The MVSirius Star, a supertanker seized in the world's largest hijacking, is released with 2,000,000 barrels (320,000 m3) of oil and all 25 crew members unharmed after a US$3 million ransom is paid. (Guardian)
The Iranian-chartered wheat-carrying vessel MV Desire is released with 25 crew members unharmed. (Xinhua)
A sprinkler incident at a Toronto, Ontario, Canada hydro power station sparks a major power outage in a huge swath in the City's west end affecting more than 250,000 people. (The Globe and Mail)
Japanesemachine orders decrease 16.2 percent from October, the largest percentage drop since April 1987 and more than twice the expected rate. (MarketWatch)
A man hijacks a bus in Bulgaria and holds the 37 passengers hostage for two hours before surrendering. (Reuters)
A special leaders meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum, held in Papua New Guinea, sets a deadline of 1 May for Fiji to set a date for elections before the end of the year. Fiji rejects the deadline. (Xinhua)
The regional Court in Kurgan Oblast, Russia convicts the three prisoners, all born in 1990, of aggravated murder for strangling their cellmate, who had asked them to end his life in this fashion.(Interfax)
