Portal:Current events/2011 May 23

• The death toll from a Pakistani Taliban attack on a Pakistan Navy station in Karachi rises as the attack continues, with several explosions reported. (NDTV) (Sky News) (AFP via SBS World News)
• Arab Spring:
  • 2011 Yemeni uprising:
    • The Gulf Cooperation Council suspends mediation efforts in Yemen after President Ali Abdullah Saleh refuses to sign a transition agreement for the third time. (Sky News)
    • At least 14 people are killed and 38 others are injured in Sana'a. (Xinhua)
    • A gunbattle kills a further six in Sana'a. (Al Jazeera)
  • 2011 Syrian uprising:
    • Syria's foreign minister Walid al-Moualem, speaking on television, attacks the European Union for imposing travel bans and asset freezes on officials. (Al Jazeera)
    • Veteran British journalist Robert Fisk questions whether the sanctions will affect the Syrian government's crackdown on dissent, as such sanctions have failed to work before. (Al Jazeera)
  • 2011 Libyan civil war:
    • French officials confirm France and UK are to deploy attack helicopters as part of a boost to NATO's attacks on Muammar Gaddafi. (Al Jazeera)
  • 2011 Egyptian revolution:
    • Egyptian pro-democracy groups call for a new round of protests on May 27 due to dissatisfaction at progress in implementing reform. (Bloomberg)
    • A Cairo court sentences an Egyptian police officer to death in absentia for killing protesters demonstrating during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. (CNN)
• One Australian Army soldier is killed and five others wounded following two bomb explosions in Afghanistan; the total number of Australian soldiers killed in the Afghan conflict now stands at 24. (The Australian)

• The Church of Scotland votes to allow gay men and lesbians to become ministers. (The Guardian)
• Lady Gaga releases her Born This Way album, which is certified platinum in many countries across the world.

• The Maritime Union of Australia commences industrial action at cargo terminals at Melbourne, Sydney and Fremantle, affecting half of Australia's maritime trade. (AAP via NineMSN)
• Steve Ballmer, the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, promises that Windows 8 will be on the market in 2012. (LA Times)

• Iceland volcanic explosion:
  • Iceland's main airport remains closed following the worst eruption of the Grímsvötn volcano since 1873, with the ash cloud starting to spread towards Europe. (Reuters)
  • Airlines cancel flights to and from Scotland as the ash reaches northern Britain.(BBC)
• Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011 in the US:
  • The National Weather Service continues issuing tornado warnings for parts of the Central United States, including Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. (NOAA)
  • The death toll from the Joplin, Missouri, tornado reaches 116, becoming the deadliest single US tornado since 1947. (Joplin Globe)
  • There are reports of multiple structure collapses following a heavy storm and possible tornado in the village of Richfield, Pennsylvania. (ABC 27)
  • A severe storm in Cincinnati, Ohio knocks out power to 84,000 homes. (Cincinnati.com)

• U.S. President Barack Obama addresses an audience at College Green in Dublin, speaking of strong ties between the United States and Ireland. (Xinhua) (The Belfast Telegraph) (The Irish Times)

• British MP John Hemming uses parliamentary privilege to identify a married footballer named on Twitter as having an injunction over an alleged affair as being Ryan Giggs. (BBC) (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera)
• The People's Republic of China detains 300 Tibetan monks for "legal education" after a monk sets himself on fire. (The Guardian)

• Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad suffers a heart attack and undergoes surgery during a trip to the United States to attend his son's graduation. (Al Jazeera)

• Former Iranian football player and manager Nasser Hejazi dies at 61 after a bout with lung cancer. (ISNA)