Portal:Current events/2011 May 3

May 3, 2011 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Reaction to the death of Osama bin Laden:
- White House Press Secretary Jay Carney reveals that Osama bin Laden was not armed but did put up resistance when U.S. forces entered his compound. (CNN)
- US officials deliberate releasing “gruesome” photographs of the corpse of Osama bin Laden, to dispel doubt by Islamic militants that U.S. forces really killed him. (Reuters)
- Hundreds of people in Quetta, Pakistan, join a rally in honour of Osama bin Laden. (One Pakistan)
- Pakistani officials criticize the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden, saying that the United States had made “an unauthorized unilateral action” that would be not be tolerated in the future. (The New York Times)
- US officials caution that bin Laden’s death does not remove the threat of terrorist attacks and say that the battle against al-Qaida and other terrorist groups will continue. (VOA News)
- US officials describe remarks by leader of militant Islamic group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, condemning the killing of bin Laden as "outrageous", while UK Foreign Secretary William Hague criticizes Hamas for mourning bin Laden's death. (VOA News) (AFP) (JTA)
- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says the UN wants more details regarding the death of bin Laden and that all counter-terrorism operations must respect international law, even though bin Laden had committed crimes against humanity and "the most appalling acts of terrorism.”. (Reuters) (Huffington Post)
2011 Libyan civil war
- Thousands of people are at risk of death from thirst and starvation in Yafran due to Muammar Gaddafi's forces besieging the city, shutting off water and blocking food supplies. (Libya TV)
- Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi bombard the rebel-held town of Zintan with Grad rockets. (Alertnet)
Saudi Arabian protests
- Human Rights Watch has asked the government of Saudi Arabia to release a rights activist who was arrested for participating in peaceful demonstrations, saying a recent wave of arrests is jeopardizing any chance of reform. (VOA News) (Bloomberg News)
Syrian protests
- Syrian forces and gunmen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad moved into the center of the city of Baniyas, which had been under the control of pro-democracy demonstrators in recent weeks. (The Jerusalem Post)
- More than 1,000 people have been detained across Syria since Saturday in security crackdowns in to keep people off the streets and aimed at suppressing the uprising against President al-Assad, according to human rights activists. (RTT) (AP)
- UK Foreign Secretary William Hague says that Britain is working with European allies to impose targeted sanctions on Syrian leaders, including asset freezes and travel bans, in response to the ongoing government suppression of pro-democracy protesters. (Los Angeles Times) (The Telegraph)
At least nineteen people die in northern Kenya in clashes with raiders from Ethiopia. (Reuters via Yahoo News)
A car bomb in Baghdad, Iraq, kills at least 16 people in a cafe with young men watching a football match. (AP)
Up to ten Afghan police officers are killed in a NATO air strike on a highway in Ghazni Province. (AFP via The News)
Dozens of people are killed in fighting between the National Armed Forces of Côte d'Ivoire and forces loyal to former President of the Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

The Reserve Bank of India increases interest rates by 50 basis points to 7.25 per cent. (Reuters)
José Sócrates, the Prime Minister of Portugal, announces a bail out deal with the European Union and International Monetary Fund. (BBC)

Disasters

A tornado hits Albany, a northern suburb of the New Zealand city of Auckland, causing at least one death, injuries and property damage. (New Zealand Herald), (TV New Zealand), (News Limited), (New Zealand Stuff)
Searchers find the second flight recorder from Air France Flight 447 that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009. (Reuters)
The US Army Corps of Engineers blasts a hole in two levees along the Mississippi River, flooding some 200 square miles (520 km²) of Missouri farmland in an effort to save the town of Cairo, Illinois further downriver from record-breaking flood waters. (CNN)
The US city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama revises the number of missing there during the 2011 Super Outbreak from 340 on Monday to 80. (Alabama)
A mine explosion in San Juan de Sabinas Municipality in the Mexican state of Coahuila kills three people, injures one and leaves another 11 trapped. (AP via Salon)

International relations

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu calls on Palestinian Authority President Abbas to choose peace with Israel and not Hamas, saying that the Fatah-Hamas unity government deal would jeopardize the already-stalled peace process because Hamas opposes the existence of Israel; Abbas rejects the call as “unacceptable interference”. (CNN) (Ynet) (The Jerusalem Post)
European Union Foreign Affairs head, Catherine Ashton, condemns Iran for its ongoing executions of juvenile offenders following the public execution of two juveniles in Bandar Abbas, Iran. (The Jerusalem Post)
A Tibetan parliament-in-exile delegation appeals to foreign embassies in New Delhi, India, for help to release three monks from the Kirti monastery in northeastern Tibet detained by Chinese authorities and to address additional human rights violations in Tibet by China. (The Tibet Post)

Law and crime

Five people are arrested near the Sellafield nuclear power plant in Cumbria, England, under the Terrorism Act. (The Independent)
Iranian police clash with protesters at a club soccer match between Piroozi Athletic and Saudi Arabia's Ittihad FC. (AP via Denver Post)
The murder of a South African lesbian activist who was stoned and stabbed to death is condemned as part of an "epidemic" of hate crimes against gays in South Africa. (AFP) (Mail & Guardian) (Times Live)

Politics

Shelley Hancock is elected as the first female Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Australia's most populous state, New South Wales. (AAP via Sydney Morning Herald)
Results from the 41st Canadian General Election give the Conservative Party of Canada a majority government while the NDP will form the Official Opposition for the first time in Canadian political history.(CBC), (NYT), (BBC), (CNN), (Globe and Mail)
American Republican politician Beth Gaines is elected to the district in the California State Assembly previously held by her husband Ted Gaines who is now serving in the California State Senate. (AP via Silicon Valley News)^{[permanent dead link]}

Science

The United Nations projects that the world's population will pass 7 billion on October 31, 2011. (Reuters)

Sports

American basketball player Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls wins the NBA Most Valuable Player Award Award for the 2010-11 NBA season, the youngest player to do so. (Chicago Sun-Times)
Francisco Liriano of the Minnesota Twins pitches the first no-hitter of the North American 2011 Major League Baseball season against the Chicago White Sox. (NBC Sports), (New York Times)
Barcelona qualify for the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final (their third final in 5 years) after a 1-1 draw with El Clasico rivals Real Madrid, winning 3-1 on aggregate. (BBC Sport)