Portal:Current events/2011 March 22

March 22, 2011 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2011 Libyan civil war:
- Two US airmen safely eject prior to their F-15E crashing near Benghazi, Libya, due to mechanical failure. (BBC) (The Gulf Today)
- Al Jazeera reports Hussein al-Warfali, a head of a pro-Gaddafi brigade, has been killed in fighting near Tripoli. (BBC)
- Muammar Gaddafi appears at his Bab al-Azizia compound and tells his followers "we will be victorious in the end." (BBC)
The President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai names the seven areas of Afghanistan that will pass into Afghan control from July: Kabul, Panjshir Province, Bamiyan Province, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Mihtarlam and Lashkar Gah. (BBC)
The headquarters of Egypt's Ministry of Interior burns to the ground as police officers protest outside about low wages. (AP via ABC News America)
The United Nations calls for an investigation into a crackdown on demonstrators in Syria. (Al Jazeera)
Journalists in Yemen condemn the restrictions on their media coverage of the 2011 Yemeni protests. (Al Arabiya)
Eight Palestinians are killed and dozens more injured from Israeli mortar and tank attacks on Gaza City.(The Guardian)(Irish Times)

Arts and culture

A US judge blocks an agreement between Google and publishers about efforts to digitize books online at Google Books. (BBC)

Business and economy

Sony announces that five more Japanese manufacturing plants will stop working or reduce hours as a result of supply problems caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. (Reuters)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China rejects accusations by Google that it is blocking access to Gmail in China. (Reuters)
Germany's Federal Court of Justice rules that Deutsche Bank must compensate a customer, Ille Papier Service, for selling it an interest rate swap product without adequate disclosures. (NYT DealBook)
The Mozilla Foundation releases Firefox 4. (SMH)

Disasters

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami:
- Tokyo Electric Power Co. resumes its policy of rolling electricity blackouts following ongoing problems caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. (Kyodo News)
- The Japanese government says that Tokyo Electric Power will have to compensate farmers for losses caused by the Fukushima I nuclear accidents. (BBC)
- Radiation levels 20km from the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant measured at 1600 times normal levels. (Herald Sun)
- After a series of four aftershocks above magnitude 6 east of Honshu, a magnitude 5.7 aftershock of the 2011 Japan earthquake hits Fukushima Prefecture near Iwaki, without immediate reports of damage or casualties. (Canadian Business) (The Sydney Morning Herald) (USGS)
- The US Food and Drug Administration bans all milk, fruit and vegetables imports from areas of Japan near the Fukushima plant. (ABC News), (Comcast)
South Korea agrees to hold talks with North Korea about a potential eruption of Baekdu Mountain near the North's border with the People's Republic of China. (Yonhap News)
An explosion at the Sorange coal mine in Pakistan's Baluchistan province kills 52 people. (AP via The Guardian)

International relations

China denies it is disrupting access to Google's email service in the country. (BBC) (Peace FM Ghana) (Sify India)
Nigeria accuses the international community of taking action in Libya while doing little to resolve the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire. (Reuters)
Robert Cooper, special advisor to Baroness Catherine Ashton (High Representative of the European Union for political, foreign affairs and security), despite serious concerns over excessive and indiscriminate use of force expressed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (UN News Centre), speaking to MEPs in the foreign affairs committee in Brussels after visiting Bahrain (Saudi News Today), defended Bahrain's protests crackdown: "It's not easy dealing with large demonstrations in which there may be violence. It's a difficult task for policemen. It's not something that we always get right in the best Western countries and accidents happen" (Guardian). Cooper's endorsement disturbed one MEP at the debate. "'Accidents happen?' ... I'm sorry this is a funny picture as you describe it," German Green deputy Franziska Brantner said. "What are you talking about? I find this very scary."

Law and crime

The former President of Israel, Moshe Katsav, is sentenced to seven years in prison, two years probation and payment of compensation to his victims on charges of rape, indecent assault, sexual harassment and obstruction of justice. Current President Shimon Peres says that "this is a sad day but everyone is equal before the law." (Haaretz) (The Jerusalem Post)
Syrian police arrest human rights activist Loay Hussein. (Reuters via MSNBC)
The Moriarty Tribunal, in investigating links between businessman Denis O'Brien and then government minister Michael Lowry, finds "beyond doubt" that Lowry assisted O'Brien in gaining a mobile phone license for Esat Digifone, and concludes that Lowry's actions were "disgraceful and insidious." (RTÉ) (The Guardian) (TV3)

Politics and elections