Portal:Current events/2011 May 10

May 10, 2011 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2011 Syrian uprising:
- The European Union imposes sanctions on 13 Syrian officials in response to a violent crackdown on protests in the country. (Al Jazeera)
- The Syrian Army releases 300 people in the city of Banias. (Reuters)
Opposition forces in Libya make gains amid NATO bombing, reportedly operating out of the capital Tripoli. (DPA via M&C)
More than 80 people are killed after rebels attack a cattle camp in South Sudan. (Reuters)
CNN reports that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) will show the photos of the dead body of Osama bin Laden to members of the United States Congress military and intelligence committees. (USA Today)
Four United Nations peacekeepers are shot while on patrol in the disputed Abyei district of Sudan. (United Nations)

Arts and culture

Former Governor of California and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and journalist Maria Shriver announce their separation after 25 years of marriage. (Washington Post)
The Middleton family make a complaint to the Press Complaints Commission after pictures of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and her sister Pippa Middleton in beachwear appear in four newspapers. (BBC)
The Victorian iron gates of a children's home which inspired John Lennon to write the Beatles hit Strawberry Fields Forever have been removed by the property's owners and placed in storage. (BBC)
Immigration papers documenting Albert Einstein's 1933 escape from Nazi Germany and his arrival at Dover, England, are to go on display for the first time, at Liverpool's Merseyside Maritime Museum. (BBC)
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) votes to approve openly gay and lesbian people in same sex relationships to be ordained. (New York Times)

Business and economy

Ivory Coast resumes exports of cocoa after a political crisis and brief civil war. (AFP via Google News)
Wayne Swan, the Treasurer of Australia, will deliver his fourth budget. (The Australian)
Google launches Google Music, an application that will enable users to upload their music libraries to company servers. (CNet)
Microsoft announces that it is purchasing Internet phone service Skype for US$8.5 billion. (All Things Digital)
Chineseexports for April reach a record level, attaining a total monthly value of US$155.69 billion. (New York Times)

Disasters

54 Somalis fleeing the civil war in Libya drown after their boat sinks off the coast of Tripoli. (UPI)
Tropical Storm Bebeng kills at least 20 people in the Philippines. (The Philippine Star)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
China reports that 95% of post-earthquake reconstruction is complete in Sichuan, three years after a deadly earthquake, in a "victory" for the country. (Xinhua) (RTHK) (AFP via Google News)
2011 Mississippi River floods:
- Mississippi River flooding worsens, with the Army Corps of Engineers saying an area between Simmesport, Louisiana and Baton Rouge will be submerged 20-30 feet, and 13% of US oil refinery output disrupted. (Business Week)
- Flood levels at Memphis, Tennessee reach 47.87 feet (14.59 meters) the highest level since 1937' when it reached 48.7 feet (14.8 meters). (NASA Earth Observatory)

International relations

East Timor rejected Chinese plans to build a radar on its territory in 2007, due to fears it would be used for intelligence purposes, according to Wikileaks. (Straits Times)

Law and crime

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev calls for the chemical castration of pedophiles. (RIA Novosti) (BBC)
The British Press Complaints Commission has ruled that the Daily Telegraph breached rules on the use of subterfuge when it sent reporters to secretly tape Liberal Democrat ministers, including Secretary of State for Business Vince Cable, late last year. (BBC)
Former motorsports executive Max Mosley loses his European Court of Human Rights bid to force newspapers to warn people before exposing aspects of their private lives. (BBC)
The trial of Levi Bellfield begins for the murder of Amanda Dowler. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Laos announces the results of elections to its one-party parliament. (Reuters)
Welsh Labour Party leader Carwyn Jones confirms that Labour will form a one-party government after winning 30 of the 60 Welsh Assembly seats in last week's election, but also states that it will continue to talk to other parties. (BBC)
Former British Treasury minister David Laws is found guilty of breaking six rules over his parliamentary expense claims. (BBC)
British Prime Minister David Cameron rejects suggestions that the government is considering allowing wealthy students to pay for extra university places after one of his ministers had earlier refused to rule the idea out. (BBC)
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels cuts government funding for Planned Parenthood because it provides abortions. (Indianapolis Star)
Voters in Qatar go to the polls for municipal elections, with women allowed to vote for the first time. (Al Arabiya)

Sport

Former Football Association chairman David Triesman alleges that four members of FIFA sought "bribes" in return for backing England's failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup. (BBC)
The Minnesota Vikings NFL team and Ramsey County announce plans to build a $1.2 billion stadium for the team at Arden Hills. (Star Tribune)