Portal:Current events/2011 April 6

Current events of April 6, 2011 (2011-04-06) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2011 Yemeni protests: six people are killed and hundreds injured in Yemen violence. (CNN)
• 2011 Libyan uprising:
  • NATO pledges to protect the beseiged town of Misrata amid criticism from rebel fighters. (Al Jazeera)
• 2011 Syrian protests:
  • Syria reverses a ban on teachers wearing veils and closes the country's only casino ahead of anti-regime protests. (The Guardian)
• 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis:
  • Forces loyal to internationally-recognised Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara storm the bunker of Laurent Gbagbo in a "final assault". (France 24)
  • Negotiations to end the political deadlock fail. (Al Jazeera)
  • The International Criminal Court could investigate crimes against humanity committed in the country. (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation)

Arts and culture

• Civil partnerships for same-sex couples come into effect on the Isle of Man. (BBC)
• Conservative U.S. broadcaster Glenn Beck announces that he will no longer be presenting his program from later in the year. (The Wrap)

Business and economy

• The New Zealand Press Association closes down after over 130 years in operation with 42 job losses. (3 News)
• José Sócrates, the caretaker Prime Minister of Portugal asks the European Union for financial assistance. (BBC)

Disasters

• Workers at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant manage to plug radiation leaks. (AP)
• At least 200 African migrants are missing after a boat capsizes off Italy. 20 bodies recovered. (BBC), (New York Times)
• A United States Navy F/A-18 crashes near Naval Air Station Lemoore in California. (CBS 47)

International relations

• Ecuador expels the United States ambassador over Wikileaks diplomatic cables alleging corruption within the Ecuadorian police force. (BBC)

Law and crime

• The trial of Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi for having sex with an underage prostitute begins. (Reuters)
• A tape recording is released of police in the Republic of Ireland allegedly threatening to rape two female protesters, one of whom is from North America, after arresting them, causing an outcry among women's groups and anti-rape organizations. (Irish Examiner) (The Belfast Telegraph) (The Guardian) (The Irish Times) (TV3)
• Jeff Skilling, former CEO of Enron, loses his appeal against his conviction for fraud in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. (Wall Street Journal)
• More than forty bodies are found in a mass grave in Mexico's Tamaulipas state. (AP via Star Tribune)
• The Senate defeated a measure that would have banned the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions. The regulations began being applied early this year effects CO₂ emitters such as power plants and oil refineries. (Reuters) (New York Times)

Politics

• The Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper dismisses international criticism over the arrest of artist Ai Weiwei. (Angola Press) (Straits Times) (Global Times)

Sport

• Basketball star LeBron James buys a minority interest in the English Premier League side Liverpool Football Club. (Wall Street Journal)