Portal:Current events/2011 March 1

Current events of March 1, 2011 (2011-03-01) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks 2011 Iranian protests: Tear gas is fired on anti-government demonstrators during clashes in the capital Tehran. (BBC) (AFP via Google News) 2011 Jordanian protests: Relatives of jailed Islamists in Jordan demand their release in a demonstration in the capital Amman. (Sify India) (Ynet) 2011 Libyan civil war Al-Jazeera reports that forces supporting Muammar Gaddafi have bombed targets in the Libyan city of Misrata. (Al-Jazeera) Forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi attack the city of Nalut near the Tunisian border. (Reuters via Hindustan Times) The United Nations says the situation on the Libyan/Tunisian border has reached "crisis point". (BBC) 2011 Omani protests: A fourth day of protests take place, with security forces firing into the air in an attempt to disperse protesters. (Al Arabiya) NATO forces kill 9 Afghan children while they collected firewood; this is the third NATO attack on civilians in the last 2 weeks.(Democracy Now!) Arts and culture Road workers in Taizhou, Jiangsu, China discover remains of 700 yr-old mummy. Archaeologists recover six cannons from the ships of Welsh privateer Henry Morgan off the coast of Panama. (Los Angeles Times) Christian Dior S.A. fires fashion designer John Galliano following a series of anti-semitic remarks. (AP via MSNBC), (Minneapolis St-Paul Tribune) American actor Charlie Sheen loses custody of his two sons Bob and Max following claims by their mother Brooke Mueller that he made threats of domestic violence. (TMZ) Business and economy Ally Financial, the company formerly known as General Motors Acceptance Corporation, announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the U.S. Treasury Department will be selling some of Ally's preferred securities. This is part of the unwinding of the Treasury's investment in the auto industry as a result of the 2008 financial crisis. (Bloomberg). Disasters 2011 Canterbury earthquake New Zealand holds a two-minute silence in respect for the victims of the 2011 Canterbury earthquake. (New Zealand Herald) The death toll from the earthquake has reached 154 with the final toll expected to be around 240. (New Zealand Herald) International relations The President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak calls on North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile programs. (AP via Forbes) Law and crime Eleven people are sentenced to death and twenty to life sentences for their roles in the Godhra train burning in New Delhi, India. (Times of India) Seventeen bodies are found in clandestine graves in Mexico's Guerrero state. (AP via Buffalo News) Politics An internet campaign calls for protests demanding that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe step down, leading to an increased security presence. (Reuters) Sierra Leone's Supreme Court bans the country's main opposition party from meeting to choose its presidential candidate. (Reuters) Jody Weis resigns as the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department in the US city of Chicago. (Chicago Tribune) The protests in Yemen continue with tens of thousands of protestors in the streets in a "Day of Rage". (Reuters via ABS CBN) The German Federal Minister for Defence Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg resigns over a plagiarism scandal. (The Economist) The Canadian Federal Court of Appeal rules against the Conservative Party of Canada on ad spending prior to the Canadian federal election, 2006, while the Harper government reaches 43% support and announces cuts to the budget. (Reuters Canada) (National Post) (Montreal Gazette)