Portal:Current events/2011 April 3

{{Current events|year=2011|month=04|day=3|content=

;Armed conflicts and attacks

2011 Bahraini protests:
Authorities ban the publication of the main opposition paper Al Wasat. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121015034628/http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/article1001068.ece/Bahrain-bans-main-opposition-newspaper (Times Live South Africa)] [http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/2011438401186997.html (Al Jazeera)] [http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/3/apworld/20110403172432&sec=apworld (Malaysia Star)]
2011 Libyan civil war:
Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi continue to shell the western city of Misrata. [http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/20114354942249240.html (Al Jazeera)]
2011 Syrian protests:
Syria tightens security to crack down on anti-government protests. [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/04/03/syria-tightens-security-quell-anti-government-protests/ (FoxNews)]
President Bashar al-Assad appoints Adel Safar as Prime Minister to form a new government. [http://www.newser.com/story/115505/syrian-president-bashar-assad-taps-adel-safar-as-prime-minister-will-form-new-government.html (newser)]
The United States Government offers free flights out of Syria to its employees. [https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/04/us-syria-usa-warning-idUSTRE73307720110404?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews (Reuters)]
2011 Yemeni protests:
Anti-government opposition coalition unveils plan to end month-long unrest. [http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/yemen-opposition-coalition-unveils-plan-to-end-month-long-unrest-1.353788 (Haaretz)]
At least 40 people are dead and 100 injured following a Taliban suicide bomb on a Sufi Muslim shrine in Pakistan. [http://news.scotsman.com/news/At-least-40-dead-as.6745382.jp (The Scotsman)]

;Arts and culture

The People's Republic of China detains Ai Weiwei, a leading artist and dissident, as part of a crackdown on dissenting views. [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704587004576240510275778784.html (Wall Street Journal)]
Taylor Swift wins the Entertainer of the Year award at the Academy of Country Music Awards 2010 with Miranda Lambert winning four awards including Female Vocalist of the year. [http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ACM_AWARDS?SITE=WVEC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT (AP)]

;Disasters

The bodies of two dead workers are found at the afflicted Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/world/asia/04japan.html?_r=1 (New York Times)]
The efforts to plug the leaks at the Fukushima I plant appear not to be working. [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/world/asia/04japan.html (New York Times)]
The official death toll from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami passes 12,000 with over 15,000 people missing. [http://www.npa.go.jp/archive/keibi/biki/higaijokyo_e.pdf (National Police Agency of Japan)]
The wreckage of Air France Flight 447, which crashed in June 2009, killing 228 people, is found in the Atlantic Ocean. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12953432 (BBC)], [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42404976/ns/world_news-europe/ (AP via MSNBC)]

;Politics

A presidential election takes place in Kazakhstan, with President Nursultan Nazarbayev winning 95% of the vote. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12949853 (BBC)] [https://web.archive.org/web/20110406182314/http://en.rian.ru/exsoviet/20110403/163347082.html (RIA Novosti)]
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev orders Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to remove his deputies on the boards of state companies by 1 July. [https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/02/russia-companies-idUSLDE73104L20110402 (Reuters)] [http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110402/163339220.html (RIA Novosti)], [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12949853 (BBC)]
Guido Westerwelle, the Foreign Minister of Germany, resigns as leader of the Free Democrats following recent poor electoral performances. [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/63827754-5e13-11e0-b1d8-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss (Financial Times)]

; Environment

Among the rising concerns about the water quality in Hanoi's Hoàn Kiếm Lake, its giant sacred turtle is captured for study and (possibly) medical treatment. [http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2063308,00.html Time magazine]; [http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/04/04/oukoe-uk-vietnam-turtle-idUKTRE73313E20110404 Reuters]

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