Portal:Current events/2011 February 25

February 25, 2011 (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-Semitic 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

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)