March 5, 2011 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts
- 2011 Libyan civil war:
- Battle of Zawiya: rebels beat back a pro-Gaddafi push into the city. (BBC) (Al Arabiya)
- An eight member United Kingdom Special Air Service team and a junior diplomat are captured by Libyan rebels as a secret effort to contact the rebels backfires. (Daily Mail)
Arts and culture
- Slumdog Millionaire souvenirs are destroyed after the home of actress Rubina Ali burns down in a fire in Garib Nagar near Bandra Railway Station in Mumbai. 21 people are wounded and more than 2,000 others become homeless. (BBC)
Disasters
- A search of ChristChurch Cathedral, Christchurch has found no bodies from the 2011 Canterbury earthquake despite fears that there were 22 bodies buried there - the confirmed death toll is 165. (Stuff and NZPA)
- A tornado hits the town of Rayne in the US state of Louisiana resulting in one death, at least eleven injuries and 50 homes destroyed. (AP via Indiana Republic)[permanent dead link], (The Daily Advertiser), (CNN), (Fox News)
- At least 25 people are killed after a truck and a bus collide in Brazil's Santa Catarina state. (AFP via ABC News), (CNN)
- Six people are killed near Belgorod, Russia when an Antonov An-148 loses a wing in flight and crashes. (Belfast Telegraph)
International relations
- South Korea reports China's formal invitation to probable North Korean heir Kim Jong-un to visit the country, though China has not confirmed this. (BBC)
Law and crime
- Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi is put on trial for corruption again, one of the four trials he is involved in at the moment. (BBC)
- United States aid worker Alan Gross has been found guilty of crimes against the state of Cuba supposedly for setting up illegal Internet connections. (BBC)
Politics and elections
- Two government ministers in Oman are replaced amid ongoing demonstrations in the country. (Reuters)
- Saudi Arabia imposes a ban on all protests, after demonstrations in the east of the country. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
- 2011 National People's Congress: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao delivers the annual Government Work Report to the National People's Congress in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, outlining the priorities for the Chinese government in the next five years. (BBC) (China Daily)
- Phil Hogan says Fine Gael and the Labour Party have agreed a draft of a proposed Programme for Government as talks between the political parties resume at Government Buildings in Dublin following the recent general election. (RTÉ)