Portal:Current events/2012 July 16

July 16, 2012 (Monday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Mexican Drug War: The Mexican Federal Police arrested one of the three ringleaders responsible for the deadly shootout last month in the Mexico City International Airport's busy food court. An anonymous tip-off led police to his whereabouts. (Global Post)
Syrian uprising (2011–present):
- Heavy fighting is reported in the capital Damascus overnight with claims of at least five deaths and dozens of injuries. (Reuters via The Irish Times)
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argues that Western nations are using blackmail to secure a new UN Security Council resolution in order to make the use of force in Syria legitimate. (CBS)
Pakistani Taliban attack an office of the security force's intelligence agency in Bannu and take several hostages. (USA Today)
Two American tourists who were kidnapped in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt on 13 July 2012 are freed. (CBS)
Thailand's security forces kill seven alleged drug smugglers from Myanmar in a gunbattle. (AP via Arab News)

Arts and culture

American director William Asher who directed the tv show "Bewitched" dies.
English composer and pianist Jon Lord dies after suffering a pulmonary embolism. (BBC) (NME)
American singer Kitty Wells, the "Queen of country music" and the first female singer to have a number one song on the country charts with "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", dies of complications of a stroke. (Los Angeles Times)

Business and economy

The United States Senate accuses the HSBC bank of laundering Mexican drug money. (BBC News)
The launch of a flagship nuclear power station in Finland is delayed for a third time. (BBC)
NBCUniversal buys full control of the US news website MSNBC.com and rebrands it as NBCNews.com. (NBC News)
Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, businessman and motivational speaker dies. (AP via Newsday)

Disasters

Japan Self-Defense Forces airlift supplies to thousands of people isolated by flooding in southwest Japan, as the death toll rises to 24. (AAP via SBS News)

Law and crime

Former National Rugby League player Craig Field is charged with murder following the death of a man allegedly assaulted in the Australian town of Kingscliff, New South Wales. (Sydney Morning Herald)
A "multiple shooting" incident at Scarborough, a major district in Toronto, Canada, results in at least one death and 19 injured. (National Post)

Politics and elections

North Korea announces that Ri Yong-ho, a senior military figure and a member of the central presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea, is relieved of all duties due to illness. (AP via Yahoo! News)

Science, medicine and technology

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves Truvada as the first drug shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection. (CBS News)(USA Today)

Sports

Thousands of athletes and officials start arriving in the United Kingdom for the London Olympics. (BBC)