U.S. United States aid worker Alan Gross is sentenced to 15 years in a Cuban jail, ostensibly for working to undermine the Government of Cuba.
Asylum seeker Up to 80 asylum seekers break out of the Australian detention centre on Christmas Island.
South Sudan South Sudan accuses Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir of attempting to overthrow the southern government.
Interstate 94 An estimated 800 motorists are stranded on Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 83 in North Dakota by a blizzard.
Restaurant boat 83 people are rescued from a floating restaurant after it drifted away carrying 150 passengers on the flooded Ohio River in Covington, Kentucky, USA, and became lodged under the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge.
Fifteen people die in a bus accident Fifteen people die in a bus accident in The Bronx, New York, USA.
Quake survivors flee south from northern Japan describing the situation in their hometowns as "unimaginable."
Residents within a six mile radius of the plant are evacuated and residents within 20 miles are warned to stay indoors.
An explosion is heard at the site of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant with four workers injured and residents warned of radiation leaks.
Analysts believe that a nuclear meltdown may be occurring at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant disabled by the Japanese earthquake with a state of emergency declared at five plants.
Policemen Yemeni police storm a protest site in the capital Sana'a resulting in at least one death and dozens of injuries.
Palestinian militant A Palestinian militant armed with a knife infiltrates the West Bank settlement of Itamar and stabs to death two Israeli parents and three of their children.
The Arab League calls for a UN imposed no-fly zone on Libya, and also recognizes the National Transitional Council as the government of Libya.