assange is reported by The Independent newspaper to be considering legal action for libel against The Guardian newspaper over claims in a book it published. Guardian News & Media, however, has not received any official notification of the action. (The Independent) Files regarding Sweden's sexual indecency charges against Julian Assange are leaked on the Internet. (The Daily Mail) Science and technology Using Google Maps, an archaeologist finds nearly 2,000 potential archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia. (The Sydney Morning Herald) The Molecule of the Year 2010 is FOXM1 as announced by Isidro A. T. Savillo, President, ISMCBBPR. (Scientist Solutions) Politics Constitutional Democratic Rally, the former ruling party of Tunisia is officially dissolved. (Tabnak) The official results of the Southern Sudanese Independence Referendum are released showing that almost 99% of voters chose to become independent. (The Guardian) The government of Haiti issues a new passport to former President of Haiti Jean-Bertrand Aristide allowing him to end his exile in South Africa. (Sun-Sentinel) Sport The Fox Broadcasting Company coverage of Super Bowl XLV on Sunday breaks the record for most viewed television program in the United States. (Fanhouse) Laureus World Sports Awards Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal is named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year. (Herald Sun) American skier Lindsey Vonn is named Sportswoman of the Year. (Radio New Zealand) The Spain national football team is named as Team of the Year. (The Australian) The Cleveland Cavaliers set a new record for consecutive losses in the National Basketball Association with their 25th straight defeat, a 99–96 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. (NBA Fanhouse) Current events of February 8, 2011 (2011-02-08) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks A suspected US spy drone crashes near the south Yemen town of Loder with witnesses claiming that Al-Qaeda removed the wreckage. (AFP via Google News) Dokka Umarov, a Chechen warlord and one of Russia's most wanted men, claims responsibility for the bombing at Domodedovo International Airport last month. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Violence erupts at a blasphemy trial in Temanggung, central Java with three churches destroyed. (Jakarta Post) Business and economy Volkswagen agrees on a new contract with the union IG Metall, including a 3.2 percent increase in base pay for its employees. (NY Times) Ultimate Electronics, a United States electronics retail chain, has applied to a bankruptcy court for permission to close all of its 46 stores. (Las Vegas Sun) The London Stock Exchange in the United Kingdom is in advanced talks to merge with the TMX Group that operates Canada's two stock exchanges in Montreal and Toronto. (Bloomberg via Business Week) Disasters Drought hits Central China. Part of the Xiangjiang River dried-up in Changsha, Hunan province. (China Daily) An Indonesian ferry carrying 226 passengers from Tanjung Priok to Bangka Belitung catches fire. (Jakarta Post) A snow storm hits the Mountain West and Great Plains areas of the United States. (CNN) International relations Officials from North Korea and South Korea meet in Panmunjom for military-level talks. (CNN) (Yonhap) Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy calls for talks with Western nations about possible changes to sanctions against Burma. (AFP via News Limited) Taiwan arrests Major General Lo Hsieh-che, head of the Taiwanese Army's electronic communications and information department, for allegedly leaking secrets to the People's Republic of China. (South China Morning Post) Several dozen Rohingya boat refugees from Bangladesh and Myanmar are accepted to India at Port Blair in the Andaman Islands after being detained by the Thai Navy and rejected at sea, but face repatriation to Bangladesh. (The Canadian Press) (BBC) (The Ecologist) Law and crime The lawyer for former Liberian President Charles Taylor walks out of court protesting that his client's rights to a fair trial had been abused. (Reuters) The Mexican Army rescues 44 Guatemalan immigrants in Reynosa in northern Mexico. (AP via Houston Chronicle) Politics The Israeli Knesset approves the "Bishara Bill", which would revoke the pension payments of Knesset members if they fail to appear at criminal proceedings held against them, or if convicted of severe felonies. (Ynetnews) 2011 Egyptian protests The protests continue in Egypt for a fifteenth day, hours after a detained Google executive is released with the crowds the biggest yet. (Al Jazeera), (New York Times) The Vice President of Egypt Omar Suleiman promises that the government will not pursue protesters. (MSNBC) Human Rights Watch claims that government-controlled health services in Egypt have been 'told to downplay protest deaths'. (ABC News Australia) Former Philippines Cabinet Secretary Angelo Reyes dies following an apparent suicide attempt possibly prompted by a scandal over alleged military corruption. (Philippines Star), (Philippines Inquirer), (GMA News) George Osborne, the United Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer, announces that the tax on bank profits will become permanent. (Sky News) British Labour MP Eric Illsley resigns his seat two days before he is due to be sentenced for dishonestly claiming parliamentary expenses, thus triggering a by-election. (BBC) The United States House of Representatives fails to pass extensions of key provisions of the USA Patriot Act by the necessary two-thirds majority. (Bloomberg) Brazilian environmentalists and indigenous rights activists protest against the Belo Monte Dam in Brasilia. (CNN) Current events of February 9, 2011 (2011-02-09) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Somali pirates seize an oil supertanker off the coast of Oman. (BBC) At least seven people are killed and dozens of others are injured during three explosions in Kirkuk, Iraq. (Al Jazeera) Serial blasts rock Russia's Grozny, at least five people are wounded. (People's Daily) 2011 Egyptian protests: Nationwide protests against President Hosni Mubarak and his regime continue for a sixteenth day. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian) Labour unions involving thousands of workers go on a nationwide strike, boosting the pro-democracy demonstrations occurring across the country. (Al Jazeera) Human rights groups say the military is secretly detaining and torturing hundreds and possibly thousands of suspected government opponents and has been doing so since the protests started. (The Guardian) The government threatens a crackdown as the protests spread. (Khaleej Times) (Voice of America) Egyptians mourn those killed for protesting against their government. (Al Jazeera) After being released by the authorities, Google executive Wael Ghonim addresses the crowds in Tahrir Square. (The Guardian) Business and economy The Guardian publishes WikiLeaks cables claiming that Saudi Arabia had exaggerated its crude oil reserves by nearly 40% and will have trouble keeping a cap on oil prices. (The Guardian) A leaked memo shows Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop's belief that the company is too slow in its response to trend changes. (Al Jazeera) Activision Blizzard announces that it is dissolving its Guitar Hero division and not publishing any more games. (Gamasutra) ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil announce plans to shut down a liquefied natural gas plant in Kenai, Alaska, United States. (AP via KTUU) Project Merlin 9 February - Project Merlin, an agreement on aspects of banking activity in the United Kingdom, is agreed between the coalition government and the country's four major high street banks. (BBC) Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott resigns as a Treasury spokesman in the House of Lords after making an outspoken attack on the agreement. (BBC) Disasters A major fire breaks out in Bombay House, a historic building in Mumbai, India, which serves as the headquarters of the Tata Group, resulting in at least three deaths. (Press Trust of India via IBN-Live) Thieves tapping a Pemex oil pipeline cause a diesel fuel spill south of Tijuana in Mexico. (Reuters) Two small planes (took off from Langley Regional Airport) collide mid-air near Mission, British Columbia, in western Canada, with at least one person dead. (CTV) An explosion occurs in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States, resulting in two people being missing. (The Morning Call) International relations President of France Nicolas Sarkozy calls for an end to government ministers holidaying abroad after it emerges they went to countries such as Egypt and Tunisia while anti-regime protests were underway. The controversy has led to calls for resignations. (Al Jazeera) Korean talks South Korea agrees in principle to resume discussions with North Korea on humanitarian issues including reuniting families separated by the Korean War. (BBC) Military talks end without agreement as North Korea refuses to apologise for the Bombardment of Yeonpyeong. (Yonhap) U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano claims the possibility of terrorism being carried out against the country "has evolved significantly" and, she claims, is "at its most heightened state" since the 9/11 attacks". (BBC) In a new agreement, Denmark and Russia will for the first time, cooperate within military. (Jyllandsposten) Law and crime Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi brands "disgusting" a request by prosecutors in Milan to have him put on trial immediately in relation to sexual relations with underage prostitutes which allegedly occurred at one of his house parties. (BBC) Detectives investigating claims over tabloid phone hacking in Britain are re-examining whether a string of high-profile individuals and celebrities were targeted. Scotland Yard is taking a second look. (Radioaire) Jimmy Lemi Milla, a South Sudanese minister, and his bodyguard are shot dead apparently as a result of a personal dispute. (Al Jazeera) The trial of former President of Liberia Charles Taylor is adjourned until Friday after he does not attend court in The Hague. (BBC) Daniel Patrick Boyd pleads guilty to terrorism charges in a trial in the US state of North Carolina. (AP via Minneapolis Tribune) Politics and elections Spanish Basque nationalists announce a new political party named Sortu (meaning "born" in the Basque language), categorically rejecting all violence, including that of ETA. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) The Cabinet of Pakistan submit their resignations to the prime minister, who intends to appoint a smaller cabinet in order to reduce government spending at a time of economic crisis. (AFP via Google News) US Representative Chris Lee representing New York's 26th congressional district resigns after it is revealed that he sent a racy photo to a woman who was not his wife. (New York Times) The United States Democratic Leadership Council consisting of centrist Democrats announces that it will wind up. (The New Republic) The Chamber of Councillors of Tunisia passes legislation allowing the President to rule by decree. (BBC) Sport Owners and players in the United States National Football League resume talks in an effort to avoid a lockout next season. (ESPN) The Florida Panthers National Hockey League team acquires Jack Skille, Hugh Jessiman and David Pacan from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Michael Frolik and Alexander Salak. (National Hockey League) Current events of February 10, 2011 (2011-02-10) (Thursday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Egyptian protests: Protests against the Mubarak regime go on nationwide for a seventeenth consecutive day. (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refuses to resign in an address to the nation. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian) At least 16 people have been killed the Southern Sudanese state of Jonglei, breaking a ceasefire agreed last month. (Al Jazeera) A suicide bomber attacks a Pakistan Army recruitment centre in northwestern Pakistan causing at least 27 deaths and 40 injuries. (Reuters) (AP via Courier Mail) (BBC) (Sify) The FARC organisation releases the first of five hostages promised this week as a gesture of peace to the government in Colombia. (BBC) Israeli forces remove Palestinian tents near Nablus of which 8 were reportedly used as homes.(Jerusalem Post)(Arab News) Arts and culture Vietnam is to host the debut International Choir Festival. (Vietnam News) Disasters Eight people are killed in a warehouse fire in Perm, Russia. (Itar Tass) (AFP via Google News) A Manx2 flight from Belfast to Cork crashes on landing, killing six and injuring at least another six. It is the deadliest in Irish aviation since 1968. (The Guardian) (RTÉ) (CBC News) Three people are dead, and two others are missing after a natural gas line rupture and explosion in the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania. (CNN) A snowstorm hits the Southeastern United States and Tennessee Valley with warnings in place across ten states. (CNN) International relations Cuban Information and Communications Minister Medardo Diaz welcomes the arrival of an undersea fibre-optic cable linking it to Venezuela, which offered to help the island speed up its internet connection after the United States refused. (BBC) North Korea reports that it will not conduct further talks with South Korea, citing a perceived lack of seriousness on South Korea's part. (MSNBC) Reuters reports that India and Pakistan have agreed to resume peace talks that were broken off after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) Law and crime The trial of Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir on terrorism charges begins in Jakarta. (AAP via The Age) (BBC) Politics and elections Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng says, in a secretly shot video, that he is still under house arrest after being released from prison. (BBC) (Radio Television Hong Kong) (AFP via Google News) The British House of Commons votes 234-22 against prisoners receiving the right to vote. (BBC) Former British Labour MP Eric Illsley is jailed for 12 months for dishonestly claiming parliamentary expenses. The sentence comes on the same day that Jim Devine, another former Labour MP, is convicted of dishonestly claiming £8,385 of expenses by using false invoices for cleaning and printing work. (BBC) Sport Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan, the longest-tenured coach in any of North America's four major leagues, announces his resignation effective immediately. Sloan, inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009, had been with the Jazz since 1988. (ESPN) Ray Allen scores his 2,561st 3-point shot, passing Reggie Miller for the all-time NBA record for 3-point field goals made. Current events of February 11, 2011 (2011-02-11) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks Egyptian Revolution of 2011 / Downfall of Hosni Mubarak: Protests continue following last night's non-resignation speech of President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian) Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators march on state television and presidential palaces as "Farewell Friday", the eighteenth day of protests against the Mubarak regime, gets underway. (Al Jazeera) Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei warns "Egypt will explode" in response to Mubarak's non-resignation speech last night. (CNN) Military leaders pledge to end the 30-year state of emergency law when the protests end. (Al Jazeera) The Mubaraks flee Cairo and head for the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. (Xinhua) (CBS News) (Ynetnews) At least 5 people are killed by police in Arish in the North Sinai Governorate. (The Guardian) Prime Minister of Denmark Lars Løkke Rasmussen, speaking in Copenhagen, becomes the first European Union leader to tell Mubarak to resign, saying Mubarak is "history" and that he "made a huge blunder yesterday" by giving his non-resignation speech. (CP via Google News) Vice President Omar Suleiman announces on state television the resignation of Hosni Mubarak as President of Egypt after 30 years in power. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Hosni Mubarak resigns as President of Egypt and hands power to Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. (Washington Post) (Reuters) The death toll from clashes between rebels loyal to George Athor and the army in Southern Sudan rises to 100. (BBC) Bolivian President Evo Morales abandons an event in the south of the country after crowds booed him and threw dynamite in a protest over rising food prices. (BBC) (AP via Google News) (UPI) Israeli forces fire gas agents and rubber-coated bullets against Palestinian protesters in Silwan, injuring dozens.(Muslim News)(The Palestine Telegraph) Business and economy The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it has deregulated a genetically engineered corn. See genetically modified food. The corn in question is designed for the manufacture of ethanol. (Reuters) Culture A road in Copenhagen, Denmark has been proposed a new name after former US president Ronald Reagan. (Jyllandsposten) Disasters The first investigation into yesterday's plane crash at Cork Airport is expected within a month; the airport remains closed today. (RTÉ) International relations An American man is held responsible for the "cold-blooded murder" of two men in Lahore, Pakistan, by city police chief Aslam Tareen. (BBC) China's foreign minister Yang Jiechi visits Zimbabwe as the countries agree a $10 billion trade deal. (BBC) North Korea asks its embassies worldwide to appeal for aid to feed its population. (The Independent) Law and crime Computer security company McAfee says hackers based in the People's Republic of China have targeted computer networks of global oil companies and individuals in Kazakhstan, Taiwan, Greece, and the United States, to steal information starting in 2009. (The Straits Times) (Global Times) Former President of Liberia Charles Taylor's trial in The Hague is extended. (BBC) Seven Somali pirates are charged with firearms offences in a Malaysian court, in a move that could see them hanged. (Reuters) Indonesian police arrest 13 people over two incidents of religious violence in which three people were killed and churches burnt. (Bangkok Post) Politics and elections Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng and his wife are reportedly beaten after filming a secret video showing their house arrest. (BBC) (Radio Television Hong Kong) Anniversary of Iranian Revolution: Iran marks the 32nd anniversary of its Revolution. (IRINN) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insists that the nation remains determined to continue its nuclear path. (Press TV) Ahmadinejad said that the new Middle East will be formed soon where there will be no room for the United States and Israel. (IRNA) Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi is placed under house arrest after calling for demonstrations in support of the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. (The Independent) Current events of February 12, 2011 (2011-02-12) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2010–2011 Algerian protests: Thousands of people, inspired by the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, take to the streets of Algiers to protest against their own regime and to call for the removal of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (France24) (Herald Sun) Algerian police and security forces attempt to prevent the people from participating in the illegal march for democracy and change in Algiers. (Xinhua) The Algerian government shuts down the internet as tear gas and plastic bullets are deployed and journalists, especially those seen with cameras, targeted by state-sponsored thugs. (The Daily Telegraph) Thousands of riot police crack down on those protesting against the ruling Bouteflika regime. Protesters chant "Bouteflika out!" (The Guardian) (Gulf Times) (The New York Times) (euronews) (The Daily Telegraph) The opposition says approximately 5,000 people took part in today's attempt to bring down the Bouteflika regime. (Xinhua) International response to the 2010–2011 Algerian protests: A demonstration occurs from the streets of Montreal in Canada to the front of the Algerian consulate as people, including many Tunisians and Egyptians, join international calls for Abdelaziz Bouteflika's resignation. (AFP via Google News) (Montreal Gazette) A peaceful protest occurs at the initiative of the National Coordination for Change and Democracy in Algeria in Paris against Algerian police brutality, forced disappearances and the state of emergency that the regime has imposed upon the country. (CNN) 2011 Yemeni protests: Thousands of anti-government protesters gather in Sana'a calling for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled the country since 1978. (Al Jazeera) (AFP via Google News) Anti-government protesters march towards Sana'a University, chanting slogans such as "Get out, Get out Ali" and "The people want the regime to fall." (Times LIVE) (Press TV) Demonstrators also attempt to celebrate yesterday's resignation of President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak, brought down by an 18-day popular revolution, but police clamp down on the celebrations. (BBC) Yemeni police use clubs to beat those protesting against the Saleh regime, leaving Yemen's ally, the United States, in a "delicate position". (Taipei Times) (Radio New Zealand) The United States lifts its ban on freight flights from the country after finding Yemen to have sufficiently developed its airport security measures and that there would be "no problems with resuming cargo flights from Yemen anymore". (Yemen Post) Yemen's government offers its "respect" for the choice of the Egyptian people to protest and force the resignation of Hosni Mubarak. (Reuters) Mehbooba Mufti, People's Democratic Party (PDP) president, criticises the Jammu and Kashmir government for "dismissing the Kashmiri youth who led the summer unrest" as drug addicts and people from the Lashkar-e-Taiba, saying the situation is akin to Egypt and announcing protest demonstrations for 14 February. (The Hindu) An attack on police headquarters in Kandahar, Afghanistan, kills 16 officers and 3 civilians, and injures 53 others.(The New York Times) (Al Jazeera) The Government of Italy declares a humanitarian emergency after thousands of Tunisian immigrants land on the small island of Lampedusa. (Al-Jazeera) At least 33 people die following a suicide bombing near the Iraqi city of Samarra. (AFP via Yahoo News) Turkey releases its inquiry into the Gaza flotilla raid, finding Israel violated international law and used "excessive, indiscriminate and disproportionate force" during the attack. (AP via Google) Arts and culture The extent of looting of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo during the 2011 Egyptian protests is worse than previously announced. (New York Times) Julie Andrews, Roy Haynes, Juilliard String Quartet, the Kingston Trio, Dolly Parton, The Ramones and George Beverly Shea win Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards. (Reuters) Disasters At least eleven people are killed during an election rally for the President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan in Port Harcourt. (Reuters) A fire destroys 20 homes on the Yakama Indian Reservation in the US state of Washington. (Yakima Herald) Law and crime Myanmar arrests the Australian owner and editor of the Myanmar Times newspaper, detained under immigration laws. (BBC) (Bangkok Post) A Pakistani court issues an arrest warrant for former President Pervez Musharraf, alleging his involvement in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. (Associated Press) (Al Jazeera) Tammy Marquardt's 1995 conviction for the murder of her 2-year-old epileptic son is quashed by the Ontario Court of Appeal, remedying a miscarriage of justice in Canada. (CBC) (Toronto Star) Politics and elections The Chinese railway minister Liu Zhijun is placed under investigation for "serious disciplinary violations". (Xinhua) (BBC) (The Times of India) Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator for the Palestine Liberation Organization, resigns after the Palestine Papers were found to have been leaked from his office. (Aljazeera) Sports In mixed martial arts, Sergei Kharitonov and Antônio Silva advance to the semi-finals of the Strikeforce World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament by defeating Andrei Arlovski and Fedor Emelianenko, respectively, at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva in East Rutherford, New Jersey, US. (Sherdog) An investigation is launched after two horses are believed to have been electrocuted by underground cabling in the paddock at Newbury Racecourse in Berkshire, England. (BBC Sport) Current events of February 13, 2011 (2011-02-13) (Sunday) Armed conflicts and attacks India plans to withdraw 10,000 troops from Jammu and Kashmir this year and renew peace talks. (AFP via Google News) (Hindustan Times) Iraq War: Jeremy Paxman faces being punished by the BBC after being judged to have violated the corporation's strict impartiality rules by writing an article for The Guardian in which he stated that Tony Blair's "lies" had led Britain to war with Iraq. (Daily Mail) 2011 Yemeni protests: People in Yemen march on the presidential palace in Sana'a in an attempt to bring down Ali Abdullah Saleh. (The Asian Age) Police block the protesters who shout slogans such as "The Yemeni people want the fall of the regime" and "A Yemeni revolution after the Egyptian revolution", as Saleh postpones a visit to his United States allies "due to the current circumstances in the region". (Reuters) (Xinhua) Police and people clash in Sana'a on the third day of protests against the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen. (BBC) (AFP via Google News) Other Arab Spring: Opposition leaders in Iran call for nationwide anti-government rallies on Monday, in attempts to mimic the recent Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions. (Al Jazeera) Bahrain's security forces monitor the people as opposition groups call for protests tomorrow. (Al Jazeera) Egypt's army suspends the constitution and dissolves parliament with elections due in six months as people promise to continue demonstrating. (Al Jazeera) Tunisia's foreign minister Ahmed Ounaies resigns over controversial compliments he paid to his French counterpart Michèle Alliot-Marie which angered people in Tunisia. (Al Jazeera) Julian Assange of WikiLeaks hails the website's role in the revolts, crediting material published via the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar as "significantly influential" in the fall of the Zine El Abidine Ben Ali regime in Tunisia. He promises a "broad spectrum" of fresh cables about Australia involving a "number of large companies and international politics". (AFP via Google News) U.S. military commander Admiral Mike Mullen visits Israel to "discuss security issues of mutual concern" according to The Pentagon. (Al Jazeera) Women against Berlusconi: Tens of thousands of women hold nationwide protests in 200 cities against Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi, whom they say has damaged the standing of women with his string of sex scandals. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph) (Herald Sun) Solidarity protests by women abroad also occur, including one outside the Italian consulate in Tokyo. (Indian Express) 18 people are injured after a car bomb is detonated in Yala, Thailand. (Al Jazeera) The International Red Cross states that the Colombian FARC rebel group has released its fourth captive over the past few days but failed to release two others. (AP via Minneapolis Star-Tribune) Arts and culture Egypt's Minister of State for Antiquities Zahi Hawass says several pieces have been stolen from the Egyptian Museum during the revolution. (Straits Times) (Xinhua) A giant Andy Scott sculpture is knocked over in a car accident in Tullibody, Clackmannanshire. (BBC) Bono Boer controversy: Irish pop star Bono walks into a "political minefield" in South Africa after apparently endorsing a song with the lyrics: "Shoot the Boer", a song currently appearing before the country's highest court. (BBC) (Mail & Guardian) (The Sydney Morning Herald) Steve Hofmeyr responds to Bono's comments by dumping R5 000 worth of U2 concert tickets in the Jukskei River and urges Neil Diamond to "keep his political trap shut" as well. Hofmeyr's actions cause a stir on Twitter. (The New Age) (IOL) (Primedia Broadcasting - Eyewitness News) The King's Speech wins seven awards at the 64th British Academy Film Awards including best film and Best Actor for Colin Firth. (BBC) 53rd Grammy Awards: Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott wins the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the song "Need You Now" performed by Lady Antebellum. (Los Angeles Times) Singer Esperanza Spalding wins the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. (Reuters vis Yahoo! News) Arcade Fire wins the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for The Suburbs (New York Times) Lady Antebellum wins the Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "Need You Now". (New York Times) Business and economy The board of directors of NYSE Euronext meets to discuss a proposed merger with Deutsche Börse, while New York's U.S. Senator, Chuck Schumer tells reporters that he is confident the NYSE would run the merged entity. (Reuters) Disasters South Korea reports two more outbreaks of bird flu near Seoul. (Yonhap) International relations The Guardian's Moscow Correspondent Luke Harding, who was expelled from Russia, is issued a new entry visa ahead of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to London. (Reuters) (RIA Novosti) Pakistan's former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi dismisses claims by U.S. authorities that the American gunman who recently shot two Pakistanis dead is a diplomat. (Xinhua) Nearly 1,000 Tunisian refugees arrive on the Italian island of Lampedusa overnight, a day after the government declared a humanitarian emergency. (AFP via Google News) Immigration to Canada hits a record high, while Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney states that abuse of the immigration system must end. (National Post) Law and crime Unidentified gunmen kill eight people in Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl part of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area. (BBC) Politics and elections Burma's state media publishes its first criticism of Aung San Suu Kyi since her release. (BBC) Switzerland votes in its gun control referendum, rejecting the proposal. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Republican and LGBT rights campaigner Fred Karger launches a campaign in the U.S. states of Iowa and New Hampshire aiming to become President of the United States. (The Observer) Cuba releases two more political prisoners. (BBC) Hina Rabbani Khar is appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani to become the first female Foreign Minister. (The Star) Thousands of protesters in Dresden, Germany form a human chain to mark the 66th anniversary of the Dresden bombing and to protest against racism. (France24) Writing in The Observer, British Prime Minister David Cameron defends his vision for a Big Society, dismissing claims that it is a "cover" for spending cuts. (Sky News) Sport In golf, Spaniard Álvaro Quirós fires a hole in one to win the Dubai Desert Classic; Tiger Woods concludes in 20th place. (Al Jazeera) Current events of February 14, 2011 (2011-02-14) (Monday) Armed conflicts and attacks At least seven people are killed in clashes between rival militant groups in Somalia. (AFP via Google News) Julian Assange's mother criticises leading figures in the U.S. government who called for her son's assassination on television, and expresses concerns that her son is being targeted by an American fatwā similar to the one brought against the writer Salman Rushdie in 1989. (Herald Sun) The FARC organisation in Colombia releases a fourth hostage in the past week. (BBC) 2011 Iranian protests: Anti-regime protests are due to occur in Iran. (Al Jazeera) Reports said that hundreds of protesters are in Azadi Square. (Bloomberg) Tear gas is fired by police to disperse the opposition protesters. (BBC) (Jerusalem Post) (Al Jazeera) A protestor dies in Tehran. (Reuters) 2011 Bahraini protests: Anti-regime protests occur in Bahrain. (Al Jazeera) Injuries and deaths occur. (Al Jazeera) Al-Wefaq MPs step down in protest at violence against pro-democracy demonstrators.(Al Jazeera) (Gulf News) Other Arab Spring events: New protests erupt in Egypt demanding a civilian leadership, an end to the emergency law and better pay. (CNN) (BBC) Newly released cables show U.S. officials referring to the head of Egypt's military Mohamed Hussein Tantawi as "old and resistant to change". (The Guardian) Protesters, including scholars and academics, in Gaza request that Egypt open the Rafah border. (Tehran Times) (Ma'an News Agency) 2011 Yemeni protests: Street battles take place between protesters and police in the Yemeni capital Sana'a. (BBC) (Yemen Post) (Daily Nation Kenya) (Al Jazeera) 2010–2011 Algerian protests: Youths clash with security forces in the northern Algerian town of Akbou. (BBC) (Malaysia Sun) The Algerian government says it will the end the state of emergency, in place since 1992, "within a few days". (Times of India) A British Army soldier from 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment is killed in an explosion in Afghanistan. (BBC) Arts and culture Scientists blame chemicals for Vincent van Gogh's bright yellows turning brown. (BBC) Business and economy The Central Bank of Egypt closes banks as a result of the 2011 Egyptian protests. (Voice of America) China records a trade surplus of $6.5 billion for January, less than expected. (CNBC) A court in the city of Lago Agrio, on behalf of 30,000 Ecuadorean people, orders United States oil company Chevron to pay more than $8 billion in environmental damages for dumping wastewater in the Amazon River twenty years ago. (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (BBC) General Motors announces that it will pay its United States hourly workers more than $4000 each as a share of profits. (Detroit Free Press) Eurozone finance ministers agree to set up a permanent bail-out fund of €500 billion - the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). This replaces the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). (BBC) Disasters Fourteen people die in a plane crash in Honduras including a deputy minister in the Government of Honduras Rodolfo Robelo and former finance minister Carlos Chahin. (BBC) International relations The Federal Government of Australia is helping the United States investigate Australians involved with the WikiLeaks website according to Julian Assange, who requests that Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Attorney-General Robert McClelland reveal every detail of assistance to foreign governments. (ABC News and Current Affairs) Ireland's Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny travels to Germany to brief Angela Merkel on matters of economic concern. (RTÉ) The United Nations Security Council calls for a permanent ceasefire on the Thailand-Cambodia border near the Preah Vihear Temple. (Voice of America) Law and crime 11 members of a family are found dead in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo after being kidnapped by Ugandan Islamist rebels. (Reuters) (Business Week) Supporters of 23-year-old Bradley Manning, including a member of the legal advocacy team, criticise the White House for its "thuggish behaviour" and "torture" in trying to break the soldier by pressuring him to implicate Julian Assange in the alleged theft of 250,000 documents the U.S. government wished to keep secret. (ABC News and Current Affairs) Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's trial resumes in Indonesia. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Hong Kong feng shui master Tony Chan loses his appeal to inherit the fortune of Nina Wang. (BBC) Mumtaz Qadri is charged with murdering the Governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer in a Pakistan court. (BBC) Politics and elections The Israeli Knesset passes the "Bishara Bill", a law allowing the House Committee to cut off the pensions of Knesset members evading investigation or trial, by a vote of 36 to 11. (Ynetnews) The Cabinet of the Palestinian Authority resigns today with the Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to choose a new ministry. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera), (BBC), (AP via Palm Beach Post) Mourad Medelci, the foreign minister of Algeria, announces that the 19-year-old state of emergency will end "within days". (Al_Jazeera) The President of the United States Barack Obama puts forward a budget for 2012 proposing heavy spending cuts but still predicting substantial budget deficits. (CNN) 10 Downing Street receives a new cat to boost the battle against mice seen on television scuttling past British prime minister David Cameron. (The Guardian) The United States House of Representatives votes to extend the Patriot Act for another nine months. (Fox News) Science Monarch butterfly colonies in Mexico more than double in size after bad storms reduced their numbers a year ago. (Reuters) Sport In soccer, Brazilian media reports that Brazil national football team star Ronaldo is to retire at the age of 34. (AFP via Yahoo Sports) (Al Jazeera) In golf, Tiger Woods is fined after being caught spitting on the course during the Dubai Desert Classic. (Al Jazeera) Current events of February 15, 2011 (2011-02-15) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Yemeni protests: Clashes take place for a fifth day in the Yemeni capital Sana'a, amid demonstrations calling for political reform. (Al Jazeera) 2011 Bahraini protests: Thousands of people demonstrate in Bahrain after a protester was shot dead at a funeral for another protester. (Reuters) The King of Bahrain Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa orders an inquiry into the deaths of the two protestors. (BBC) 2011 Iranian protests: Iranian politicians call for the execution of opposition leaders. (The New York Times) (Times Live South Africa) The Government of the Philippines and Communist Party of the Philippines hold their first peace talks in six years in Oslo, Norway. (AFP via Channel News Asia) The Prime Minister of Japan Naoto Kan vows to find the remains of the 12,000 Japanese soldiers still missing after the Battle of Iwo Jima of World War II. (The Washington Post) Arts and culture Writer Raymond Chandler's wife's ashes are buried over his casket during a ceremony in San Diego in the U.S. state of California. (BBC) The People's Republic of China orders makers of films and television programs to limit the amount of smoking shown on-screen. (AP via Phil Star) Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil begins a 15-day jail sentence for drunk driving in Las Vegas. (AP via Herald-Sun) The Government of Malaysia cancels a concert by expatriate Iranian singer Mohsen Namjoo "because it is not appropriate in terms of religion, culture and the country's cosmopolitan nature". (Malaysian Star) Business and economy Inflation in the People's Republic of China increases to 4.9 per cent. (Reuters via The Melbourne Age) (People's Daily) Apple launches a subscription service for magazines, newspapers, videos, and music bought through its App Store. (CNet) United Airlines temporarily grounds its fleet of 96 Boeing 757 jetliners so it can perform checks to earlier modifications to air-data computers. (The Wall Street Journal) The Delaware Chancery Court upholds the use of a poison pill by Airgas, effectively ending a takeover bid launched a year ago by Air Products. (Reuters) International relations Argentina lodges an official complaint against the United States after America's landing of a military plane loaded with undeclared "sensitive material", including guns, drugs and satellite phones, leading the Argentinian government to express concerns that the U.S. was attempting to sneak its cargo into the country. (The Guardian) The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlines a new policy on Internet freedom. (The New York Times) The UNASUR Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations will come into force on March 11th, following the deposit of its ninth instrument of ratification, by the Uruguayan government. (Brazilian Foreign Ministry) Law and crime Islamic morality police arrest over 80 Muslims in Malaysia to prevent them from celebrating Valentine's Day. (BBC) The Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi is indicted on charges of paying for sex with an underaged girl and abuse of power in the so-called Rubygate scandal. (BBC) (The Washington Post) A coroner has given his verdict into the death of Linda Norgrove by stating that the soldier who threw the grenade had "acted unaware of Linda's presence". (Sky News) Amanda Knox's parents have been indicted for allegedly libeling police in Perugia, Italy in statements made surrounding the murder of Meredith Kercher. (CNN) An analysis of the FBI's scientific work in the investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks on the United States finds that the Bureau overstated the strength of the links to a supply held by Bruce Ivins. (The New York Times) Two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are shot while travelling between Monterrey and Mexico City with one officer dying. (CNN) A Palestinian teen is released from Israeli custody after the police officer who alledegly beat a confession out of him fails to show up to an inquiry. The teenager was held in Israel for 7 months for allegedly throwing rocks before being released.(Haaretz) Politics The Israeli Knesset has passed a bill making boycotting Israeli individuals or organizations illegal.(Haaretz) A proposal by a consortium of private contractors to attack WikiLeaks and to discredit journalists in favour of the website - including Glenn Greenwald - is uncovered after thousands of e-mails are leaked onto the internet, some of which call for people who donate to be tracked and intimidated. (The Independent) Sport The 2012 Summer Olympics timetable is released. (BBC Sport) The International Cricket Council bans the use of Twitter by players and officials during the 2011 Cricket World Cup due to fears that players will be contacted by illegal bookmakers during matches. (Sydney Morning Herald) Foxcliffe Hickory Wind, a Scottish Deerhound, wins Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. (ESPN) Current events of February 16, 2011 (2011-02-16) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Piracy South Korea will fly the bodies of eight Somali pirates killed in a commando raid on a freighter last month from Muscat, Oman, to Mogadishu, Somalia. (Yonhap) HMS Cornwall from the British Royal Navy frees five Yemeni fishermen held by Somali pirates. (Sky News) Iranian state TV reports clashes between pro-government and anti-government forces at a funeral for someone killed in the 2011 Iranian protests. (AFP via Dawn) Fourteen people are hurt in clashes between Libyan protestors and security forces in Benghazi as protests spread. (AFP via France 24) (Al Jazeera) The Egyptian Ministry for Health estimates that at least 365 people were killed and 5,500 injured in the 2011 Egyptian protests. (RIA Novosti) Yemeni police shoot and kill two protestors in the southern city of Aden. (AFP via Yahoo! News) The Colombian FARC movement releases another two hostages. (AFP via Google News) Arts and culture U.S. pop singer Bruno Mars pleads guilty to cocaine possession in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Las Vegas Sun) Researchers from London's Natural History Museum claim that ancient skulls found in Gough's Cave in the Cheddar Gorge in the southwestern English county of Somerset show signs of cannibalism. (Reuters) Business and economy Jens Weidmann is chosen to succeed Axel A. Weber as President of the Deutsche Bundesbank. (FAZ) (WSJ) Borders Group, the second largest bookstore chain in the United States, files for bankruptcy with plans to sell at least 200 stores. (Bloomberg) Disasters The Northern Territory Emergency Service in the north of Australia warns residents in low-lying coastal areas including in the capital Darwin ahead of Tropical Cyclone Carlos. (News Limited) Explosions occur following an accident at a Tanzania People's Defence Force ammunition dump near the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam with casualties reported. (AP via The Washington Post), (CNN) At least four people die and dozens injured following a train crash in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Dunya News) International relations Japan's whaling fleet is leaving the Antarctic under pressure from conservationists and diplomats. (Sydney Morning Herald), (BBC) Law and crime Abduwali Muse, a Somali pirate, is sentenced to almost 34 years in prison in the United States for his role in attempting to hijack the MV Maersk Alabama. (ABC News USA) Three U.S. marshals are shot in Elkins, West Virginia, while trying to serve a warrant, resulting in the death of one marshal and the shooter. (West Virginia Gazette) In an FBI Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force Operation Power Outage, 74 members of Armenian Power criminal syndicate have been arrested on charges of racketeering offenses, bank fraud schemes, kidnappings, and drug trafficking. (CNN) Politics An ally of outgoing Burmese ruler General Than Shwe resigns two weeks into the new parliament. (BBC) (Irrawaddy) Celebrations marking the birthday of Kim Jong-il take place in North Korea. (BBC) Protesters in Bahrain continue to occupy a square in the capital, Manama. (Al Jazeera) The Hawaii Senate approves Hawaii Senate Bill 232 legalising civil unions for gay and lesbian couples and will be sent to the Governor Neil Abercrombie for approval. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser) Science IBM's Watson artificial intelligence program wins on the U.S. quiz show Jeopardy!, defeating Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings, the series' most successful contestants. (PC Mag) Watson used Wikipedia, among other sources, as its knowledge base (The Vancouver Sun) (NPR) (IBM) It is announced that people who suffer from Laron syndrome have a gene that inhibits cancer. (Scientific American) (PBS) Sport Lance Armstrong officially announces his retirement from professional cycling, again. (CNN) Current events of February 17, 2011 (2011-02-17) (Thursday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Bahraini protests: Bahrain police launch an attack on protesters in the Pearl Roundabout in the capital Manama, using tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd. (Global voices), (AP via Yahoo!), (CNN), (BBC) ABC News correspondent Miguel Marquez is beaten during the crackdown. (ABC News America) At least six protesters die during the crackdown with dozens of injuries. (Al Jazeera), (Ottawa Citizen) Khalid ibn Ahmad Al Khalifah, the Foreign Minister, defends the crackdown stating that it pulled the country back from the brink of the sectarian abyss. (NPR) Clashes continue in the main streets of Manama hours after the crackdown. (Al Jazeera) Libyan Civil War: 14 anti-government protesters are killed as Libyan protesters seeking to oust president Muammar Gaddafi defied a crackdown and took to the streets in four cities on what they called a "day of rage". (The Jerusalem Post) (CNN), (Al-Jazeera) Social networking sites mobilize for protests on a "day of anger" in Libya. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) 2010–2011 Algerian protests: Eighty-four-year-old Abdelhamid Mehri, former leader of Algeria's governing party, writes a letter to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika asking that he change his government in response to the unrest across the Arab world. (BBC) 2011 Yemeni protests: Several people are injured in clashes between pro and anti-government protesters in the Yemeni capital Sana'a. (AFP via Google News) Two people are killed and 47 injured in a protest in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya. (CNBC) Israeli troops kill three Palestinian militants near Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, who were approaching the border. (Al Jazeera) (Ynet) (The Jerusalem Post) The Egyptian Army dispatches hundreds of troops to the northern Sinai peninsula to protect a gas pipeline to Israel. (Jerusalem Post) Arts and culture Aretha Franklin announces a return to the stage. (BBC) A rare red and white 6ft by 6ft Andy Warhol self-portrait sells for £10.79 million at auction at Christie's in London. (BBC) Business and economy The private equity owners of Australian book sellers Angus & Robertson, the New Zealand news agency chain Whitcoulls and the Australasian franchise of Borders goes into voluntary administration. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (The Australian) Honda recalls nearly 700,000 vehicles in the Fit, Freed, and City model range due to a defective spring. (MSNBC) Disasters At least 12 people die as a tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay. (AP via Yahoo! News) (Reuters via ABC News Australia) At least 32 people are killed in several hours of explosions due to an accident at a munitions dump in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania closing the city's airport, destroying homes, a school and sending debris flying across the city as thousands of people seek shelter in a stadium. The death toll is expected to rise. (BBC) (DAWN) (Al Jazeera) (CNN) (France24) The inquiry into the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is released finding that the accident was entirely preventable. (Oil Spill Commission) International relations Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says that general elections in September would be canceled if Hamas refused to allow voting in the Gaza Strip. (The Jerusalem Post) A boat containing 129 Rohingya refugees from Burma is found by Indonesia. (Straits Times) Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian United Nations observer, announces that the United Nations Security Council is to vote tomorrow on a resolution critical of Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (DAWN) Assessment suggests the possibility that social networks are more informed than U.S. intelligence about protesters in the Middle East. (Al Jazeera) Iran requests permission from the Government of Egypt for the Iranian navy to pass through the Suez Canal. (MarketWatch) The United States imposes sanctions on Iran's Refah Bank for allegedly facilitating the purchase of weapons by Iran's Defense Ministry. (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Law and crime The CBC releases information about an alleged attack originating from China against the computer networks of the Finance Department and Treasury Board in Canada, forcing the immediate shutdown of all internet access in both departments. (CBC News) English football fan Garry Mann, jailed for his role in a riot during UEFA Euro 2004, is transferred from jail in Portugal in order to serve the remainder of his sentence in his home country. (BBC) United States authorities charge more than a hundred doctors, nurses and physical therapists in nine cities with Medicare fraud. (AP via Google) Police arrest nine people allegedly involved in a United States-Mexico arms ring, and seize 300 weapons. (Reuters) Former Egyptian Interior Minister Habib Ibrahim El Adly is arrested pending investigation of corruption allegations along with former Housing Minister Ahmed Maghrabi, former Tourism Minister Zuhair Garana and a former official from the National Democratic Party. (AP via Houston Chronicle), (CNN) Anthony Graves, an American man found innocent of the murders which left him on death row for 18 years, is denied restitution due to a technicality. (My Fox Houston) (Press TV) Politics and elections Wisconsin: Schools in the American state of Wisconsin close as teachers attend rallies against proposals to limit collective bargaining for state employees. (Wisconsin State Journal) Democratic State Senators leave the capital Madison to avoid participating in the debate. (Wisconsin State Journal) Tunisia: French media reports that former President of Tunisia Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali has been hospitalised in Saudi Arabia with a stroke. (UPI) Tunisian authorities rename the central square in Tunis after Mohamed Bouazizi whose suicide sparked the 2010–2011 Tunisian revolution. (Reuters) Buckingham Palace confirms that the President of the United States Barack Obama will make a state visit to the United Kingdom in May. (BBC) Kosovo marks the third anniversary of its declaration of independence from Serbia. (BBC) The Governor of Alaska Sean Parnell says that he will not implement the United States Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act after a Florida judge ruled it was unconstitutional. (Star Tribune) Sport The European General Court rules in favour of Belgian and British broadcasting restrictions requiring football matches at the World Cup and European Championships on to be available on free-to-air TV. (BBC News) Current events of February 18, 2011 (2011-02-18) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks A thousand or more non-citizen residents of Kuwait demonstrated yesterday demanding rights given to Kuwaiti citizen. (Reuters)(Al Jazeera English)(CNN) Police and indigenous protesters clash in Panama during a protest against changes to the country's mining law. (AFP via Google News) At least 37 people are killed and others are wounded in a U.S.-led airstrike in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. (Press TV) Retired CIA officer-turned-political activist Ray McGovern is thrown out, bloodied and arrested while protesting a speech given by Hillary Clinton on internet freedom at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Veterans for Peace requests that Clinton apologise. (Press TV) (American Independent) 2011 Bahraini protests: Troops and tanks patrol Manama as the Bahraini military sets up checkpoints; a ban on public gatherings is announced. (Al Jazeera) King of Bahrain Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa visits and praises the military for its nighttime crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Manama, lauding their "bravery and readiness to assume their national duties". (Press TV) Thousands of people attend the first funerals of those killed by security forces in yesterday's massacre at Pearl Square, many making known their anger at the Bahraini regime. (BBC) Bahrain's military fires at hundreds of mourners advancing towards Pearl Square with reports of live ammunition being used. (New York Times) 2011 Djibouti protests: Police shoot tear gas at thousands of people demonstrating against the Ismail Omar Guelleh regime in Djibouti. (Al Jazeera) 2011 Jordanian protests: At least 8 people are injured during an attack on a pro-democracy protest rally in Amman. (Press TV) (Xinhua) 2011 Libyan civil war: Anti-regime protests continue overnight after yesterday's "Day of Rage". Funerals of those killed due today. Human Rights Watch lists 24 killed and many wounded. (BBC) (Human Rights Watch) Libyans in Benghazi take over a radio station; it broadcasts its message to the world - calling on the international media to cover what "the criminal Gaddafi" is doing - while libya17.com posts videos in English. (Foreign Policy) Libya shuts off access to the Internet. (TechCrunch) Al Jazeera reports that its signal to Libya is being blocked. (Reuters) 2011 Iraqi protests: Anti-regime protests occur in Baghdad, with demonstrators calling for a larger demonstration next Friday as part of an "Iraqi revolution". (CNN) (Xinhua) Deaths and injuries occur during anti-regime demonstrations in Sulaymaniyah. (euronews) Anti-regime protests occur in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. (Al Jazeera) (Press TV) (The Washington Post) 2011 Yemeni protests: Anti-regime protesters gather for the largest of eight days of demonstrations. (Bloomberg) 4 people are killed during nationwide protests in Yemen. (MSNBC) In the southern port city of Aden one anti-government protester is shot dead and 40 others are injured as police open fire on thousands of demonstrators; thousands of protesters later storm two council buildings setting them on fire. (Xinhua) Egyptian Revolution of 2011: Some Egyptians march through the streets of Cairo apologising for the way in which Hosni Mubarak was deposed after 30 years in the recent revolution. "Yes to Change, No to Humiliation". (Reuters) Ayman al-Zawahri, Al-Qaeda's deputy leader, issues a video saying that Egypt had long "deviated from Islam" and warning that democracy "can only be non-religious." (AP via ABC News America) Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a leading Islamic preacher associated with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, is to lead public prayers in Cairo's Tahrir Square for the first time in thirty years. (Al-Arabiya) Other Arab Spring Events: Former President of Tunisia Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ousted during the recent popular revolution, is reported to have slipped into a coma following his stroke in Saudi Arabia. (Al Jazeera) Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud warns of the Arab Spring spreading to Saudi Arabia unless King Abdullah speeds up the reform process. (AFP via The Australian) Tens of thousands of people march peacefully through Tirana urging the Albanian government to resign due to corruption in the Sali Berisha regime. 4 people were killed in a similar demonstration nearly a month ago. (CP via Google News) (AP via The New York Times) (Xinhua) The corpse of Mark Rybinski is found with multiple stab wounds and a slit throat outside a private school in Tunis. (Al Jazeera) Arts and culture Facebook recognises civil unions and domestic partnerships as relationship statuses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. (San Francisco Chronicle) Business and economy The U.S. abandons its criminal investigation of Angelo Mozilo former chairman of Countrywide Financial, in connection with Countrywide's collapse in 2007-08. Mozilo settled a civil action four months ago. (L.A. Times) International relations Japan officially suspends its whaling program for the season due to interference by the Sea Shepherd conservation organisation. (NHK) President of the United States Barack Obama is announced to visit Brazil, Chile and El Salvador from March 19 to 23. (Xinhua) Law and crime Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi proposes a reform of the Italian judiciary system restricting telephone taps, one of the methods used by prosecutors in the Ruby Rubacuori scandal. (Xinhua) (BBC) A Chinese court upholds an eight year sentence for "stealing state secrets" for Chinese American geologist Xue Feng. (BBC) (Bloomberg) A Turkish court jails three journalists associated with a dissident website pending trials on being part of the Ergenekon organisation allegedly plotting to overthrow the Government of Turkey. (AP via San Jose Mercury) A McCann family spokesman insists reports that Madeleine McCann was taken to the United States after being snatched during a family holiday in Portugal must be treated with caution. (Sky News) Politics and elections New Caledonia's coalition government collapses after the pro-independence Caledonian Union party withdraws its support for President Philippe Gomes in a dispute over the use of New Caledonian flags. (Radio Australia) Voters in Uganda go to the polls for the Ugandan general election. (Bangkok Post) (Al Jazeera) The Washington Post reports that United States Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico will announce that he will not contest the 2012 Senate election for New Mexico. (Washington Post) The Obama administration rescinds most of a regulation designed to protect health care workers who refuse to provide a service that they find objectionable but retains protections against performing abortions when you have strong anti-abortion convictions. (Washington Post) The United States House of Representatives blocks Federal funding for Planned Parenthood. (AP via Atlanta Journal Constitution) (Xinhua) The U.S. state of Wisconsin has demonstrations in the tens of thousands against a bill forcing public service workers to pay increased pension costs, increased healthcare coverage as well as stripping them of almost all union rights. Senators yesterday fled the state to Illinois. (CNN) (Los Angeles Times) (The Washington Post) Science NASA clears the Space Shuttle Discovery for its final flight on Thursday. (Space) Sport The soccer player Ronaldo, who retired recently, joins Brazil's 2014 FIFA World Cup organising committee. (Xinhua) Current events of February 19, 2011 (2011-02-19) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Libyan civil war: Human Rights Watch claims that Libyan security forces have killed 84 people over the past three days. (Human Rights Watch) Libyan exiles claim that the total death toll could be as high as 120 with reports that snipers have fired at funerals in Benghazi. (Sky News) A businessman calls for help from Benghazi, saying hospitals are overwhelmed and blood is running out. (Al Jazeera) 2011 Bahraini protests: Demonstrators chase away riot police in Manama. (Deutsche Welle) 2011 Yemeni protests: At least five people are killed in demonstrations in several cities across Yemen. (BBC) 2010-2011 Algerian protests: Police break up a pro-democracy protest in the capital Algiers. (Al Jazeera) (The Times of India) At least two people are killed in the Ivory Coast after Ivorian forces open fire on protesters urging the resignation of President Laurent Gbagbo. (BBC) Riots occur in the Moroccan city of Tangier over utility costs. (Reuters) Israeli–Palestinian conflict: 8 Palestinians are injured while on restricted lands when their anti-barrier protests are broken up by Israeli forces using live ammunition and tear gas among other agents to disperse the protesters. (International Middle East Media Center) (Palestine News Network) Demonstrators gather outside the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv to protest yesterday's U.S. veto at the United Nations and call for an end to the “US-supported occupation”. (The Jerusalem Post) Thousands of people rally in Spanish municipality of Bilbao calling for the legalization of the new separatist party Sortu. (BBC) Pirates seize a yacht with four Americans off the coast of Oman. (Al Jazeera) Police shoot tear gas and water cannons as thousands of people protest against an authorized neo-Nazi march in Dresden. (Deutsche Welle) Arts and culture Iranian director Asghar Farhadi wins three awards, including the Golden Bear, for his film Nader and Simin, A Separation as the 61st Berlin International Film Festival ends. There are other winners from Argentina, Albania, Germany and Hungary. (Deutsche Welle) Business and economy International Petroleum Investment Company makes a $4billion bid for the remaining 53% of shares of Compañía Española de Petróleos.(The Wall Street Journal) International relations The United States vetoes a draft of a U.N. Security Council resolution critical of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. (Reuters) (Haaretz) (UN News Centre) Politics Cuba frees Ivan Hernandez, a dissident who refused to go into exile in Spain. (BBC) The return of former Madagascan President Marc Ravalomanana, in exile in South Africa, is blocked by the government on the island. Tear gas is fired to disperse supporters at the international airport. (Reuters) (AFP via Google News) Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker rejects union concessions on the state budget as protests continue in the state capital. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) Thousands of political prisoners of former President of Tunisia Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali are released in Tunisia. (France 24) Authorities in the People's Republic of China crack down on political activists as calls spread online for a "Jasmine Revolution" on Sunday. (AP via The Washington Post) Ahmed Shafik, the Prime Minister of Egypt, announces that the Government will release more than 200 political prisoners. (Antara News) Science Iran's defense minister Ahmad Vahidi unveils 32 scientific and research projects conducted at Malek Ashtar Industrial University. (Press TV) Sports The 2011 Cricket World Cup begins with co hosts India and Bangladesh playing each other in Dhaka,Bangladesh. Current events of February 20, 2011 (2011-02-20) (Sunday) Armed conflicts and attacks Arab Spring: 2011 Libyan civil war: More than 200 people are killed and 900 other are injured as military troops attack protestors in Libya.(BBC) (CBC) (Al Jazeera) Members of a Libyan Army unit defect and claim to have "liberated" Benghazi. (Sky News) Shaikh Faraj al Zuway, the head of the Zuwayya tribe in eastern Libya threatens to cut off oil exports unless the Government of Libya stops the "suppression of protestors". (Reuters via London South East)(Reuters) Al Jazeera reports that the protests have spread to the capital Tripoli. (Al Jazeera) 2011 Bahraini protests: Anti-regime demonstrators continue their overnight occupation of Pearl Roundabout junction in Manama, chanting "Get out Hamad" in reference to the country's ruler, having reclaimed the junction after earlier being forced out by authorities. (Al Jazeera) 2011 Moroccan protests: A coalition of Moroccan youth groups called “The February 20 Movement” calls for peaceful protests in cities throughout the country. (Al Arabiya) Protests spread to the city of Rabat as thousands march on the central Hassan II Avenue calling for health and educational reform, economic opportunity and assistance against increased cost of living. (Al Jazeera) Thousands of Moroccans demonstrate in Rabat demanding that King Mohammed VI give up some of his powers. (BBC) (Afrol News) 2011 Yemeni protests: Nationwide anti-regime protests continue for the 11th consecutive day as one leader is arrested in Aden and thousands of people stage sit-ins in Ibb and Ta'izz calling for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. (Al Jazeera) Protests in other parts of the world: 2011 Chinese protests: Police in China show up in force in several cities after a call for a "Jasmine Revolution", and disperse protesters in Beijing and Shanghai. (Sify India) (BBC) 2011 Iranian protests: Iranians are invited to attend a protest rally in Tehran and other cities in commememoration of the two people killed while attempting to demonstrate for better freedoms last week. (Al Jazeera) Mehdi Karroubi, the opposition leader under house arrest, calls for his trial to take place in public so that people can "get to know the truth". He posts the request on his website since he cannot leave his house to personally deliver it. (Al Jazeera) NATO pledges to investigate itself amid reports of its recent killing of dozens of civilians in eastern Afghanistan. (BBC) War in Pakistan: The Pakistan Army kills up to 15 insurgents in operations in the Mohmand Agency near the Afghan border. (Dawn) War in Afghanistan: Sapper Jamie Larkham of the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment (Australia) and an Afghan interpreter die in overnight fighting. (The Australian) Fazlullah Wahidi, the Governor of Kunar Province, claims that air and missile strikes have killed 64 civilians in the Ghaziabad District over the past few days. (Reuters via Fox 4KC) The death is announced of slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran's mother Vallipuram Parvathi. (The Hindu) Arts and culture British gay Muslims fight for equality and the right to be Islamically married. (BBC) Disasters 10 children are killed by a fire during their afternoon nap at a home for disabled children in Haapsalu, Estonia. (CBS News) (BBC) (AP via The Guardian) (The Sydney Morning Herald) A heavy snowfall in the U.S. state of Minnesota results in the cancellation of hundreds of flights from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) International relations The Guardian reports that Raymond Davis, charged with murder in Pakistan after shooting dead two men in Lahore, worked for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). (The Guardian) (The Daily Telegraph) German–Iranian relations: Following a visit by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle to Iran, two German journalists charged with espionage are released and return to Germany having been imprisoned since October for interviewing the son and lawyer of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani.(CNN)(Canadian Press)(Ynet)(Reuters) State-owned Press TV reports that President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used Westerwelle's visit to say that some countries having a veto on the UN Security council is an insult to other countries and to call for reforms to the world governance. (Press TV) North Korea has been observed digging tunnels at a nuclear test site in Punggye-ri in North Hamgyong Province raising concerns about another test. (Yonhap) New Yorker Magazine reports that the Obama administration has entered exploratory talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan. (New Yorker) Intruders steal secret computer files from Indonesian envoys staying in South Korea. (Yonhap) The Government of Tunisia asks Saudi Arabia to extradite former President of Tunisia Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who it accuses of "several serious crimes.". (AFP via Yahoo! News) Law and crime Fifty-three people are killed in a 72-hour period in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. (CNN) Politics and elections Italian politics's rising star Matteo Renzi, the Mayor of Florence, calls for the retirement of Silvio Berlusconi's generation, Berlusconi himself being "only six years younger than my granny". (The Observer) Yoweri Museveni is re-elected President of Uganda for a fourth term; the opposition does not take the result well. (Al Jazeera), (CNN) A coalition of anti-war groups, pacifists, religious organisations and digital activists urges people to boycott next month's UK's census due to the involvement of the U.S. arms manufacturer responsible for Trident. (The Observer) Thousands of protesters continue to demonstrate in the U.S. state of Wisconsin over reform of unions and taxes. (Al Jazeera)(NECN) Sport Iran and Russia meet in the final of the Greco-Roman Wrestling World Championships in Belarus. (Press TV) Carlos Noe Gomez, the vice-president of Guatemalan football club Deportivo Xinabaju, is reported to have been shot dead by two men. (BBC News) Rookie NASCAR driver Trevor Bayne wins the Daytona 500. (AP via MSNBC) The Western Conference defeats the Eastern Conference in the 2011 NBA All-Star Game 148-143 played in Los Angeles. (AP via The Salt Lake Tribune) Current events of February 21, 2011 (2011-02-21) (Monday) Armed conflicts and attacks Arab Spring: 2011 Libyan Civil War: The Libyan Air Force launches airstrikes on crowds of protesters. Two civilian helicopters carrying French nationals and two Libyan Mirage jets land in Malta. The Libyan pilots claim that they received orders to bomb protesters, and request political asylum. (Ynetnews) (NPR) (Los Angeles Times) (The Atlantic)(Times of Malta) Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, warns in a nationally televised address that the protests could develop into a civil war. (AP via Houston Chronicle) (AFP via Google News) UAE-based Al Arabiya and Qatar-based Al Jazeera reported earlier that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, head of Libya, has left for Brazil or Venezuela. (Xinhua) (The Guardian) Libya's representatives to the Arab League, China, India and other countries resign in protest at the violence. (Haaretz) (The Guardian) Clashes and gunfire are reported in Tripoli for the first time. (Al Jazeera) Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential Muslim cleric and the spiritual leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, issues a fatwa ordering the death of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. (Africasia.com) (AFP) Islamic leaders and clerics in Libya urge all Muslims to rebel against Gaddafi. (Reuters) Hillary Clinton calls on Libyan authorities to "stop this unacceptable bloodshed". (Al Jazeera), (Reuters) 2011 Yemeni protests: MPs join protests in the capital Sana'a as President Ali Abdullah Saleh refuses to step down. (AFP via Google News) 2011 Bahraini protests The cancellation of the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix is announced. (BBC) Situation in Somalia: A car bomb attack in Somalia kills 13 people. (Press TV) At least five people are killed and dozens injured in clashes between military forces from Somaliland and clan militias in the disputed Sool region. (AHN) An excavation begins at the Tokyo site of Unit 731, a covert Imperial Japanese Army biological and chemical warfare site that conducted human experimentation. (Japan Today) A suspected United States missile strike kills four militants in the South Waziristan region of Pakistan. (AP via Google News) Arts and culture English rock band Deep Purple will release a record single of the song "Hush" in support of UK Record Store Day which is the third Saturday in April. (AP via ROCKAAA) Business and economy UK based oil giant BP agrees to pay Reliance Industries $7.2 billion for a stake in 23 oil and gas blocks in deep water off India. The two companies will also enter into a joint venture for marketing and sourcing natural gas. (Reuters) ConAgra lays off 234 workers from its Slim Jim manufacturing plant in Garner, North Carolina prior to the closure of the plant. (ABC Local), (News and Observer) Disasters The United States cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis declare snow emergencies. (AP via Minnesota Star-Tribune) Bird flu is discovered in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. (Times of India) Mount Bulusan on the island of Luzon in the Philippines erupts. (Huffington Post) (Philippine Inquirer) At least thirty people are killed in a stampede at a Mali stadium following a sermon by a leading Muslim imam. (AFP via Brisbane Times) International relations Tunisia asks Saudi Arabia to extradite former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who was ousted in January. (AFP via Google News) Law and crime A court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo sentences an army colonel to 20 years imprisonment for crimes against humanity. (Al Jazeera) The Bombay High Court in India upholds the death sentence for convicted Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. (Times of India) Politics China's top security official urges ways to "detect conflicts and problems early on" and improve "social management", after small protests took place inspired by events in the Middle East and North Africa. (BBC) A ruling party official says that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will not stand for re-election. (BBC) Prisoners in the U.S. state of Georgia, in particular inmates of United States Penitentiary, Atlanta, start protesting. (AP via SanFranciscoBay) Jurist Alex Chernov is appointed as the next Governor of the Australian state of Victoria. (Herald Sun) Three Venezuelan hunger strikers are hospitalised after calling for an international probe into alleged human rights abuses by the President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez. (AP via Star Tribune) Sport The Bahrain Royal Family calls off the Bahrain Grand Prix, the opening round of the 2011 Formula One season, due to the ongoing 2011 Bahrain protests. (The Australian) In the North American National Basketball Association, Carmelo Anthony is traded from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks as part of a multi-player deal. (NBC Sports), (ESPN), (Huffington Post) Current events of February 22, 2011 (2011-02-22) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Libyan civil war: The leader of Libya Muammar Gaddafi appears on state television to disprove claims that he has fled. (AFP via News Limited) (BBC) The runways at Benina International Airport in Benghazi have been destroyed. (Reuters via News 24) The United Nations Security Council holds a closed-door meeting in response to the crackdown in Libya (The Guardian) Colonel Gaddafi gives a major speech claiming that he will remain head of the revolution. (BBC) Abdul Fatah Younis, the Libyan Interior Minister and general in the Libyan Army, defects. (Al Jazeera) The old monarchy-era flag, which has become a popular symbol among anti-government protesters, is hoisted at the Libyan embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. (The Local), (Canadian Press via Google News) Peru suspends diplomatic relations with Libya, becoming the first nation to do so since the unrest, and calls on the United Nations Security Council to introduce a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace to stop Libyan Air Force aircraft attacking civilians (The Australian) (BBC) 2011 Yemeni protests: Clashes take place between pro and anti-government demonstrators across the country. (AFP via Google News) Armed supporters of the Government of Yemen kill two students and wound another eleven students conducting a sit-in at Sanaa University demanding the resignation of the President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh. (AFP via SBS) 2010-2011 Algerian protests: The Algerian government adopts a draft law lifting the state of emergency in the country, in place since 1992. (BBC) Strikes continue in the country. (AFP via Google News) 2011 Iranian protests: Iranian security forces arrest the son of opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi. (Reuters via SBS News Australia) Arts and culture Jamaican reggae singer Buju Banton is found guilty on drugs charges in the U.S. state of Florida. (Go Jamaica) Business Moody's Investors Service downgrades Japan's credit rating due to concerns over high levels of government debt. (Bloomberg) The life insurance company Metlife expects to sell its Taiwan unit soon, perhaps as early as April, according to anonymous sources cited by Reuters. Regulators blocked an early effort by MetLife to sell the same unit. (Reuters) Uncertainty in Libya leads to falls in world stock markets and increases in crude oil prices. (Wall Street Journal) Disasters 2011 Canterbury earthquake: An earthquake of 6.3 magnitude strikes the region of Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand, disrupting communications to the area and closing Christchurch Airport. (New Zealand Herald) (Geo Net) (New Zealand Herald) 65 people are confirmed dead. (Stuff) (TVNZ) Radio New Zealand reports that buildings have collapsed with 200 people trapped in one building alone. (Radio New Zealand) (Sky News) (TV3) Christchurch Cathedral is badly damaged in the quake, losing its spire. (CNN) (WA Today) The New Zealand Fire Service confirms that there have been at least 65 deaths resulting from the earthquake with the city of Christchurch not having enough ambulances. (Radio New Zealand) (3 News New Zealand) (TV New Zealand) The Prime Minister of New Zealand calls an emergency Cabinet meeting while Bob Parker, the Mayor of Christchurch, declares a state of emergency. (Radio New Zealand) (New Zealand Herald) Tropical Cyclone Carlos wreaks damage in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with reports of four tornadoes striking the mining town of Karratha. (WAToday) International relations The Iran Navy sends two ships through the Suez Canal for the first time since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. (Reuters) (WSJ) Egypt decides to open the Rafah crossing with Gaza. (Ynet) (Arab News) Al-Jazeera reports Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa stating that Libya is suspended from sessions. (Ynet) (Bloomberg) (Al Jazeera) Law and crime United States militant nativist Shawna Forde of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps is sentenced to death in Arizona for her role in the murders of Raul and Brisenia Flores. (AP via AZCentral), (USA Today) An Indian court convicts 31 people on murder and conspiracy charges in relation to the Godhra train burning. (Los Angeles Times via Global National) Politics and elections The King of Bahrain Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa orders the release of political prisoners in response to the 2011 Bahraini protests. (AP via CF News) The Democrats in the Indiana House of Representatives leave for other states in the U.S. rather than vote on anti-union legislation. (Indy Star) U.S. mayoral elections: Voters in the USA city of Chicago go to the polls for the Chicago mayoral election with former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel winning. (ABC News) (CNN), (New York Times) Mark Funkhouser is defeated in a bid to be reelected as the mayor of Kansas City with Mike Burke and Sly James contesting a runoff on March 22. (Fox Kansas City) Current events of February 23, 2011 (2011-02-23) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Libyan civil war Italy's foreign minister says as many as 1,000 people have been killed in Libya during the unrest. (Reuters) Anti-government protestors and defectors take control of more cities. (Al Jazeera) The African Union condemns the "excessive use of force" against protesters. (African Press Agency) (AFP via Google News) Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Cuba's Minister of Foreign Affairs, accuses the US media of inciting violence. (AP via MSNBC) More than 5,700 people have fled Libya for Tunisia in the past couple of days. (Al Jazeera) Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the former Libyan Minister for Justice, claims that Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi personally authorised the Lockerbie bombing. (AP via Washington Post) Nations including the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France, the People's Republic of China, Russia, Italy and Greece evacuate their citizens from Libya. (Sky News) 2011 Yemeni protests: Eight members of the ruling General People's Congress party resign after the deaths of protestors. (RFI) Arts and culture A missing Enid Blyton manuscript is found in an archive of her work. (The Guardian) Business and economy Samsung releases, in South Korea, a camera that can post photos and videos directly to Facebook and YouTube. (Yonhap) Australian businessman Lachlan Murdoch is appointed as acting CEO of Network Ten following the sacking of Grant Blackley. (NineMSN) Oil prices reach a two-year high due to uncertainty in the Middle East most notably in Libya. (AP via News Limited) Japan logs its first trade deficit in almost two years due to high commodity prices and weak demand for its exports. (Brisbane Times) Stock markets in the United States and Europe fall due to uncertainty in the Middle East and rising oil prices. (Bloomberg) Disasters 2011 Canterbury earthquake: 300 persons are estimated to be still missing in Christchurch, New Zealand, following yesterday's earthquake with the official death toll reaching 75. (NZ Herald) (Courier Mail) The earthquake shakes off 30 million tonnes of ice loose from the Tasman Glacier in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. (NZ Herald) Rescue crews pull out of central Christchurch due to fears that one of the tallest buildings, the Grand Chancellor Hotel, will collapse. (ABC News Australia) The Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key declares a national emergency. (SBS) New Zealand police introduce a curfew in central Christchurch as six people are arrested for looting. (Sydney Morning Herald) Snow and heavy winds affecting areas around Constanţa, Romania, are predicted to continue until late Friday evening. (EnglishHotNews) International relations President of the Philippines Benigno Aquino says the country has not resolved a row with Taiwan over deportations. (AFP via Google News) Senegal severs diplomatic relations with Iran, accusing it of supplying weapons to anti-government rebels that killed Senegalese soldiers. (Reuters) (China Radio International) The People's Republic of China refuses to let the United Nations Security Council publish a report on North Korea's efforts to avoid sanctions on its nuclear program. (AFP via Google News) Law and crime Four men from Xinjiang in western China are to be executed following convictions for terrorism in the region last year. (BBC) (The Times of India) Thai police seize six tiger cubs at the house of a suspected weapons dealer. (Straits Times) Three people are arrested in the United Kingdom in connection with an alleged attempt to blackmail Coleen Rooney, the wife of Manchester United F.C. star Wayne Rooney. (BBC via SBS) Colin Hatch, a convicted child murderer, is murdered in jail while serving his sentence; a 35-year-old male prisoner has been arrested on suspicion of murder. (Sky News) Politics Online calls for "Jasmine Revolution" and protest continue in China, as several people are detained. (The New York Times) (The Times of India) Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah announces a series of benefits for citizens as he returns to the country. (Al Jazeera) (IOL) German defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has his doctorate revoked by the University of Bayreuth for submitting a thesis riddled with plagiarisms. (Guardian) Current events of February 24, 2011 (2011-02-24) (Thursday) Armed conflict and attacks 2010-2011 Algerian protests: Algeria officially lifts its 19-year-old state of emergency. (CNN) 2011 Libyan civil war: Libyan workers fleeing to Tunisia claim that anti-Gaddafi forces control the town of Zuwara, 120 km west of Tripoli. (Reuters via Channel 4 UK), (Al Jazeera) More towns and cities closer to Tripoli come under the control of protesters and defectors. (Al Arabiya) At least ten people have been killed and dozens injured following an attack by pro-Government forces on the town of Zawiya. (AFP via Herald-Sun) Colonel Gaddafi describes himself as a "symbolic leader" similar to Queen Elizabeth II and blames unrest on al Qaeda. (USA Today) 2011 Yemeni protests: The President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh orders security forces to protect protestors. (AP via Observer Today) (Al Arabiya) 2011 Bahraini protests: Opposition groups outline their demands as protests continue in the country. (Sify India) Palestinian militants fire two Grad-model Katyusha rockets at Beersheba, Israel; the Israeli Air Force responds with attacks on targets in the Gaza Strip. (AFP via Brisbane Courier-Mail)(The Jerusalem Post) Rolling Stone Magazine alleges that United States Army Lieutenant General William B. Caldwell ordered a campaign of "psychological operations" to persuade influential people to continue support for the War in Afghanistan. (Rolling Stone) Arts and culture The Superior Court in Riverside County, California, orders an urgent medical evaluation of US blues singer Etta James after concerns are raised about her health. (Los Angeles Times) CBS and Warner Bros. Television shut down Two and a Half Men for the remainder of the current season due to concerns about Charlie Sheen's health and behaviour. (Access Hollywood) Business and economy Toyota recalls more than two million vehicles in the United States to address problems with accelerator pedals being trapped in floormats. (Detroit News) Allison Transmission, a maker of transmissions for trucks and buses, is planning an initial public offering expected to raise between US$500 million and $1 billion, according to Reuters, which cites "four sources familiar with the situation." (Reuters) The US Air Force awards Boeing a $35billion contract to build aerial refueling tankers.(New York Times) Disasters 2011 Canterbury earthquake The death toll from the earthquake reaches 98 with police fearing for another 226. (New Zealand Herald), (Sydney Morning Herald) New Zealand police will start releasing the names of victims at 4pm local time. (New Zealand Herald) The wreckage of a Republic of Korea Coast Guard AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter is located near the resort island of Jeju-do off the South Korean coast with one officer confirmed dead and several others missing. (Yonhap) Law and crime Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit announces that former Vice President Omar Suleiman was the target of an assassination attempt during the recent uprising. (AP via CBS) The editor of the Myanmar Times newspaper in Burma is charged with assault. (Straits Times) A "one-dog policy" is announced in Shanghai, China, with more than 600,000 unlicensed dogs to be declared illegal.(BBC) (People's Daily) A Saudi Arabian student is arrested in Texas for allegedly planning a terrorist attack against the Dallas home of former President of the United States George W. Bush as a target as well as New York City and dams in California and Colorado. (AP via KIII-TV), (MSNBC), (NBC) A British judge orders Julian Assange to be extradited to Sweden but the Wikileaks founder says that he will appeal. (AAP via News Limited) German prosecutors investigate several companies for possible illegal sales of HIV drugs including those intended for use in Africa. (AP via KTUU) United States authorities arrest more than 60 suspected members of Mexican drug cartels following the execution of a US Drug Enforcement Administration agent in Mexico last week. (AP via Fox News) Politics Uganda's opposition leader Kizza Besigye calls for protests against the disputed presidential election which saw incumbent President Yoweri Museveni win a fourth term in office. (Reuters) Shimon Peres, the President of Israel, is on a four day state visit to Spain as King Juan Carlos expressed his support for the Middle East peace process. (Zimbio) The Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard announces a carbon pricing scheme to start on July 1, 2012. (News Limited), (ABC News Australia) The School Board in the US city of Providence, Rhode Island, votes to send dismissal notices to all of the 1,926 teachers in the Providence Public School District. (The Providence Journal) Science The United States Space Shuttle Discovery takes off for its final mission. (AP via Fox News) Sport The Canterbury Crusaders cancel a planned match against the Wellington Hurricanes due to the earthquake with doubts over Christchurch's capacity to host 2011 Rugby World Cup games. (Sydney Morning Herald) Police clash with angry cricket fans in Bangalore after a 2011 Cricket World Cup fixture between India and England is sold out. (News India Times) Current events of February 25, 2011 (2011-02-25) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Iraqi protests At least twenty-nine are killed in a "Day of Rage" protesting against economic problems and corruption in the country. (Al Jazeera) (CP via Google News)(Washington Post) 2011 Bahraini protests Thousands of people stage an anti-government protest in the capital Manama, on a day of mourning declared by the government following the deaths of protesters. (Reuters) 2011 Libyan civil war Leader Muammar Gaddafi addresses a crowd of supporters in the capital Tripoli. (Al Jazeera) (Al Arabiya), (USA Today) More defections take place with a Libyan envoy to the United Nations changing sides during a meeting at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. (Al Arabiya), (MSNBC), (AFP via Melbourne Herald-Sun) The President of the United States Barack Obama announces sanctions against the government of Libya as does the European Union. (Los Angeles Times) 2011 Yemeni protests, (Dow Jones via Trading Charts) Tens of thousands of people participate in anti-government protests in Yemen, leaving one dead and several people injured. (Bangkok Post) (Sify India) 2011 Egyptian protests: Egyptian protestors claims that the Egyptian Army beat them up in Cairo's Tahrir Square. (New York Times) Rebels in the Ivory Coast seize another town from the control of incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to step down following a disputed presidential election. Unrest occurs in the capital Yamoussoukro. (BBC) Arts and culture Victorian era photographs and parole details for women prisoners in the United Kingdom are published on Ancestry.com. (The Guardian) The video game Mortal Kombat is refused classification in Australia. (Kotaku) Christian Dior suspends fashion designer John Galliano following his arrest in Paris for allegedly making an anti-Semetic rant towards a couple in a cafe as well as an assault. (Daily Telegraph), (Elle), (Vogue) Business and economy The population of Japan records its slowest increase since Japan first held a census. (AP via Jakarta Post) A Seoul court orders Chung Mong-koo, the Chairman of the South Korean Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, to pay US$73.1 million in compensation to his own company. (Yonhap) Disasters 2011 Canterbury earthquake The death toll from the 2011 Canterbury earthquake in New Zealand rises to 113 with at least 226 people missing. (CNN), (TV New Zealand) The New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings, scheduled for 8 March, has been canceled due to the earthquake.(New Zealand Herald) A heavy snowstorm hits the East Coast of the United States causing flight cancellations and school closures. (AP via Oregon Live) At least twenty-two people die in Peru after a bus plunges into a ravine. (AP via MSNBC) International relations The Government of Iran advises the International Atomic Energy Agency of serious problems with its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. (New York Times) Law and crime Burma jails five more dissidents on charges including associating with dissident groups abroad. (Straits Times) Representative Ronald Singson of the Philippines is sentenced to 18 months in a Hong Kong jail for cocaine possession. (AP via Yahoo News Philippines) The People's Republic of China gets rid of the death penalty for 13 non-violent economic crimes. (Voice of America) A United States district court approves a $624 million payout to former investors in Countrywide Financial. (AP via Wall Street Journal) Politics and elections Tunisia announces that elections are planned for mid-July 2011, as thousands protest demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi. (Al Jazeera) Several people are charged after calling for Middle-East style protests in China. (AFP via Google News) Communist Party of China official Jia Qinglin urges a "renewed struggle" against the Dalai Lama and controls over Tibetan Buddhism. (Straits Times) (BBC) (Indian Express) Voters in the Republic of Ireland go to the polls for the Irish general election. (BBC) Current events of February 26, 2011 (2011-02-26) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Libyan civil war Internal and international pressure continues on leader Muammar Gaddafi to stand down from power. (Al Jazeera) Saif al-Islam Gaddafi tells Al-Arabiya television that the unrest in Libya opens up all options including civil war. (The Guardian) Reuters reports that Libyan Interim Government led by the former justice minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil has been formed in Benghazi. (Al Jazeera) An oil refinery in Baiji, Iraq, is bombed, resulting in its closure. (Reuters) 2011 Croatian protests: Tens of thousands of protesters meet in the Croatian capital Zagreb's Ban Jelačić Square to express their support for indicted Croatian War of Independence veterans and ask Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor's government to resign. (Jutarnji list) Several dozen of people are injured and arrested as anti-government protests degenerated into clashes with police. (Jutarnji list) (France24) Disasters 2011 Canterbury earthquake The death toll from the earthquake in New Zealand rises to 144 and there is great concern about 200 more people missing. (Reuters) (TV New Zealand) The Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key calls for two minutes of silence on Tuesday March 1 at 12:51 pm, exactly one week after the earthquake. (TV New Zealand) Aftershocks force the evacuation of residents in Mount Pleasant, an outer suburb of Christchurch. (TV New Zealand) International relations The United Nations Security Council, after the defected Libyan Ambassador to the UN Abdel Rahman Mohamed Shalgam's appeal to act against Muammar Gaddafi's regime escalating violence, being used to crackdown the 2011 Libyan civil war, and following propositions by France, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States, adopts resolution 1970, (UN press release on UNSC resolution 1970) (BBC) (BBC) (UN Multimedia). "All necessary means" enforcement of said resolution, and imposition of a "No-fly zone" over Libya are rejected. These measures will be however included on UNSC resolution 1973 of 17 March 2011. Law and crime 2011 Iraqi protests Hundreds of Iraqi journalists, artists, and intellectuals are arrested the day following the country's "Day of Rage" protest, which resulted in at least twenty-nine deaths throughout the country.(Washington Post) A South Korean man dies after explosives he bought to tie to his body detonated. (Straits Times) A Brazilian judge blocks construction of the Belo Monte Dam on the Amazon Basin after it fails to meet environmental requirements. (The Guardian) A Mexican judge authorises 40 days of detention for an alleged member of the Zetas drug cartel suspected in the killing of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. (AP via Washington Post) Politics and elections Irish general election, 2011: The votes are counted, with exit polls predicting Fine Gael and the Labour Party to do well while the ruling Fianna Fáil is expected to do poorly. (AFP via Yahoo! News) (RTÉ) (The Irish Times) Paul Gogarty of the Green Party is the first to concede defeat via Twitter. (Business & Leadership) (The Irish Times) The first seat of the general election goes to Labour Party finance spokeswoman Joan Burton, who tops the poll in the Dublin West constituency. Leo Varadkar of Fine Gael and Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party take the second and third seats respectively in this four-seat constituency. (Press Association via Google News) (The Irish Times) (Irish Examiner) As the ruling Fianna Fáil party faces national wipeout, outgoing Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, Jnr is saved by his own personality. He takes the final seat in the Dublin West constituency, the only Fianna Fáil candidate elected from 47 seats across the capital, with his brother Conor Lenihan and aunt Mary O'Rourke losing out in their bids for re-election elsewhere. (Reuters) (The Irish Times) Outgoing Tánaiste Mary Coughlan becomes the biggest loser of the Fianna Fáil meltdown, as her seat in the Donegal South–West constituency goes to Independent Thomas Pringle. (Irish Examiner) John Gormley, leader of the ruling coalition's Green Party and former Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, is eliminated in the Dublin South–East constituency. (The Irish Times) Independent long-serving outgoing Senator Shane Ross tops the poll in the Dublin South constituency. (The Irish Times) Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny tops the poll in the Mayo constituency and claims that the results are a "massive endorsement" of his party. (RTÉ) (BBC) The King of Bahrain Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa reshuffles his Cabinet in response the 2011 Bahraini protests. (CNN) Nearly 70,000 people attend a rally in the U.S. city of Madison, Wisconsin over plans by the Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker to remove collective bargaining rights from most state employees. (Wisconsin State Journal) Christy Clark becomes the second woman to be Premier of British Columbia after winning a Liberal Party of British Columbia ballot. (The Globe and Mail) Iran takes two opposition leaders Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karrubi and their wives into protection supposedly for their own protection. (CNN) Current events of February 27, 2011 (2011-02-27) (Sunday) Armed conflicts and attacks Six people are killed in a failed coup attempt on the presidential palace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters) State television is taken off air in the city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, during clashes between forces loyal to incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo and rival groups. (Reuters) (CP) At least 115 people are killed in a government offensive against Al-Qaeda linked militants in Somalia. (Straits Times) Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport in the US city of Birmingham, Alabama is evacuated following the discovery of a suspicious package. (Fox News Alabama) Arts and culture Academy Awards The 83rd Academy Awards are held to honor the best films in 2010 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California. (Academy Awards), (AP via Fox News) The King's Speech wins the Academy Award for Best Picture. (Los Angeles Times) Colin Firth wins the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in The King's Speech. (Los Angeles Times) Natalie Portman wins the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Black Swan. (Los Angeles Times) Tom Hooper wins the Academy Award for Best Director for The King's Speech. (Indy Posted) Christian Bale wins the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Fighter. (ABC News America) Melissa Leo wins the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Fighter. (AP via Yahoo! News) Business and economy The Government of Egypt announces that the Egyptian stock market will reopen on Tuesday. (New York Times) Disasters A landslide hits La Paz, Bolivia, after rains killed 44 people. (CNN International) (Media with Conscience) (Nazarene Communications Network) International relations North Korea warns it will take military action against South Korea if it continues to distribute information regarding the unrest in the Middle East to its citizens. (Washington Post) (Yonhap) (Bloomberg) The Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon claims that Belarus has broken an international arms embargo on the Ivory Coast by delivering three attack helicopters to military forces supporting the President of the Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo. (Canadian Press via Google News) Arab Spring Bahrain: Thousands of anti-government protesters demonstrate in the capital Manama, as 18 opposition MPs submit their resignations. (AFP via Google News) Lebanon: Hundreds of protesters demonstrate in the capital Beirut against the country's sectarian political system. (Reuters) Libya: The United Nations Security Council adopts Resolution 1970, imposing sanctions on Muammar Gaddafi's regime. (Washington Post) Anti-government forces seize the town of Zawiya, 30 miles west of the capital Tripoli. (BBC) (CBC) Oman: Police clash with anti-government protesters in Sohar, leaving two people dead. (Al Jazeera) (BBC) Sudan: Riot police break up a demonstration against election fraud in the capital Khartoum. (Reuters) Tunisia: Beji Caid el Sebsi is announced as the new Prime Minister. (The Guardian) Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi announces his resignation in a speech on state TV. (BBC News) Clashes take place at a demonstration calling for the resignation of former members of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime in the interim government. (AFP via Google News) Yemen: President Ali Abdullah Saleh says that protests against his rule are an attempt to split the nation. (Al Arabiya) (AFP via Google News) Politics and elections Irish general election, 2011: PBPA candidate Richard Boyd Barrett of the United Left Alliance, and son of actress Sinéad Cusack, defeats former minister and deputy Fianna Fáil leader Mary Hanafin in the Dún Laoghaire constituency. This leaves Fianna Fáil with one representative in the capital city (Brian Lenihan Jnr) and no Fianna Fáil women at all in the 31st Dáil. (The Irish Times) (Evening Echo) Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny receives international congratulations from Angela Merkel, David Cameron and José Manuel Barroso, with Cameron inviting him to 10 Downing Street. (RTÉ) Large numbers of police and security forces are deployed in Chinese cities after calls for protests inspired by events in North Africa and the Middle East. (Financial Times) (Sify India) For a second day, Croatian war veterans gather in the thousands to protest, this time in Split. (Index) The Wisconsin AFL–CIO warns that hundreds of unionists will risk arrest in trying to prevent police clearing the Wisconsin State Capitol in the US city of Madison. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel), (CNN) Anonymous targets Koch Brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity to demonstrate against its support of anti-union legislation in Wisconsin and the influence of money in US politics. (USA Today) (MSNBC) The head of the Arab League Amr Moussa announces that he will run as a candidate in the Egyptian presidential election. (AP via Houston Chronicle) Current events of February 28, 2011 (2011-02-28) (Monday) Armed conflicts and incidents Arab Spring: Libya: Al Jazeera reports that many African migrant workers in Libya have been victims of violence due to suspicions that they are mercenaries for Muammar Gaddafi's regime. (Al Jazeera) France sends two planeloads of aid to opponents of the Libyan regime in Benghazi. (Reuters) Forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi surround the town of Zawiya as part of a general counterattack. (Reuters), (New York Times) David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom announces that he is working on a no-fly zone over Libya. (USA Today) The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announces that the United States will be sending assistance teams to Libya's borders with Algeria and Egypt. Muammar Gaddafi tells the BBC that all of his people love him and refuses to acknowledge that there are protests in Tripoli. (BBC) The United States freezes $30 billion in Libyan assets. (Washington Post) The Justice and Equality Movement in Darfur, western Sudan, asks the United Nations to rescue its leader in Libya, after accusations he was supporting mercenary activities in the country. (Reuters) Opposition forces rescue seven rebels 'buried alive' under concrete in a government compound in Benghazi, while close to 100,000 migrant workers flee Libya. (Herald Sun) (Daily Mail) 2011 Omani protests: Demonstrations calling for economic and political change continue for a third day, amid reports of looting. (Al Jazeera) 2011 Bahraini protests: Bahraini protesters block access to the Parliament of Bahrain. (Times of India) Ethiopia and Kenya may attack the al-Shabaab Islamist militant group in Somalia, following its threat to target Kenya. (Reuters) A bomb explodes in Yangon, Burma, injuring eight people. (Straits Times) Arts and culture Frank Buckles, the last surviving veteran of World War I in the United States, passes away in Charles Town, West Virginia, aged 110. (AP via Fox News) Television advertising in the United Kingdom The ban on product placement in television programmes is lifted, allowing advertisers to pay for their goods to be seen on British TV. The first product to be displayed in this regard is a Nescafe coffee machine, which appeared on This Morning. (BBC) (Daily Telegraph) A year-long trial also begins allowing commercial television channels to show up to 12 minutes of adverts per hour during films and dramas, bringing them into line with soap operas where this is already permitted. (Daily Telegraph) Hollywood actress and former sex symbol Jane Russell dies at age 89 of respiratory failure in Santa Maria, California. (Fox Central Florida), (Reuters), (Hollywood Reporter) Business and economy Crude oil prices rise to their highest levels in two years as stock market indexes fall in Europe and the United States due to continued uncertainty in the Middle East. (Bloomberg) The United Kingdom's largest bank HSBC doubles its profits to $19bn (£11.8bn) in 2010. (The Guardian) The United States Government grants its first deepwater drilling license since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to Noble Energy. (BBC) Disasters At least 16 people in Bandeira do Sul are killed after a high-voltage electric powerline crashed onto a float participating in a parade ahead of Brazil's carnival celebrations. (Straits Times) New Zealand earthquakes: New Zealand police evacuate 60 properties in Christchurch suburbs after cracks from the 2011 Canterbury earthquake appear in cliffs. (SBS) The Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key estimates that the total cost of the 2011 and 2010 earthquakes is up to NZ$20 billion. (News Talk ZB) Eleven Chinese fishermen are missing after their fishing boat sinks in the East China Sea. (BNO via WR Berkley) International relations United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says Belarus has "seriously violated" the arms embargo against the Ivory Coast, after a delivery of attack helicopters and material to the country. (BBC) (Times Live South Africa) Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear energy corporation, explains that the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant has been delayed in opening due to damage to the nuclear reactor's cooling pumps. (New York Times) Law and crime Former military leaders in Argentina go on trial on charges that they masterminded a plan to steal the children of dissidents. (Al Jazeera) Wing Chau, a money manager, files a lawsuit against Michael Lewis, the author of The Big Short, a popular book about the financial crisis of 2007-08. Chau alleges the book makes "false and defamtory statements" in order to use Chau as a foil for his protagonist, Steve Eisman. (Reuters) A court in the Seychelles sentences ten Somali pirates to 20 years in prison. (Reuters) In the United Kingdom, three senior fire officers from the Warwickshire Fire Service are to face manslaughter by gross negligence charges over the deaths of four firefighters in a warehouse blaze in 2007. (BBC) British Airways IT expert Rajib Karim is convicted on charges related to plotting to blow up a plane. (BBC) British security guard Danny Fitzsimons is jailed for 20 years by an Iraqi court after being convicted of murdering two colleagues. (BBC) Venezuelan union leader Ruben Gonzalez is sentenced to seven years in jail in connection with a strike at the state iron mining company. (Canadian Press via Google News) Politics The President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, accuses the opposition of provoking violence in the country in an attempt to remove the government. (Reuters) Egypt's general prosecutor imposes a travel ban on former President Hosni Mubarak and his family. (Al Jazeera) Iran confirms that it is holding two Opposition leaders MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi under house arrest. (Radio Zamaneh) 2011 Yemeni protests: President Ali Abdullah Saleh offers to form a unity government with the opposition. (Reuters) Sport Iran threatens to boycott the 2012 Summer Olympics ostensibly because its logo spells Zion. (The Guardian) US tennis champion Serena Williams is hospitalised in Los Angeles, California with a pulmonary embolism. (People)

February 2011 S M T W T F S       1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10     11     12     13     14     15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24     25     26     27     28              Ongoing events Economic Global financial crisis European sovereign debt crisis Greek economic crisis Medical HIV/AIDS in Africa Haiti cholera outbreak Political Belgian political crisis Ivorian political crisis Arab world protests and instability Algeria Bahrain Egypt Jordan Libya Tunisia Yemen Iran Sports Scientific Expedition 26  Recent deaths February 28: Annie Girardot 28: Jane Russell 27: Frank Buckles 27: Duke Snider 26: Zhu Guangya 26: Arnošt Lustig 24: Suze Rotolo 22: Ion Hobana 22: Nicholas Courtney 21: Premananda 17: Dave Duerson 17: Bill Monroe 16: Santi Santamaria 16: Len Lesser 15: Joe Frazier 14: George Shearing 13: T. P. McKenna 12: Peter Alexander 12: Kenneth Mars 10: Blanche Honegger Moyse 9: Miltiadis Evert 8: Angelo Reyes 7: Maria Altmann 6: Josefa Iloilo 6: Ken Olsen 6: Andrée Chedid 6: John Paul Getty III 6: Gary Moore 5: Brian Jacques  Ongoing conflicts Global War on Terror Terrorist incidents Operation Active Endeavour Operation Enduring Freedom War on Drugs Africa Tunisia Maghreb OEF - Trans Sahara Casamance Niger Delta Ivory Coast Chad Sudan Darfur Nomadic conflicts Lord's Resistance Army Ogaden Somalia Somali Civil War War in Somalia (2009–) Piracy OEF - Horn of Africa Europe Basque conflict Real IRA North Caucasus Ingushetia Middle East Iraqi insurgency Balochistan Fatah–Hamas conflict Arab–Israeli conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Israeli–Lebanese conflict Palestinian political violence and rocket attacks Yemen: Terrorism and al-Qaeda South Yemen insurgency Shia insurgency Kurdistan: Turkey–PKK Iran–PJAK Asia Afghanistan Military operations Taliban insurgency Pakistan Terrorism North-West Pakistan Balochistan Drone attacks Sectarian violence India Terrorism Jammu and Kashmir Naxalite-Maoist Northeast India Nagaland Kashmir Siachen Korean maritime border Southeast Asia Laos insurgency Burma internal conflict Burma border clashes South Thailand insurgency Cambodian–Thai border dispute Philippines insurgency OEF - Philippines Papua conflict* Americas Colombian conflict Plan Colombia FARC Mexican Drug War Mérida Initiative Peru internal conflict  Elections Recent: February 6: Cape Verde, Parliament 13: Chad, Parliament 13: Switzerland, Referendum 18: Uganda, General 25: Ireland, General Upcoming: March 2: Netherlands, Provincial 4: Samoa, General 6: Benin, President (1st Round) 6: Estonia, Parliament 8: Federated States of Micronesia, Parliament  Trials Recently concluded Cambodia: Kang Kek Iew Egypt: Hisham Talaat Moustafa France: Jérôme Kerviel, Air France Flight 4590 Singapore: Alan Shadrake United States: Faisal Shahzad Ongoing Cambodia: Khmer Rouge Tribunal Canada: David Russell Williams China: Organized crime in Chongqing France: Church of Scientology Germany: Heinrich Boere, John Demjanjuk Indonesia: Abu Bakar Bashir Iraq: Supreme Criminal Tribunal Iran: Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani Malaysia: Anwar Ibrahim Netherlands: Thomas Lubanga (ICC), Radovan Karadžić (ICTY), Geert Wilders Palau: Tommy Remengesau Peru: Joran van der Sloot Philippines: Andal Ampatuan Jr. Russia: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev Sierra Leone: Charles Taylor (SCFSL) Singapore: Tak Boleh Tahan Thailand: Thaksin Shinawatra Turkey: Ergenekon network United States: Buju Banton, David Headley, Rod Blagojevich, Ahmed Ghailani Upcoming Sudan: Lubna al-Hussein United States: Viktor Bout, Noshir Gowadia, Allen Stanford, Nidal Malik Hasan  Holidays  and observances Recent 17 February: Lantern Festival (Chinese)