February 25, 2011 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2011 Iraqi protests
- At least twenty-nine are killed in a "Day of Rage" protesting against economic problems and corruption in the country. (Al Jazeera) (CP via Google News)(Washington Post)
- 2011 Bahraini protests
- 2011 Libyan civil war
- Leader Muammar Gaddafi addresses a crowd of supporters in the capital Tripoli. (Al Jazeera) (Al Arabiya), (USA Today)
- More defections take place with a Libyan envoy to the United Nations changing sides during a meeting at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. (Al Arabiya), (MSNBC), (AFP via Melbourne Herald-Sun)
- The President of the United States Barack Obama announces sanctions against the government of Libya as does the European Union. (Los Angeles Times)
- 2011 Yemeni protests, (Dow Jones via Trading Charts)
- Tens of thousands of people participate in anti-government protests in Yemen, leaving one dead and several people injured. (Bangkok Post) (Sify India)
- 2011 Egyptian protests: Egyptian protestors claims that the Egyptian Army beat them up in Cairo's Tahrir Square. (New York Times)
- Rebels in the Ivory Coast seize another town from the control of incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to step down following a disputed presidential election. Unrest occurs in the capital Yamoussoukro. (BBC)
Arts and culture
- Victorian era photographs and parole details for women prisoners in the United Kingdom are published on Ancestry.com. (The Guardian)
- The video game Mortal Kombat is refused classification in Australia. (Kotaku)
- Christian Dior suspends fashion designer John Galliano following his arrest in Paris for allegedly making an anti-Semitic rant towards a couple in a cafe as well as an assault. (Daily Telegraph), (Elle), (Vogue)
Business and economy
- The population of Japan records its slowest increase since Japan first held a census. (AP via Jakarta Post)
- A Seoul court orders Chung Mong-koo, the Chairman of the South Korean Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, to pay US$73.1 million in compensation to his own company. (Yonhap)
Disasters
- 2011 Canterbury earthquake
- The death toll from the 2011 Canterbury earthquake in New Zealand rises to 113 with at least 226 people missing. (CNN), (TV New Zealand)
- The New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings, scheduled for 8 March, has been canceled due to the earthquake.(New Zealand Herald)
- A heavy snowstorm hits the East Coast of the United States causing flight cancellations and school closures. (AP via Oregon Live)
- At least twenty-two people die in Peru after a bus plunges into a ravine. (AP via MSNBC)
International relations
- The Government of Iran advises the International Atomic Energy Agency of serious problems with its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. (New York Times)
Law and crime
- Burma jails five more dissidents on charges including associating with dissident groups abroad. (Straits Times)
- Representative Ronald Singson of the Philippines is sentenced to 18 months in a Hong Kong jail for cocaine possession. (AP via Yahoo News Philippines)
- The People's Republic of China gets rid of the death penalty for 13 non-violent economic crimes. (Voice of America)
- A United States district court approves a $624 million payout to former investors in Countrywide Financial. (AP via Wall Street Journal)
Politics and elections
- Tunisia announces that elections are planned for mid-July 2011, as thousands protest demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi. (Al Jazeera)
- Several people are charged after calling for Middle-East style protests in China. (AFP via Google News)
- Communist Party of China official Jia Qinglin urges a "renewed struggle" against the Dalai Lama and controls over Tibetan Buddhism. (Straits Times) (BBC) (Indian Express)
- Voters in the Republic of Ireland go to the polls for the Irish general election. (BBC)