Portal:Current events/2011 February 2

February 2, 2011 (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)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
  - 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)^{[permanent dead link‍]} (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)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
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)