May 24, 2011 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Clashes break out in southern Tunisia between local residents and Libyan refugees fleeing that country's civil war. (Reuters)
- Fresh clashes take place in Yemen between police and opposition tribesmen who have taken control of several government buildings in the capital Sana'a. (AFP via Google News)
- Smoke is seen rising from Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli, Libya, following a NATO airstrike which reportedly kills three people. (CNN), (AFP via News Limited)
- A suicide bomber attacks the headquarters of Kazakhstan's security service, causing casualties. (AFP via Sydney Morning Herald)
- A roadside bomb in Afghanistan's Kandahar Province kills ten people and injures 28. (AP via Houston Chronicle)
- 2011 Syrian protests
- Human rights organisations estimate that the Government of Syria has killed 1,000 civilians so far during the protests.(Al Jazeera)
- John Baird, the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs announces that Canada will be imposing sanctions against Syria. (Al Jazeera)
- Situation in Sudan:
- The United Nations claims that about 20,000 people have fled the Abyei region for Agok in Southern Sudan after Sudanese forces took control. (Reuters)
- A southern minister in Sudan's national government, Luka Biong Deng, resigns over the incident. (BBC)
Arts and culture
- US television personality Oprah Winfrey records the final episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show. (Herald-Sun)
Business and economy
- Gearbox Software announces that the video game Duke Nukem Forever, infamous for its 14-year development cycle, has gone gold and will (presumably) meet its current release date of June. (Engadget.com)
Disasters
- The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) claims that three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant suffered partial meltdowns following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami; it had previously announced that only one reactor had suffered a meltdown. (DPA via The Hindu)
- Ash from the Grímsvötn volcanic eruption continues to spread over the United Kingdom and Western Europe leading to cancellation of up to 500 airline flights. (The Daily Telegraph) (New York Times)
- An explosion at an Abadan oil refinery in southwestern Iran during a visit by the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad leads to a fire killing two workers and injuring 20. (Ynet) (AP via Washington Post)
- Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011 in the Central United States
- The search continues for survivors of the 2011 Joplin tornado as 1,500 people are unaccounted for in the US town. (New York Times)
- At least five people die and many more are injured as tornadoes and severe storms hit near the US city of Oklahoma City. (CNN), (The Oklahoman)
- Two people are killed in a tornado in central Kansas. (Wichita Eagle)
International relations
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint session of the United States Congress and says he is prepared to make "far-reaching compromises" for a peace deal with Palestinians, but states that Israel will not return to its pre-1967 borders. (CNN) (The Jerusalem Post)
- A delegation from the United States arrives in the North Korean capital Pyongyang to assess the food shortage in the country. (CNN) (Radio Television Hong Kong)
- U.S. President Barack Obama meets Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and senior royals at the start of a three-day state visit to the United Kingdom. (BBC)
Law and crime
- Malaysian authorities break up a mass gathering of Shiite Muslims, detaining four. (Straits Times)
- Security forces in Somalia seize two planes carrying ransom money for pirates, and detain six foreigners. (Reuters) (Bernama)
- Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons are to be tried over the deaths of anti-government protesters. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
- Human Rights Watch calls for the release of a Saudi woman detained for driving. (AFP via Google News)
- A British police officer is to be charged with manslaughter over the death of newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson during the 2009 G-20 protests. (BBC)
- Thai authorities lift a special security law used to curtail violent demonstrations ahead of elections on 3 July. (Thai News Agency) (CP)
Politics
- More than 30 political prisoners go on hunger strike at Insein Prison in Burma to protest against their treatment. (Straits Times) (BBC)
- The Tunisian government confirms 24 July as the date of elections to the assembly. (Reuters)
- Lord Wei, who was in charge of David Cameron's Big Society project, has announced he is standing down from the role. (BBC)
- Kathy Hochul, the Democratic Party candidate, wins a special election to represent New York's 26th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. (New York Times), (AP via MSNBC)
Science
- The Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft, carrying half of the members of Expedition 27 back from their crew rotation aboard the International Space Station, lands safely in Kazakhstan. (AFP via Herald-Sun)