Breakfast tech commentator Ben Gracewood quits after describing Henry's comments as "the final straw" and saying "I can't work with him". (The New Zealand Herald)
Jonathan Evans, head of Britain's MI5, gives a rare interview, disclosing details of his love for classics and calling for wider availability of Latin and Greek in schools as, he claims, they are useful for spies. (The Daily Telegraph)
The Greek government announces additional harsher austerity measures in its 2011 draft budget. (BBC)
Visa and Mastercard agreed to settle an antitrust lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the attorneys-general of seven states. They agreed to allow their participating merchants to steer customers toward lower-cost options. American Express will fight rather than agree to the terms, it said. (NPR)
Disasters and accidents
Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Public Welfare Affairs Agung Laksono said here on Tuesday that the massive flood in Wasior, West Papua that continuously occurred from Sunday to Monday has claimed 56 lives. (Xinhua)
3 people were killed and 5 were injured after a boiler exploded in a tannery in Hatay in the Dericiler area of Güzelburç town. The injured were taken to Mustafa Kemal University’s faculty of medicine hospital. (Today's Zaman)
An angry stand-off results from a row over the ongoing presence of dozens of United States military bases on the Japanese island of Okinawa, all of which remain through intense U.S. pressure despite protests from tens of thousands of residents. (BBC)
Federal Minister of the InteriorThomas de Maizière tells a news conference in Berlin that there is no concrete evidence of an imminent attack and "no reason to be alarmist at this time"; the Japanese government alerts its citizens to watch out for any attacks in Europe. The United States and UK have both done so in recent times. (BBC)
Israel decides to deport 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire, whom it has kept locked up in a detention facility since last Tuesday when she arrived to attend a conference with 5 other Nobel peace laureates. An Israeli court orders her to keep "her propaganda to herself". Israel claims it has banned her from entering its land but she says she is unaware of such a ban. (The Irish Times)(BBC)(Haaretz)
Syria issues arrest warrants for more than 30 people accused of misleading an investigation into the 2005 assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafic Hariri. (Al Jazeera)
A court in Thailand rejects a request to drop charges against Viktor Bout, whom the United States suspects of attempting to sell weapons to its opponents. He was arrested by undercover United States agents in 2008 at a Bangkok hotel. (BBC)(Xinhua)
The first Census of Marine Life (CoML), a 10-year major international project described as the most comprehensive study of its kind, is completed, sparking celebration among scientists. (BBC), (AFP via Google News)