Portal:Current_events/2011_April_19 Knowpia

April 19, 2011 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Hamas fatally shoots two of the suspects in last week's murder of Italian pro-Palestinian activist Vittorio Arrigoni in Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
2011 Libyan civil war:
- NATO and the civilian council of Misrata request ground troops to protect the city of Misrata from Gaddafi's forces, after NATO admits it is unable to stop the artillery shelling of Misrata. (Hotair)
2011 Syrian protests:
- Thousands of anti-government protesters occupy and start a sit-in at Al-Saa Square in Homs, the third largest city in Syria. (BBC)
- President Assad lifts the 48-year controversial state of emergency following demands by protests. (AlJazeera) (BBC)
2011 Yemeni protests:
- The United Nations Security Council meets to discuss as the Yemen government killing of the people protesting continues. (Al Jazeera)
2011 Egyptian revolution:
- Long-time intelligence chief Omar Suleiman is questioned about the Hosni Mubarak regime's attacks on the people of Egypt. (Al Jazeera)
U.S. serviceman Bradley Manning is moved by officials to a military prison in Kansas amid increased international concerns about the U.S. military's policy of forcing him to strip naked in his cell and taking away his clothes. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Three kindergarteners are wounded after a gun goes off in a school cafeteria in the U.S. state of Texas. The gun was brought to the school by a six-year-old child. (BBC) (The Guardian) (South Africa Star) (Philippine Daily Inquirer) (AP via Los Angeles Times) (Houston ABC 13)

Business and economy

Seagate Technology, a California based manufacturer of hard disk drives (HDDs), buys the HDD division of Samsung, to create an entity with a combined HDD market share of 40 percent. (Reuters).

Disasters

Devastating fire in Manila, Philippines leaves about 8,000 people homeless and nine injured in a Makati City squatter community. (Inquirer) (Mindanao Examiner) (AP via Greenfield Daily Reporter)
A donation campaign raises less money than expected towards a newer containment shell at Chernobyl. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

British prime minister David Cameron sets out to block his predecessor Gordon Brown's attempt to take the £270,000 per year role of head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). (The Guardian)
Georgia annuls a military transit treaty with Russia, which allowed the latter access to its military base in Armenia.(Civil Georgia)

Politics and elections

Singapore's Parliament is dissolved for the 14th General Election which is to be held on 7 May 2011. (Channel News Asia) (Channel News Asia)
Fidel Castro resigns from the Cuban Communist Party's central committee, formalising his gradual retreat from the spotlight that started in 2006. (Euronews.net)
An error by an American air traffic controller leads to the plane carrying Michelle Obama of the United States to come two miles too close to another plane near Washington, D.C. (BBC)

Summary