Portal:Current events/2011 May 11

May 11, 2011 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2011 Syrian uprising: Syrian Army tanks shell the suburb of Bab Amro in the city of Homs, killing at least five people. (Reuters via Alertnet)^{[permanent dead link]} (Al Jazeera)
2011 Libyan civil war:
- Opposition forces in Misrata claim to have seized the city's airport from forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. (Al Jazeera)
- NATO launches four more air strikes on Tripoli. (AP via MSNBC), (BBC)
Two grenades are thrown into the Saudi Arabian consulate in Karachi, Pakistan; no injures are reported. (Al Arabiya)
Four Zambian peacekeepers are shot and injured after their convoy comes under attack by suspected armed tribal groups in the disputed border area between Sudan and Southern Sudan. (Post Zambia)

Business and economy

Venezuela starts rationing electricity in the wake of nationwide blackouts earlier in the week. (BBC)
Trial runs begin for the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway in the People's Republic of China, ahead of the railway's official opening on 20 June 2011. (AFP via The West Australian)
The Bank of England says it expects inflation to reach 5% this year, due to higher fuel bills that could rise by up to 15%, and revises down its growth projection for the UK economy. (BBC)

Disasters

2011 Lorca earthquake: At least ten people are killed and dozens injured in the Spanish city of Lorca following a 5.3 magnitude earthquake. (AP via MSNBC) (Daily Mail) (BBC)
Tokyo Electric Power Company will accept involvement from the Government of Japan and will not cap compensation payments resulting from the Fukushima I nuclear accidents. (Wall Street Journal)

International relations

Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, receives an award for "exceptional courage in pursuit of human rights" from the Sydney Peace Foundation. (ABC News Australia)

Law and crime

An international study reports that, on average, 48 women and girls are raped in the Democratic Republic of the Congo every hour. (BBC) (New York Times)
The trial of United States citizens Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer in Tehran, Iran, on espionage charges is again delayed. (CNN)
The Supreme Court of India dismisses a government petition for seven people convicted for their role in the Bhopal disaster in 1984 to receive tougher sentences. (Reuters) (Times of India)
Former member of the Virginia House of Delegates Phillip A. Hamilton is convicted of bribery and extortion. (Richmond Times-Despatch)^{[permanent dead link]}
A judge grants John Hinckley, Jr., the man who tried to assassinate then-President of the United States Ronald Reagan in 1981, additional visits to his family from the Washington, DC psychiatric hospital where he is confined. (AP via MSNBC)
Two people are arrested in New York City for allegedly planning a terrorist attack. (New York Times)
John Clark Wilson is arrested in Edinburgh, Scotland, during a high-profile Hearts v Celtic tie in the SPL; the 26-year-old Hearts fan invaded the pitch and attempted to attack Celtic manager Neil Lennon. He is charged with breach of the peace and assault. (BBC)

Politics

President Manny Mori and Vice President Alik Alik are re-elected to a second term in the Federated States of Micronesia. (Saipan Tribune)
Former Premier of the Australian state of Tasmania David Bartlett resigns as a government minister and will resign from the House of Assembly. (AAP via Sydney Morning Herald)
The Scottish Parliament meets for the first time since the victory of the Scottish National Party in the recent general election. (BBC)
The Ugandan political opposition, the Forum for Democratic Change, claims that its leader Kizza Besigye has been barred from boarding a flight to Kampala from the Kenyan capital Nairobi. (Reuters via Alertnet)^{[permanent dead link]}
Greek police fire teargas at leftist demonstrators, as thousands of striking Greeks protest against austerity measures. (Reuters)
British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says his party will be more "muscular" and mark out their identity more clearly, following their poor results in recent council elections and the Scottish Parliament general election. (BBC)
British government plans for the introduction of directly elected police commissioners in England and Wales are defeated with the help of Liberal Democrat peers in the House of Lords. (BBC)
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich formally announces that he will be seeking the Republican Party Presidential nomination. (Newt Gingrich YouTube Channel), (CNN)
Silvana Koch-Mehrin, Vice President of the European Parliament, resigns amid claims that she plagiarised her doctoral thesis. (BBC)

Sport

The Nepalese Sherpa Apa Sherpa climbs Mount Everest for a record 21st time. (AFP via Google News)
The Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics 97-87 to go through to the Eastern Conference Final in the US National Basketball Association. (NBC Sports)