Jun Azumi Jun Azumi, the Minister of Finance of Japan, says he is to step down and take on a senior function as the acting secretary-general of the Democratic Party of Japan. His announcement comes ahead of an expected cabinet reshuffle.
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe says recent parliamentary elections in Belarus were neither free nor fair. VRT calls them "a farce".
Karim Masimov Karim Masimov resigns as the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan after serving for five years.
Saudi Arabia More than 100 people protest around a desert prison in Saudi Arabia against the detention of their relatives.
South Korea South Korean presidential candidate Park Geun-hye, daughter of former president Park Chung-hee, apologises for abuses committed under her father's regime.
US military The US military announces that two US Marines are charged with urinating on Taliban corpses in Afghanistan and failing to stop other misconduct by subordinates.
Israel Former Israeli minister of industry, trade and labor Ehud Olmert, who is also a former prime minister, is given a fine and a suspended 1-year jail sentence for cronyism while in office. A bribery case related to a housing project in Jerusalem is still being investigated.
Vietnam Three bloggers in Vietnam are sentenced to four, ten and twelve years' imprisonment for "anti-state propaganda".
Foxconn Manufacturer Foxconn closes a factory in Taiyuan in China's Shanxi province after a fight breaks out between thousands of workers.
Wang Lijun Wang Lijun, the former police chief and vice-mayor of Chongqing, China, is sentenced to 15 years in prison for corruption-related charges and defection.
Jewish Jewish Democrats ask Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu to stop bringing "daylight" into Israel–United States relations.
Senkaku Islands dispute Japan sends its vice foreign minister, Chikao Kawai, to China in order to improve the status of relations between the two countries.
China cancels events commemorating the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations with Japan.
Jordan Jordan is to host the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in May 2013.
North Korea Multiple reports suggest that North Korea is to introduce reforms allowing farmers to keep more of their produce, rather than handing it to the state.
Kenya Kenyan AMISOM troops, advancing towards the al-Shabaab stronghold of Kismayo, "deliberately" shoot dead seven Somali civilians, according to a Somali Army spokesman. The Hizbul Islam faction announces that it leaves the al-Shabaab.