March 26, 2011 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Arab Spring:
- 2011 Libyan civil war: Rebel forces in Libya retake the town of Ajdabiya from troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, and later recapture Brega. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
- Five suspected al Qaeda terrorists are killed at a checkpoint in Yemen. (Reuters)
- Libyan authorities detain and forcibly drive Iman al-Obeidi to an unknown location, declaring her "possibly mentally challenged", after she publicly accuses Muammar Gaddafi's troops of gang-raping her. (Associated Press)
- Rebel forces claim to have captured Brega in the Third Battle of Brega but with no independent verification as yet. (Reuters)
- An agreement allowing the departure of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is "close", according to the Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Kurbi. (BBC)
- Snipers in the city of Latakia, Syria, kill at least three people as protests continue. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
- The official death toll since the 2011 Syrian protests is 27 since March 15 with confirmed deaths occurring in the cities of Homs, Sanamen, Daraa and Latakia. (al Jazeera)
- Three people are killed by leftist rebels in Tampakan, southern Philippines. (Xinhua)
- Hamas states that it will agree to a ceasefire and halt their rocket fire at Israel if Israel stops attacking targets in the Gaza Strip. (BBC) (The Jerusalem Post)
Business and economy
- Alaska Airlines and its affiliate Horizon Air cancel dozens of flights because of problems with its computer system. (AP via ABC News America)
- A fuel fire at Miami International Airport causes flight cancellations and delays. (Miami Herald)
- Ford announces plans to shut down its plant in Cenk, Belgium for a few days starting April 4 due to parts shortages following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. (Reuters)
Disasters
- Levels of radiation in Tokyo's water supply return to normal. (Japan Times)
Law and crime
- A woman becomes the first person to be jailed for violating a ban on non-recyclable plastic bags in Mandalay, Burma. (Straits Times)[permanent dead link]
- British Police are granted an extension by magistrates to continue questioning a Swindon man suspected of the murder of Sian O'Callaghan. (Sky News)
Politics and elections
- Voters in the Australian state of New South Wales go to the polls for the NSW state election with the Liberal/National coalition led by Barry O'Farrell winning government by a landslide. (Sydney Morning Herald)
- Hundreds of thousands of people march in London, England against government budget cuts with the protests later turning violent. (The Telegraph) (The Guardian)
- Geraldine Ferraro, a Democratic Party Congresswoman and the first woman to stand for Vice-President of the United States on a major party ticket dies in Boston. (Reuters)
- The Governor-General of Canada David Johnston dissolves the Parliament of Canada and issues writs for the Canadian federal election. (680 News)
Sports
- Victoire Pisa wins the Dubai World Cup, the first Japanese win in the history of the US$10 million event. (BBC)