Portal:Current events/2011 May 2

Current events of May 2, 2011 (2011-05-02) (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks Reactions to the death of Osama bin Laden: Thousands of people gather at Ground Zero of the September 11 attacks in New York to celebrate the news that Osama bin Laden has been killed. (SKY News) (CNN) Bin Laden's body, which was handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition, is buried by the U.S. forces at sea less than a day after his death, thus preventing a burial site from becoming a "terrorist shrine".(abcnews) Most international leaders respond positively to the news. (Sky News) US political leaders across the political spectrum welcome the announcement that Osama bin Laden had been killed, congratulating American troops, the intelligence community and the White House for putting an end to the hunt for the mastermind of the September 11 attacks. (USA Today) British Prime Minister David Cameron says bin Laden's death will "bring great relief to people across the world" and that it is a time to remember all those murdered by Osama bin Laden, and all those who lost loved ones.(Sky News) NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen says bin Laden's death is a “success” for security and that NATO should continue its mission in Afghanistan to ensure it "never again becomes a safe haven for extremism." (The Jerusalem Post) Leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, condemns the killing of bin Laden as "the killing of an Arab holy warrior," while Hamas' prospective power-sharing partner Fatah in the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmud Abbas issues a statement welcoming the al Qaida-leader's death.(The Jerusalem Post) Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari says that Iraq is "delighted" by the news, noting that thousands of Iraqis had died "because of his ideologies". (AFP) Newspapers carry it on their front pages. (BBC) Syrian civil war: Hundreds of dissidents have been arrested across Syria, including in the town of Daraa and a Damascus suburb, after dozens were killed in weekend protests, activists say. (The Australian) The UN Security Council fails to agree a statement to condemn the killing of Syrian protesters, as Russia and China block a statement proposed by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal that would have condemned the violence, which has led to hundreds of dead, and backed calls for an independent investigation. (Herald Sun) Al Jazeera demands that Syria provide information on Dorothy Parvaz, a journalist missing since her arrival in Damascus on Friday. (Al Jazeera) The Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi, speaking at a news conference in Doha, demands that Syria's government investigates last Friday's disppearance of journalist Dorothy Parvaz. (Al Jazeera) Bahraini uprising (2011–present): Bahrain arrests two senior members of the Opposition Al Wefaq party, Jawad Ferooz and Mattar Ibrahim Mattar. (Al Jazeera) Libyan Civil War: Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi continue to attack the city of Misrata. (News 24) The United Nations withdraws all of its international staff from the capital Tripoli. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) Almost $1 billion linked to besieged Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and overthrown Egyptian and Tunisian leaders Hosni Mubarak and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali are found in Switzerland. Mubarak had previously denied having wealth in foreign bank accounts. (Al Jazeera) The Taliban sends a 12-year-old boy as a suicide bomber in a new wave of attacks that kills four civilians, in one of several attacks across Afghanistan that kills at least seven people. (BBC) (The Australian) Thousands of Sri Lankans protest against a United Nations report calling for both sides involved in the civil war to be investigated for possible war crimes. (Angola Press) Business and economy Oil prices fall following news that U.S. forces have killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. (CNN) (The Jerusalem Post) Asian stocks and U.S. stock index futures rise on initial reports that Osama bin Laden was dead. (Reuters) The Australian dollar reaches $1.10 in United States dollars, its highest level since the Australian dollar was floated in 1983. (The Australian) Sony advises that hackers may have stolen personal details of 24.6 million users of Sony Online Entertainment resulting in the site closing. (Business Insider) Disasters At least 106 people disappear after a boat capsizes on the Kasai River in Kasai-Occidental. (CBC News) (BBC) (AFP via Google News) (Reuters Canada) A massive search operation continues amid severe weather conditions for the helicopter of Arunachal Pradesh's chief minister Dorjee Khandu which disappeared while carrying him and four other people. (BBC) The United States Army Corps of Engineers explodes a large part of a Mississippi River levee to protect the Illinois town of Cairo from floodwaters. (MSNBC) International relations Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil al-Araby calls on the United States to support an independent Palestine, stating that the U.S. should consider a re-united Palestinian movement as a positive development and that Israel ought to negotiate with Palestine. (BBC) Law and crime As part of one of the four cases currently against him, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi appears in court on charges of corruption and attacks his prosecutors again. (BBC) Politics and elections Canadian federal election, 2011 Voters in Canada go to the polls for a federal election. (Reuters via ABS CBN) Twitter users break an Elections Canada rule by announcing election results before all voters have had the chance to vote. (CBC) Results indicate that the Conservative Party of Canada led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper is on track to retain government with a majority of seats. (Reuters), (BBC), (Global News), (The Globe and Mail) The New Democratic Party becomes the Opposition in the parliament with the Liberal Party of Canada relegated to third place for the first time in its history. (Global News), (The Globe and Mail) Environmental activist Elizabeth May becomes the first member of the Green Party of Canada member elected to Parliament. (The Globe and Mail) President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff is hospitalised with pneumonia in São Paulo. (BBC) In Guatemala the country's electoral supreme court calls for general elections to be held on September 11 to elect President and Vice President, Mayors of the 333 municipal corporations, members for a new Congress and members for the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN). A second round of voting for President and Vice-President will be held on November 6 if needed. Sport John Higgins wins the World Snooker Championship for the fourth time. (The Guardian)