Portal:Current events/2011 January 29

January 29, 2011 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2011 Egyptian protests:
- The protests continue as Egyptian Army tanks surround Cairo's Tahrir Square. (CNN) (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
- Thousands of demonstrators converge on Egypt's Interior Ministry, one of the most visible signs of state authority in Egypt. Police shoot the demonstrators. Medical aid is given at the doors of mosques. (CNN)
- Five protesters are reported to have been wounded at the Interior Ministry. (Reuters)
- At least 100 people are killed and 1,000 injured in clashes so far. (Reuters), (NineMSN)
- Omar Suleiman is sworn in as Vice President of Egypt, the first person to hold the office under President Hosni Mubarak, who has reigned for 30 years. (Haaretz)
- Mubarak selects Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force commander and aviation minister, as his new prime minister, preserving the top three political jobs for men with military links. (Reuters)
- The parliament speaker says Egypt has no plans for early elections despite the mass popular demonstrations against the government. (Reuters)
- Wealthy Egyptian businessman Ahmed Ezz, a close confidante of Mubarak's son, resigns from the ruling NDP party. At least one of his steel company's offices has been targeted by protesters. (Reuters)
- A curfew is extended from 16:00 until 8:00 Egyptian time according to state television. (The Times of India)
- Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of President Hosni Mubarak and First Lady of Egypt, is reported to have fled to London. (Ynetnews)
- The police disappear from the streets of Cairo but civilians fill the void by quickly forming groups to defend homes and important buildings. (Reuters)
- 19 private jets carrying families of wealthy businessmen leave Cairo for Dubai. (The Guardian)
- Egyptian Museum during the riots:
  - Head of antiquities Zahi Hawass says ancient artifacts at the famous Egyptian Museum in Cairo are safe from looters but could still be damaged by the potential collapse of NDP headquarters which was gutted by fire yesterday. (AP via Google News)
  - Two mummies housed at the Egyptian Museum are destroyed and statues are broken into pieces, though ordinary citizens unite to prevent further destruction. The vandals are reported to have been convicts who escaped amid the protests. (Al-Masry Al-Youm) (Gadling) (Press TV) (The Voice of Russia)
  - Young people in Egypt form a human chain to protect the Egyptian Museum from further attacks. (Herald Sun)
- International response to the 2011 Egyptian protests:
  - Viewers across the region and worldwide watch events unfold on Al Jazeera, which maintains an almost continuous live feed despite the Egyptian government's repeated censorship efforts. CNN claims its reporters have been attacked and cameras smashed. (The New York Times)
  - The BBC condemns the treatment given to one of its reporters, who has been deliberately assaulted by police while doing his work in Cairo. He was beaten up with steel bars, "the ones used here for slaughtering animals". (Ynetnews) (The Guardian)
  - China blocks searches for "Egypt" on its internet and restricts media coverage. (Al Jazeera) (AFP via Google News)
  - Protesters gather outside the Egyptian embassy in London calling for Mubarak to resign. (Reuters)
  - Protesters gather outside the Egyptian embassy in Amman in support of "the people of Egypt" and calling on the United States: "do not interfere". (AFP via Google News)
  - Protesters gather outside the Egyptian embassy in Washington, D.C., with the organisers saying they want the people of Egypt to know that Americans are watching and aware of events in the country. (The Washington Post)
  - People gather in historic Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States to peacefully protest against the Mubarak regime. They wave Egyptian flags, hold up signs, chant for Mubarak's resignation and call for an end to cell phone and Internet censorship perpetrated by the Egyptian government. (Boston Herald)
  - Thousands of people gather in front of the United Nations in New York City to support the anti-government protests. (The Star-Ledger)
2011 Yemeni protests: Clashes take place outside the Egyptian embassy between supporters of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government and opposition supporters expressing sympathy with the situation in Egypt. (One India) (CNN) (Al Jazeera)
2011 English protests: Thousands of protesters demonstrate against cuts and increases in tuition fees in England; police escort student leader Aaron Porter away in Manchester amid calls from protesters for his resignation. (The Guardian)
Investigators in Russia say they have discovered the identities of those responsible for the bombing at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow. (RIA Novosti) (AFP via Google News)
War in Afghanistan (2001–present):
- Abdul Latif Ashna, the deputy governor of Afghanistan's Kandahar Province, is killed in a suicide attack. (BBC)
Clashes between rebels and government forces in Somalia leave several civilians dead in the capital Mogadishu. (CP)

Business and economy

China begins the first test flights of private helicopters in its airspace. (AFP via Google News)
Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs triples the base salary of its chief executive Lloyd Blankfein to $2 million, up from $600,000, after the bank's profit falls by 38 per cent. (BBC)
Close to 8,000 protesters rally in Hamilton, Ontario to support workers locked out from Stelco after disagreeing against pension changes made by U.S. Steel. Analysts predict that similar protests may spread across the country. (CTV) (Niagara Falls Review)

Disasters

At least ten people die after a passenger train collides with a goods train in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt near the city of Magdeburg. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)

International relations

The African Union sets up a panel of heads of state to help solve the political crisis in Côte d'Ivoire. (PANA) (RFI)
The UK gives a lesbian from Uganda an injunction to temporarily prevent her deportation to the country where gay activist David Kato was murdered earlier this week. (BBC)
The Dutch government freezes all contacts with Iran in protest over the fate of a Dutch-Iranian woman who was hanged for alleged drug smuggling. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
British Labour Party leader Ed Miliband pays his first visit to Afghanistan. (Press Association via The Guardian)

Law and crime

A Buddhist monk is the first person to be charged under a strict anti-smoking law in Bhutan, introduced in 2005. (The Straits Times)
Guillermo Fariñas, known for his hunger strike campaigns, is released after having been detained by Cuban authorities for the third time in 48 hours. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Seanad Éireann, Ireland's upper house, passes the significant Finance Bill, effectively imposing harsh austerity measures on the Irish public. It is the last act carried out by the government before a general election is called. (BBC) (The Irish Times) (Irish Examiner) (RTÉ)
Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi addresses the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (BBC) (One India)
Students and union members stage protest marches in London and Manchester against increases in tuition fees and public spending cuts in the United Kingdom. (BBC)

Sport

2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar:
- The tournament ends and the closing ceremony is held in Khalifa International Stadium. (AFC)
- Japan defeats Australia 1–0 by a goal from Tadanari Lee in extra time, winning their fourth title. (AFC)
The Confederation of African Football announces in Lubumbashi the hosts of the 2015 (Morocco) and 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (South Africa). (BBC Sport)