March 18, 2011 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Response to Datta Khel airstrike:
- Tribal leaders in Pakistan issue a statement vowing action against the United States after yesterday's botched U.S. drone attack which killed more than 40 civilians, mainly elders and police at an open-air meeting, the deadliest such attack by the United States on Pakistan since 2006. (BBC)
- Arab Spring
- At least 41 people are killed in Yemen as security forces open fire on anti-government demonstrators. (Ahram Online) (RTÉ)
- Hundreds of people in Jordan take to the streets for the eleventh consecutive week, calling for reforms. (CP)
- 2011 Bahraini protests:
- The Pearl Monument, located in the Pearl Roundabout, which had become a focal point of the Bahraini protests, is torn down by the government of Bahrain. (Wall Street Journal)
- The headquarters of the National Democratic Action Society (Waad), a secular Bahraini opposition political party, is attacked and burned down. The party's leader, Ibrahim Sharif, is arrested. (Wall Street Journal)
- Thousands of protesters defy martial law in Bahrain and continue pro-democracy demonstrations. (Hurriyet)
- 2011 Syrian protests:
- Plain-clothes police break up a demonstration of at least 200 people in the Syrian capital Damascus after Friday prayers (Trend News Agency)
- Police use guns to kill between at least two and four people for protesting against the corruption of the Bashar al-Assad regime and lack of freedom in the southern city of Daraa. (BBC)
- 2011 Libyan civil war:
- The Libyan government announces a ceasefire, amid foreign military preparations after a no-fly zone was imposed yesterday. (CNN) (Al Jazeera)
- Libya then immediately violates its own ceasefire, shelling Misrata and killing 25 civilians. (Reuters)
- 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis:
- Disputed Côte d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo calls on civilians to join in the fighting to "neutralise" supporters of Alassane Ouattara. (Reuters)
- The United Nations says the shelling of a market by security forces that killed 25 people may constitute a crime against humanity. (BBC)
- Clashes between the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement and rebel forces led by George Athor kill 70 people in South Sudan. (BBC)
Business and economy
- The Sankei Shimbun newspaper reports that the Government of Japan plans to issue more than 10 trillion yen in emergency government bonds to help pay for the recovery effort from the 2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami. (Reuters)
- The G7 sells the Japanese yen in order to reduce its value in the first joint operation on currency markets since 2000. (Kyodo News) (Bloomberg) (BBC)
Disasters
- A memorial service is held in Christchurch, New Zealand, for the victims of the 2011 Canterbury earthquake. (SBS)
- Fukushima I nuclear accidents
- Japan attempts to restore electric power to two crippled reactors at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant to combat ongoing problems. (Reuters)
- Smoke billows from another of the reactors at the Fukushima Plant. (AP via Yahoo! News)
- The total number of deaths and missing persons from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami passes 16,600 with 6,405 confirmed dead. (Sydney Morning Herald) (Jakarta Globe)
- A Hydro One electrical transformer undergoing repairs in the Richview neighbourhood of Toronto catches on fire and is sustained by burning mineral oil near Pearson International Airport, causing a local power outage and forcing the evacuation of an apartment complex and the temporary closure of part of Highway 401. (CBC) (CTV Toronto)
Law and crime
- China releases seven Tibetan monks detained after one monk set himself on fire in protest at Chinese rule. (New York Times)
- The Government of Australia sends additional Australian Federal Police officers to Christmas Island following a series of riots at the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre. (AAP and The Australian)
- Former British Airways software engineer Rajib Karim, of Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom is jailed for 30 years for plotting to blow up a plane. (BBC)
Politics and elections
- Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says the country is descending into a "police state" and urges regional intervention, at a rally banned by police. (Reuters)
- Former Haitian President Jean Bertrand-Aristide returns to Haiti, two days before a general election. (CNN)
- North Korea announces that its Supreme People's Assembly will meet on April 7 in a possible change of leadership. (AP via Yahoo! News)
- King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia addresses the nation in the context of regional unrest. (BBC)
- Former United States Secretary of State Warren Christopher died. (CNN)
- The Canadian Opposition accuses the Conservative Party of Canada and Harper Government of Contempt of Parliament after a ruling by the Speaker of the House of Commons, signalling a possible spring federal election. (The Globe and Mail) (Macleans.ca) (Vancouver Sun)[permanent dead link]