April 21, 2011 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2011 Libyan civil war:
- Muammar Gaddafi's forces continue to use artillery shelling against civilians and rebels in Misrata. Rebels from the Nafusa Mountains region capture Libya's west border, where over 100 loyalist soldiers surrender to Tunisian authorities after being chased out by rebels. (Al Jazeera)
- United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says NATO will begin using armed predator drones to combat Muammar Gaddafi's forces. (The New York Times)
- Sri Lanka asks the United Nations not to publish a report on alleged war crimes. (Straits Times) (Hindustan Times)
- Apple / Google smartphone tracking:
- U.S. Congressman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sends Apple chief executive Steve Jobs a letter asking him to explain the purpose of a file embedded on iPhones and iPads that keeps a detailed log of the devices' location. (Los Angeles Times)
- The controversy escalates as some governments announce an intent to investigate any violation of privacy laws. (The New York Times)
Business and economy
- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission fines Brian Hunter $30 million for trades in which he engaged on behalf of Amaranth Advisors in the New York Mercantile Exchange in 2006 that manipulated the value of natural gas futures. (Bloomberg)
Politics
- Prominent Vietnamese dissident Cu Huy Ha Vu appeals his sentence for "anti-state propaganda". (Straits Times)
- Protests take place in Uganda after the arrest of opposition leader Kizza Besigye during a demonstration. (Al Jazeera) (Reuters) (Daily Monitor)
- Chinese truck drivers stage a second day of protests in Shanghai at rising inflation. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
- Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's name is to be removed from all public places including schools and streets by order of an Egyptian court. (Al Jazeera)
- U.S. Senator John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, announces his resignation from his Senate seat effective May 3, due to allegations he had an affair with the wife of a member of his staff. (Bloomberg)