March 29, 2011 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Arab Spring:
- 2011 Syrian protests
- Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, accepts the resignation of the country's government, following two weeks of anti-government protests that have gripped Syria. However Muhammad Naji al-Otari, the resigning prime minister will continue to serve as caretaker Prime Minister. (Al Jazeera) (Syrian Arab News Agency) (SBS World News)
- 2011 Libyan civil war
- Sweden, a non-NATO member, adds eight JAS Gripen jetfighters to the international Libyan no-fly zone. (DU)
- Gaddafi forces push back rebels who were gathered east of Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte. (Haaretz)
- An international conference takes place in London, England, to discuss the military action and future of Libya. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
- Coalition forces bomb missile dumps in Tripoli. (CBS)
- 2011 Bahraini protests
- Bahrain's parliament accepts the resignations of 11 out of 18 Al-Wefaq MPs who stepped down on February 14, 2011 in protest at violence against pro-democracy demonstrators. (Bahrain News Agency)
- 2011 Syrian protests
- 2010-2011 Ivorian crisis:
- Fighters backing internationally recognised president Alassane Ouattara launch a "general offensive" in the west, centre-west and east of Ivory Coast. (France 24)
Business and economy
- The President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, James Bullard, says that the continued purchase of U.S. Treasuries by the Federal Reserve is "feeding the fire" of inflation, and should be tapered off. (Reuters)
- GE Energy To Buy 90% Stake In Converteam For $3.2Billion (WSJ)
Disasters and accidents
- Around 4,000 bodies of people who died in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture remain unidentified. (Kyodo)
- North Korea is reported to be on a state of high alert for radiation from the Fukushima I accidents. (Yonhap) (Sydney Telegraph)
- Nine hospital patients in the US state of Alabama die after being treated with Intravenous therapy feeding bags with the manufacturer withdrawing the product. [http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20110329/NEWS/110329045/9-dead-after-infected-IVs-found-Alabama-hospitals?odyssey=mod