United States Voters in the United States city of Chicago go to the polls for the Chicago mayoral election with former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel winning.
Democrat The Democrats in the Indiana House of Representatives leave for other states in the U.S. rather than vote on anti-union legislation.
India An Indian court convicts 31 people on murder and conspiracy charges in relation to the Godhra train burning.
United States United States militant nativist Shawna Forde of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps is sentenced to death in Arizona for her role in the murders of Raul and Brisenia Flores.
Al Jazeera Al-Jazeera reports Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa stating that Libya is suspended from sessions.
Iran Navy The Iran Navy sends two ships through the Suez Canal for the first time since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Tropical Cyclone Carlos Tropical Cyclone Carlos wreaks damage in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with reports of four tornadoes striking the mining town of Karratha.
2011 Canterbury earthquake The Prime Minister of New Zealand calls an emergency Cabinet meeting while Bob Parker, the Mayor of Christchurch, declares a state of emergency.
The New Zealand Fire Service confirms that there have been at least 65 deaths resulting from the earthquake with the city of Christchurch not having enough ambulances.
Radio New Zealand reports that buildings have collapsed with 200 people trapped in one building alone.
An earthquake of 6.3 magnitude strikes the region of Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand, disrupting communications to the area and closing Christchurch Airport.
Life insurance The life insurance company Metlife expects to sell its Taiwan unit soon, perhaps as early as April, according to anonymous sources cited by Reuters. Regulators blocked an early effort by MetLife to sell the same unit.
Moody's Moody's Investors Service downgrades Japan's credit rating due to concerns over high levels of government debt.
Jamaica Jamaican reggae singer Buju Banton is found guilty on drugs charges in the U.S. state of Florida.
2011 Iranian protests 2011 Iranian protests: Iranian security forces arrest the son of opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi.
The Algerian government adopts a draft law lifting the state of emergency in the country, in place since 1992.
2011 Yemeni protests Armed supporters of the Government of Yemen kill two students and wound another eleven students conducting a sit-in at Sanaa University demanding the resignation of the President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Civil war Peru suspends diplomatic relations with Libya, becoming the first nation to do so since the unrest, and calls on the United Nations Security Council to introduce a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace to stop Libyan Air Force aircraft attacking civilians
The old monarchy-era flag, which has become a popular symbol among anti-government protesters, is hoisted at the Libyan embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.
The United Nations Security Council holds a closed-door meeting in response to the crackdown in Libya