Portal:Current events/2010 October 7

October 7, 2010 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Six gangsters died and one soldier was injured when an army patrol clashed with suspected gang members in northeastern Mexico state Tamaulipas. (People Daily)
At least 7 people are injured in separate attacks by the Israeli Air Force on the Gaza Strip after rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza on Wednesday. (Ynetnews) (Daily Times)
The African Union says its forces have captured 40% of the Somali capital Mogadishu from Islamist militants in a recent offensive. (BBC) (News24)
The leader of a Congolese rebel group suspected of being involved in the mass rape of more than 300 civilians is arrested by the Congolese army and United Nations peacekeeping troops. (The Irish Times)
14 people are killed and 70 others are injured in 2 suicide blasts at a shrine in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi. (Xinhua) (IRNA)
At least 5 people are killed due to back-to-back afternoon bombings at a vegetable market south of Baghdad. In Iskandariyah, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Baghdad, also wounded at least 20 people. (AP)
A land mine blast kills 6 soldiers in Tajikistan. (Dawn)
Gunmen kill 4 police officers in Iranian Kurdish area. (Santa Cruz Sentinel) (Chron)
20 Taliban militants, including two rebel commanders, are killed in fighting with security forces in northeastern Takhar province, Afghanistan. (Deccan Chronicle)
An airstrike and a raid by ground troops kills 8 insurgents, including a senior Taliban leader who spearheaded attacks against Afghan security forces. (Boston Herald)

Arts and culture

Peruvian-Spanish writer Mario Vargas Llosa is announced as the winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature. (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera) (The Irish Times) (BBC) (Huffington Post)
TVNZ Breakfast race row:
- Suspended TVNZ broadcaster Paul Henry is embroiled in further controversy as his mockery of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is declared "racist" and "unacceptable" and New Zealand's ambassador to India is summoned for a dressing down. (AFP via NDTV) (Indian Weekender) (Xinhua) (Radio New Zealand) (TVNZ)
- A senior TVNZ manager resigns over her defence of Henry. (The New Zealand Herald)
- There are calls for advertising to be withdrawn from TVNZ's Breakfast show after Henry's slur. (The New Zealand Herald)
A lost Antonio Vivaldi concerto is found in the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh. (BBC)
A Roman parade helmet discovered by a metal detectorist in May 2010 is auctioned for £2.3 million ($3.6 million). (The Independent)
The FBI seizes a set of John Lennon's fingerprints. (BBC)
United States film studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer begins plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a bid to rid itself of $4 billion in debts. (BBC)

Business and economy

Austerity measures of pay cuts and pension freeze supported by the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) cause civil servants to stage a 24-hour strike in Greece. (Al Jazeera)
The United States dollar reaches a 15-year low against the Japanese yen and depreciates against a range of other currencies due to concerns about further quantitative easing by the United States Federal Reserve. (FT via CNN)

Disasters

Nine, mostly children, die, after an overloaded river ferry capsizes in the Irrawaddy River delta, in Myanmar. (AP)
A woman was killed and 25 others were injured when the tractor-trolley they were travelling in overturned in Kashipur town of Udhamsingh Nagar district. (DNA)
Six workers die when scaffolding collapsed near the Beishan Interchange in Nantou County, Taiwan. (Taipei Times)
The death toll from flash floods in Indonesia's West Papua province rises to 97 with dozens of people missing. (ABC News Australia)
Red mud from the Ajka alumina plant accident in Hungary reaches the Danube River with alkalinity rising in the Rába River which flows into the Danube. (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (AFP via Google) (Reuters)

International relations

United Nations Security Council visit to Sudan:
- Members of the U.N. Security Council arrive in the Darfur region of Sudan prior to the referendum on independence from Sudan and receive a hostile welcome from pro-government forces. (VOA) (AFP)
- A United Nations worker is kidnapped in Darfur hours after the Security Council delegation visited the area. (BBC)
Russia will refund Iran for the canceled the sale of an air defense missile system following United Nations sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program (VOA) (AP)
United States helicopter strike on Pakistan:
- The United States apologizes to Pakistan for a helicopter strike on a Pakistan Army border post that killed 3 soldiers. (The New York Times)
- Pakistan opts to maintain a shut border in the face of NATO troops. (Al Jazeera)
- Pakistan says no decision to reopen the border will take place until the security situation is improved. (Xinhua)
Israel buys 20 F-35I variant radar-evading fighter jets from the United States, Israel's first batch of advanced fighter jets which arm the country with the most sophisticated combat aircraft in the Middle East. Officials at The Pentagon acknowledge the sale. (AFP via Google News) (Haaretz) (Ynetnews)

Law and crime

Kenyan authorities announce that more than 1,000 teachers have been fired for sexually abusing girls over a 2-year period. (BBC)
Right-wing Israeli politicians push for a controversial change to the wording of the oath required to become an Israeli citizen, amending the wording so that potential citizens must promise to respect Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state". (BBC)
China issues new regulations requiring the managers of mines to accompany workers down the shafts. (BBC) (RTHK)

Politics and elections

New Zealand MP and senior Cabinet Minister Chris Carter quits politics, stating that his travel expenses received unfair attention due to his sexuality. (The New Zealand Herald)
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai charges his President Robert Mugabe with violating the constitution and unilateral decision-making. Mugabe and his party fail to respond in public. (BBC)
The United Kingdom Labour Party announces its Shadow Cabinet to be led by Ed Miliband. (Sky News) (Press Association via Google News) (Xinhua)
Mark Rutte of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is asked by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands to become Prime Minister of the Netherlands leading a coalition government. (Reuters)

Religion

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu retires from public life after reaching his 79th birthday. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)

Sport

English team officials at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India seek reassurance about water safety at the Dr SPM Aquatics Centre after up to fifteen members of the English and Australian swim teams come down with a stomach virus. (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera) ( Sky News)
Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki becomes the new world number one during the 2010 China Open. (BBC) (Reuters)