May 14, 2011 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2011 Libyan civil war:
- More than 400 people fleeing Libya and Tunisia arrive on the Italian island of Lampedusa in two boats, the latest in a stream of refugees fleeing the ongoing conflicts in North Africa. (CNN)
- Muammar Gaddafi is among three Libyans facing arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity including the killing of unarmed protesters, forced displacement, illegal detentions and airstrikes on civilians. (CNN)
- Opponents of the Gaddafi regime seek recognition in Europe after the United States stopped short of granting the National Transitional Council full diplomatic recognition, but the White House said it was a "legitimate and credible interlocutor". (Al Jazeera)(VoA)(Tripoli Post)(BBC)
- 2011 Syrian protests:
- 3 people are killed and others are injured as the regime shells Talkalakh, a city near the border with Lebanon; injured Syrians are taken to Lebanese hospitals with at least one man reported to have died. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (CNN)
- Syrian Army troops pull out of the cities of Banias and Deraa after operations to crack down on anti-government protests. (BBC)
- At least six people were killed in demonstrations yesterday, as the government promises to hold national dialogue. (Journal of Turkish Weekly)
- 2011 Yemeni protests:
- 2011 Egyptian revolution:
- Suspected al-Qaeda militants kill six soldiers and injure five others in the town of Rada in Yemen while security forces in other cities injure three dozen anti-government protesters demanding the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. (CNN)
- Six people are killed and at least 19 injured in a blast on a passenger bus in the Punjab province, Pakistan. (CNN)
- Street preachers clash with gays and lesbians during a peaceful rally to mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in Adelaide, Australia. (ABC News)
- There are clashes in east Jerusalem ahead of "Nakba Day" commemorations, with Palestinians being arrested by Israeli police. (Al Jazeera)
- Turkey requests that Israel pass on the names and addresses of the soldiers who raided a Gaza-bound flotilla, killing nine Turks last May. (AFP via Google News)
- Gunmen kill a United Nations driver in Ethiopia's Ogaden region. (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
- An Indian Army soldier is killed in an exchange of fire with the Pakistan Army over the Kashmir border. (AFP via AsiaOne)
Arts and culture
- Azeri duo Eldar & Nigar win the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, with the song "Running Scared". (Deutsche Welle) (BBC) (RTÉ)
- Musician Bob Dylan responds on his website to allegations he gave in to censorship during a recent series of concerts in China, including criticism from The New York Times over his failure to mention the plight of imprisoned artist and dissident Ai Weiwei. (BBC)
- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's youngest son Kim Jong-un reportedly lifts restrictions on women's fashion, while cosmetic surgery–though illegal–takes place in return for bribes. (AFP via Google News)
- Australian singer Dannii Minogue resigns as a judge on The X Factor. (BBC)
Business and economy
- President of the United States Barack Obama uses his weekly address to vow to seek oil in Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico. (BBC)
Disasters
- Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis:
- A worker at the Fukushima power plant dies while working on crisis-fighting operations. (Mainichi Shimbun) (CNN)
- The confirmed death toll from the March 11 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami exceeds 15,000 with over 9,000 still missing and 115,500 evacuees still in shelters.(PanARMENIAN)
- Flooding in North America:
- The Morganza Spillway on the Mississippi River is opened for the second time in its history, deliberately flooding 3,000 square miles (7,800 km2) of rural Louisiana and placing a nuclear power plant at risk to save most of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. (WWL-TV)
- In a controlled breach of the Assiniboine River southeast of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, floodwaters are released over farmland to prevent twice the flooding elsewhere amidst ongoing floods. (CTV) (Canoe.ca)
International Relations
- Pakistan's parliament adopts a resolution that demands an immediate stop to drone strikes and an end to raids by U.S. troops within Pakistan's borders and threatens to cut off access to a facility used by NATO forces to ferry troops into Afghanistan, as the rift between the US and Pakistan grows, following the killing of Osama bin Laden. (CNN)
Law and crime
- Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in the U.S. city of New York for alleged sexual assault. (New York Post) (New York Daily News) (BBC)
- The US Justice Department says that two South Florida imams and a third family member were arrested on charges of providing support to the Pakistani Taliban. (CNN)
- A human rights group urges Iranian authorities not to put acid in the eyes of a man found guilty of blinding a woman who scorned him; a seni-official Iranian news agency reports that the punishment has been postponed. (CNN)
- A supporter of imprisoned Welsh-born U.S. serviceman Bradley Manning sues the U.S. government after it confiscates his laptop without a warrant. (UPI)
- Tenerife's randomly beheaded British woman is named by her family as 60-year-old Jennifer Mills-Westley. (BBC) (The Guardian)
Politics and elections
- Belarusian opposition leader Andrei Sannikov is sentenced to five years' imprisonment for "organizing mass disturbances" following his role in protests disputing the results of the 2010 presidential election. (BBC)
- Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew resigns from the cabinet after 52 years. (BBC) (AP via Salon) (China Daily)
- Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee announces he will not seek the Republican nomination for the 2012 United States presidential election. (The Washington Post)
Sports
- Badr Hari defeats Gregory Tony via first round technical knockout in his return to kickboxing after a year away from the sport, at It's Showtime 2011 Lyon in Lyon, France. (Liver Kick)
- The Confederation of African Football (CAF) disqualifies reigning African champions and FIFA Club World Cup finalists TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the CAF Champions League. (BBC Sport)
- Thai head of football Worawi Makudi takes legal action against former Football Association chairman David Triesman, Baron Triesman after being implicated in alleged bribery over the FIFA World Cup. (BBC Sport)
- Manchester:
- Manchester City F.C. defeats Stoke City F.C. 1-0 in the 2011 FA Cup Final. (The Daily Telegraph) (BBC Sport)
- Manchester United F.C. wins the 2010–11 Premier League becoming the most successful team in English league history. (BBC Sport), (Sky Sports)