Portal:Current events/2011 May 19

May 19, 2011 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syria condemns the decision by the United States to impose sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad in response to ongoing anti-government protests. (Al Jazeera)
2011 Libyan civil war:
- Rebels in Libya launch a television channel to counter Muammar Gaddafi's state media. (Reuters)
- NATO claims to have sunk eight Libyan Navy warships in airstrikes on Tripoli's main port. (C News)
Two Vietnamese sailors are shot and wounded in the disputed Spratly Islands. (Straits Times)
A double bombing in the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq kills 27 people and injures dozens. (Los Angeles Times)

Arts and culture

Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier is banned by the Cannes Film Festival for remarks, made in jest, that he sympathizes with Adolf Hitler. Trier later apologises for his comments. (AP) (The Guardian)
US journalist Katie Couric signs off as the host of the CBS Evening News. (E! Online)
A special edition of the BBC's political debate programme Question Time is recorded at Wormwood Scrubbs Prison in London. (The Guardian)

Business and finance

A civil service strike in Botswana closes many hospitals. (BBC)
Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault charge:
- Dominique Strauss-Kahn offers his resignation as head of the International Monetary Fund following the charges. (BBC), (CBS News)
- Strauss-Kahn has another bail hearing in the US city of New York, after being charged with rape, and is given home detention and a million dollars bail. (Reuters), (BBC), (Fox New York)
The Japanese economy officially goes into recession, in part due to the effects of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. (AP via Yahoo! News)
John Malone's Liberty Media makes a US$1 billion bid for bookseller Barnes & Noble. (Reuters)
The Eurasian Economic Community, led by Russia, offers Belarus a US$3 billion bailout package. (Financial Times)

Disasters and accidents

22 people are killed when Sol Líneas Aéreas Flight 5428 crashes in southern Argentina. (CNN)
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hits western Turkey, about 230 km south of Istanbul, killing at least two people and leaving many injured. (The Associated Press)

International relations

The United Nations World Food Programme calls for "urgent assistance" for the North Korean people due to a food crisis. (Channel News Asia)
Barack Obama Middle East speech:
- President Obama gives a speech in support of the Arab Spring during which he states that the solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict must include Israel reverting its borders back to the pre-1967 borders.(BBC)
- The Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the proposal. (Israel National News)
Members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement in the China file a lawsuit in the United States against Cisco, maker of internet routing gear, alleging Cisco has helped China's government violate their human rights. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Police in China search for a man who threw eggs and a shoe at the creator of the "Great Firewall of China", Fang Binxing. (BBC) (The Telegraph) (Business Insider)
The daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov sues a French website for calling her father a "dictator". (RFE/RL)
Authorities in Egypt suspend the prison sentences of 120 protesters who participated in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. (CTV)
The former boss of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Sir Fred Goodwin, is named as allegedly having had an affair with a colleague after the High Court of England and Wales lifts an injunction. (BBC)
The Supreme Court of British Columbia rules that anonymity for sperm donors and egg donors is unconstitutional in Canada. (Canadian Press via Global National)

Politics and elections

Sport