Portal:Current events/2011 May 16

May 16, 2011 (Monday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Gunmen fire on a Saudi Arabian consulate car in Karachi, Pakistan, killing the driver. (AP via MSNBC), (Pakistan Express-Tribune)
The Israeli Navy fires warning shots at a Malaysian ship travelling to the Gaza Strip, forcing it to return to Egypt. (AFP via Google)
A Syrian activist claims that a mass grave has been found in the town of Deraa, the town at the centre of the 2011 Syrian uprising. (Al_Arabiya)
NATO forces find a small boat loaded with explosives outside the Libyan port of Misrata, with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi believed to be responsible. (Reuters)
Four members of the United States Army are killed by a bomb in southern Afghanistan. (AP via NPR), (AP via Anchorage Daily News)
Irish republican dissidents have issued a bomb threat for London, the first coded warning outside Northern Ireland in 10 years, officials have said. (BBC)

Arts and culture

Business and economy

The Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, closes down after 59 years of operation. (Yahoo)
European Union finance ministers approve a 78 billion euro bailout package for Portugal (Bloomberg)
The International Monetary Fund approves another US$2 billion loan to Ireland. (Reuters)
Nasdaq OMX Group and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) withdraw their hostile bid for NYSE Euronext, apparently leaving a clear path for NYSE's friendly merger with Deutsche Boerse AG. (Reuters)

Disasters

2011 Mississippi River floods
- It is reported that the Waterford Nuclear Generating Station in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, USA, was restarted three days ago after a refueling shutdown on April 5, as the floodwaters are diverted to the Atchafalaya River. (Bloomberg), (MSNBC)
- The United States Coast Guard closes 15 miles of the Mississippi River near Natchez, Mississippi. (Reuters)
French investigators report that flight recorders recovered from the wreckage of Air France Flight 447 nearly two years after the crash are still readable. (AP)
At least one person is killed and at least six injured following a building collapse in the US town of Morrilton, Arkansas. (Fox 16)
A wildfire destroys one third of the Canadian town of Slave Lake, Alberta. (News 1130)

Law and crime

The High Court of Kuala Lumpur rules that Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has a case to answer on sodomy charges. (Malaysiakini), (BBC)
International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn is ordered to be held without bail on sexual assault charges in New York City. (BBC), (Bloomberg)
American mafia boss Vincent Basciano is convicted of murder in New York. (New York Daily News)
Suzanne Mubarak, the former First Lady of Egypt, offers to hand over $3 million to prosecutors, claiming that this is all she has. (Al Arabiya)

Politics

Science