Portal:Current events/2011 March 13

March 13, 2011 (Sunday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Arab Spring
- 2011 Libyan civil war: Rebels are forced from the town of Brega by troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi but later claim to have recaptured it. (BBC) (Al-Jazeera)
- Pro-Gaddafi forces are besieging the towns of Misrata and Zawiya. (Al-Jazeera)
- A Yemeni protestor dies of gunshot wounds as demonstrators gather in the capital Sana'a for a new round of protests. (Reuters)
- Tear gas is fired on anti-government protesters blocking a highway near the Bahrain Financial Harbour. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

Donald Elmer, the Chief Executive of a small U.S.–based pharmaceutical company, Koronis, said that he is looking to raise money through London's Alternative Investment Market, thus enabling the next stage of clinical tests for his company's anti-HIV product, KP-1461. (Reuters)

Disasters

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
- Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant: A state of emergency is declared by the Tohoku Electric Power Company. The alert was declared as radioactivity readings exceeding allowed levels in the area surrounding the plant although this later returns to normal. (IAEA Alert Log) (BBC)
- Cooling systems fail at three reactors in the Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant following Friday's earthquake
- A cooling system fails at two other reactors in the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant following Friday's earthquake with Yukio Edano claiming that meltdowns may have occurred in two reactors. (Reuters) (AP via Star Advertiser) (Washington Post) (AFP via Yahoo! News)
- The death toll is expected to exceed 10,000. (Kyodo) (Malaysia Star)
- The Government of Japan evacuates over 200,000 people as fear of nuclear contamination from the power plants grow. (Sky News) (New York Times)
- The United States Navy ships USS Ronald Reagan, USS Chancellorsville and the destroyer USS Preble arrive to assist with relief efforts. (CNN)
- The Japan Meteorological Agency upgrades the magnitude of the earthquake to 9.0. (AP via WKBT)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
- The Government of Japan estimates that 46,000 structures have been damaged by the quake. (NHK)
2011 Canterbury earthquake
- Bob Parker, the mayor of the New Zealand city of Christchurch, estimates that the city centre is still "very, very dangerous" with up to a third of the buildings needing to be demolished. (TV New Zealand)
- John Carter, the New Zealand Minister for Civil Defence, extends the State of National Emergency for another week. (TV New Zealand)
The Shinmoedake volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan explodes again. (Times of South Africa)
A wind and rainstorm in the Pacific Northwest of the United States results in the loss of power to 114,000 in Portland, Oregon. (KATU)

International relations

West Bank
- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemns the Palestinian Itamar attack that stabbed and murdered an Israeli family of five. (Ynetnews)
- Israel approves the construction of hundreds of homes for Israeli settlers in the West Bank in response to a Palestinian attack. (AFP via Google News) (BBC)(JTA)

Law and crime

Two Chinese dissidents Xu Wei, a former reporter, and Jin Haike, a writer, are released from prison after serving a ten–year sentence. (Washington Post)
3,001 people are arrested by Chinese authorities on charges of product piracy. (Straits Times)
Four police officers are shot in Buchanan County in the US state of Virginia with two killed. (WYCB)

Politics and elections

A presidential election takes place in Benin, after previously being delayed. (IOL) (Voice of Russia)
Congolese President Joseph Kabila fires two ministers over corruption and absence. (Reuters)
Chadian President Idriss Deby postpones the 3 April presidential election after opposition candidates threatened a boycott over irregularities. (Reuters)
The President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari asks the second largest Opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, to join the Government. (One Pakistan)