Portal:Current events/2011 March 9

March 9, 2011 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Libyan Civil War:
- The Gaddafi regime offers US$400,000 bounty for rebel leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil. (RIA Novosti) (Haaretz)
- Activists in London calling themselves Topple the Tyrants occupy the mansion of Gaddafi's son, saying they would stay "until this property can be returned to the Libyan people." (BBC) (Huffington Post)
- The city of Ra's Lanuf comes under heavy shelling by government forces. (Al Jazeera)
- Egypt has been secretly aiding Libyan rebels, apparently has sent around 100 Special Forces troops, while Cairo has made no official comment on the report.(UPI) (Daily Mirror)
- A BBC team is subjected to a mock execution by Libyan soldiers. (AP via Google) (The Daily Telegraph)
2011 Yemeni protests:
- Two people die in continuing demonstrations across the country. (Al Jazeera)
- Doctors suspect nerve gas was used on protesters. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
2010–2011 Ivorian crisis: Unrest continues in Côte d'Ivoire as the internationally-recognised President Alassane Ouattara heads to a mediation summit. (AFP via Google News)
Police in Uganda fire tear gas at demonstrators protesting the win of incumbent President Yoweri Museveni in elections. (Reuters)
Clashes between Christian Copt and Muslims in the Egyptian capital Cairo kill 13 people and injure 140. (Times of India)
According to the United Nations, Afghan civilian deaths increased by 15% in 2010, to 2777. (Bloomberg)

Arts and culture

Vivian Schiller resigns as the head of National Public Radio in the United States following a fundraising scandal. (Washington Times)
Buckingham Palace confirms that the wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall will be held on 30 July 2011 at the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. (BBC)

Business and economy

A government-sponsored study in Canada concludes that heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic compounds found in the Athabasca River downstream of oil sands plants, are not a natural occurrence but pollution resulting from those plants. (Reuters)

Disasters

A tsunami alert is issued after a strong earthquake of preliminary 7.2 magnitude occurs off the coast of Honshu, Japan. (CNN)
The Governor of the US state of New Jersey, Chris Christie declares a state of emergency along the Passaic and Delaware Rivers and Bound Brook in Somerset County in order to prepare for anticipated floods later in the week. (AP via The Columbus Republic)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
Ice loss from Antarctica and Greenland has accelerated over the past 20 years, according to new research, and will soon become the biggest driver of sea level rise. (MercoPress)

International relations

North Korea posts a rare interview with the families of defectors urging them to return home. (AFP via Google News) (Yonhap)
Taiwan says it will end restrictions on Philippine workers imposed after a row over the deportation of 14 Taiwanese to mainland China. (Straits Times)
Denmark upgrades its relation with Palestine to a mission, the second highest rank, following many other western nations recent upgrades.(Haaretz)

Law and crime

Malaysia bans Shi'ites from promoting their faith to other Muslims, but remain able to practice it themselves. (Bernama) (Bangkok Post)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
Judy Moran, the matriarch of the Australian Moran crime family, is convicted of the murder of her brother-in-law Des Moran in Melbourne, Victoria. (Nine MSN)
A Federal grand jury in the US city of Lubbock, Texas indicts Khalid Aldawsari on one charge of Attempted Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction. (AP via KCBD)
United States Government investigates are looking at possible breaches of air cargo screening regulations by US Air at Philadelphia Airport. (NBC Philadelphia)

Politics

Arab Spring:
- Intellectuals in the United Arab Emirates petition the country's government for free and fair elections. (New York Times)
- Thousands of people in Bahrain protest over the country's naturalisation policy, which they say favours foreigners at their expense. (Al Jazeera) (The National)
- King Mohammed VI of Morocco pledges democratic reforms to the country's constitution, after demonstrations last month. (Al Jazeera)
- The Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud al-Faisal, says dialogue is the best way to bring about reform, rather than protest. (Al Arabiya)
- A court in Tunisia dissolves the political party of the former President, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. (IOL)
Police in India break up a demonstration of pro-Tibet protestors outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi. (MSN Philippines) (Sify India)
Nearly 300 migrant workers in Greece end a hunger strike after the government offered a deal over residence permits. (BBC)
Takeaki Matsumoto is sworn in as the Foreign Minister of Japan, replacing Seiji Maehara who resigned following a political donations scandal. (Xinhua)
Enda Kenny is elected as the 13th Taoiseach of Ireland by a margin of 117-27 in the 31st Dáil Éireann, replacing Brian Cowen. (Irish Times)
The minority government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper is reprimanded by the Canadian House of Commons for failing to produce documents but avoids a no confidence motion. (Reuters)
2011 Wisconsin budget protests
- Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate vote to remove collective bargaining rights from state employees separate from the budget to end the impasse over the state budget with no Democrat Senators present. (MSNBC) (WIFR) (New York Times)
- Protesters pour into the Wisconsin State Capitol following the vote. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
The Senate in the US state of Michigan approves a proposal to allow state-appointed emergency managers authority to break labor deals to turn around failing schools and cities most notably in Detroit. (Reuters via Yahoo News)
King Mohammed VI of Morocco promises ""comprehensive constitutional reform" to expand individual and collective liberties in a televised address to the nation. (BBC)
The Governor of the US state of Illinois, Pat Quinn, signs a law banning the death penalty and commutes the sentence of 15 death row prisoners to life without parole. (Chicago Tribune via Chicago Breaking News)

Science

The Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after 27 years of service. (BBC)
The United States Food and Drug Administration approves the use of the drug Belimumab (Benlysta) to treat lupus, the first drug to be approved for this purpose in 56 years. (FDA)