Portal:Current events/2011 April 30
April 30, 2011 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts
- 2011 Syrian protests:
- The Syrian army continues its assault on the city of Deraa using tanks and snipers. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
- Libyan Civil War:
- Muammar Gaddafi, the leader of Libya, says on state television that he is prepared to enter a ceasefire in the Libyan Civil War but it must apply to both sides. Muammar Gaddafi has made such claims before but each time he failed to uphold one. (Al Jazeera)
- Gaddafi's government attempts to block deliveries to Misrata by using naval mines, which are in the process of being removed by NATO. (BBC)
- Gaddafi's youngest son, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, is killed in a NATO airstrike, according to the Libyan government, along with three of the leaders' grandchildren. (Al Jazeera), (BBC), (New York Times)
- Gaddafi has supplied Viagra to his forces to encourage them to commit mass rape, Susan Rice, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, has alleged. (The Hindu)
- Thai and Cambodian troops exchange gunfire near the Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey Province marking the ninth straight day of border clashes. (Xinhua) (AFP via Google News)
- Moroccan interior minister Taieb Cherkaoui says the bomb detonated in Marrakech was set off remotely. (Angola Press)
Arts and culture
- A study carried out by the Danish Booksellers Association reveals almost one third of Danes over the age of 14 read at least one book annually written in the English language. (The Copenhagen Post)
- The official wedding photos for the Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton by Hugo Bernand are published online. (Official Royal Wedding)
Disasters
- The recent US tornado outbreak becomes the second deadliest single day tornado event in US history with at least 340 people dead. (CNN)
International relations
- South Korea announces plans to hold two frontline artillery drills on Baengnyeong Island and Yeonpyeong Island near North Korea. (The Australian)
Law and crime
- Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning, imprisoned by the United States on charges of disclosing government information to the general public, is found competent to stand trial by a "panel of experts", despite having earlier been thought of as a "suicide risk" and having his clothes removed. (The Hindu)
- 6 major U.S. tobacco companies, accused of delivering an "unreasonably dangerous" product, defeat a lawsuit taken by 37 hospitals in the U.S. state of Missouri. The hospitals were looking for financial assistance with the treatment of illnesses caused by smoking. (BBC) (Bloomberg / The Irish Times)
Politics and elections
- Ministers in Uganda disagree over the arrest of opposition leader Kizza Besigye. (Daily Nation)
- Current U.S. officials and former president Jimmy Carter disagree over allegations that the U.S. is deliberately keeping food aid from North Korea despite severe food shortages among people there. (BBC)
Sport
- The French Football Federation's national technical director Francois Blaquart is suspended in the wake of the trainee racial quota scandal targeting blacks and Arabs. (BBC News)