Aug 27 2010
October 2009
” in URLs he designed for the World Wide Web. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph)
A Zimbabwean court orders a senior MDC official, Roy Bennett, back to jail on terrorism charges. (Al Jazeera) (South Africa Times)
Iraq’s Human Rights Ministry announces at least 85,000 Iraqis have been killed by bombs, murders and fighting between 2004 and 2008. (Associated Press) (Al Jazeera)
Current events of 15 October 2009 (2009-10-15) (Thursday)
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Treaty of Lisbon:
Czech President Vclav Klaus’s disruption of the Treaty of Lisbon is deemed “absurd, irresponsible and damaging to the country” by his predecessor Vclav Havel. (The Times)
President of Ireland Mary McAleese signs the Lisbon Treaty after returning from Luxembourg. (RT) (Reuters) (Taiwan News)
Ugandan MP David Bahati proposes creating a capital offence of “aggravated homosexuality” for gay sex with people under 18, disabled people or when the accused is HIV-positive. (BBC)
The U.N. General Assembly elects Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, Lebanon and Nigeria to the U.N. Security Council as non-veto-holding members. (Reuters)
Narges Kalhor, the daughter of a senior adviser to President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, applies for asylum in Germany. (Reuters)
Burma and Bangladesh send warships to a disputed area in the Bay of Bengal 50 nautical miles west of St. Martin’s Island. (Mizzima)
Three of the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee initially argued against awarding U.S. President Barack Obama the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. (AFP via Google News) (Primary source: Verdens Gang)
North Korea accuses South Korea of intruding into its territorial waters, further raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap) (Reuters) (AFP)
Palestinians have urged the UN to act to punish Israel for its offensive in the Gaza Strip last winter. (BBC) (Ha’aretz)
At least 37 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Pakistani cities by militants. (The News) (Bloomberg) (Indian Express)
A further six people are sentenced to death over ethnic unrest in China’s Xinjiang region in July. (China Daily) (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
The International Criminal Court opens an investigation into the suppression of an opposition protest in Guinea, in which dozens of people were killed. (Associated Press)
Finland becomes the first country in the world to declare Internet broadband access a legal right. (CNN)
The ruling party in Malaysia, the United Malays National Organisation, announces internal reforms after a series of defeats in local elections. (Al Jazeera) (Bernama)
Militants launch attacks on police in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, in Pakistan, killing 31 people after a week of violence in which more than 100 people died. (Reuters)
Norwegian pop trio a-ha announce they are to split after 25 years together. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph) (The Independent)
A worldwide media circus surrounds an incident in which a six-year-old boy is alleged to be flying in a homemade hot-air balloon; the boy was later found safe at home. (CNN)
Current events of 16 October 2009 (2009-10-16) (Friday)
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Voters in Botswana take part in a general election. (IOL) (Al Jazeera)
The United States records a budget deficit of $1.42 trillion. (Bloomberg)
Stephen Gately:
The surviving members of Boyzone fly to Majorca to escort the body of Stephen Gately home to Dublin. (RT) (BBC) (The Belfast Telegraph) (The Irish Times)
The UK Press Complaints Commission’s website crashes after receiving hundreds of complaints about a Jan Moir article in the Daily Mail concerning her views on the singer’s death. Retailer Marks & Spencer withdraws advertising and Nestl disassociates itself from her writing. (Daily Mail Primary Source) (The Guardian) (BBC) (The Irish Times) (The Huffington Post)
Treaty of Lisbon:
Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer says President Vclav Klaus’s disruption of the Treaty of Lisbon is harming the country’s credit. (Ceske Noviny)
An opinion poll shows that 65% of Czechs support President Vclav Klaus refusal to sign the Lisbon Treaty. (Wall Street Journal)
A strong earthquake hits Indonesia, causing mass panic and evacuations in Jakarta. (CNN)
The United Nations Human Rights Council endorses the Goldstone report on the Gaza War, accusing both Israel and Hamas of war crimes. (Jerusalem Post) (AFP) (Al Jazeera)
Five men are convicted in Sydney, Australia of plotting a terrorist attack. (news.com.au) (The Sydney Morning Herald)
One part of Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) ends a three-month ceasefire and resumes attacks on the oil industry in Nigeria. (BBC) (Reuters) (IOL)
Guinea
Guinea’s civil service minister Alpha Diallo resigns after a massacre of opposition supporters, following agriculture minister Abdourahmane Sanoh who resigned days earlier. (IOL)
The Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon announces plans to establish a commission into the killing of unarmed protestors in Guinea last month. (AP via Google News)
Australian pop singer, songwriter, and actress Kylie Minogue makes her Hindi cinema debut in Blue, thought to be the most expensive Bollywood production ever. (The Times)
At least seven people are killed and at least ten are injured in an explosion at a mosque, police station and passenger bus in Peshawar, Pakistan. (Xinhua) (RT) (BBC)
In Berlin, the reconstructed Neues Museum officially reopens after 70 years. (Deutsche Welle) (The Times)
Zimbabwe:
The MDC partially pulls out of the unity government with Zanu PF in Zimbabwe after one of their members, Roy Bennett is detained on terrorism charges. (Zim Online) (Associated Press) (Xinhua)
Roy Bennett is later released from jail on bail, ordered by the High Court. (Reuters) (Associated Press)
North and South Korea fail to agree on further family reunions, after the North linked the prospect with humanitarian aid deliveries. (Korea Times) (Straits Times)
Controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders arrives in the UK amid protests from the Netherlands, proclaiming “a victory for the freedom of speech”. (CNN) (The Guardian) (Reuters)
Uruguay becomes the first country to provide a laptop for every child attending state primary school. (BBC)
Current events of 17 October 2009 (2009-10-17) (Saturday)
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Czech President Vclav Klaus compares the Treaty of Lisbon to “an unstoppable speeding train” that he is being forced to sign. (BBC)
A report into dumping of toxic waste by Trafigura in Cte d’Ivoire is published. (BBC)
Two police officers are killed after their police helicopter is shot down by drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ten drug traffickers were also killed in the violence. (Associated Press) (Brazzil Mag) (Al Jazeera)
The sheriff in Fort Collins, Colorado advises that criminal charges will be laid over the balloon boy hoax. (AP via Minneapolis Star-Tribune) (Sky News)
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposes an arms embargo on Guinea after the deaths of opposition supporters at a rally last month. (African Press Agency) (Reuters)
A South Korean legislator claims North Korea is holding 154,000 of its citizens in gulags. (Yonhap) (AFP) (BBC)
A Colombian military official claims that eight FARC guerrillas and five Colombian army soldiers have been killed in heavy fighting in Cauca Department. (AFP via Google News)
Iran frees Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari on bail after four months in detention following the disputed presidential election. (Press TV) (IOL) (Associated Press)
More than one million anti-abortion protesters march through Madrid in one of the largest demonstrations since 2003 and 2004 anti-war protests. (The Australian) (Reuters India)
Thousands of fans, celebrities and politicians attend the funeral of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately in Dublin. (RT) (The Guardian) (The Times) (ABC News)
30,000 troops from the Pakistan Army begin an offensive operation against the Taliban and their allies in South Waziristan. (BBC)
The government of the Maldives, including President Mohamed Nasheed, holds the world’s first underwater Cabinet meeting, to highlight the threat of global warming. (Miadhu News) (BBC)
32 people are killed in a fire at a fireworks warehouse in southern India, during the Diwali celebrations. (Hindustan Times) (CNN)
Current events of 18 October 2009 (2009-10-18) (Sunday)
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Yemen claims to have killed 18 Shia rebels in fighting in the north of the country. (Pro Kerala)
Iraq accuses neighbouring countries of stealing sections of its national archives, including centuries-old documents. (AFP)
Ukraine commences its first presidential election campaign since the 2004 Orange Revolution. (Reuters)
A Rwandan doctor working in a French hospital is suspended after a nurse locates an Internet Interpol arrest warrant, accusing him of a 1994 “genocide, war crimes”. (Reuters)
At least 60 Taliban militants are killed in an ongoing offensive in South Waziristan, northwest Pakistan. (The Guardian) (Xinhua)
Jenson Button wins the 2009 Formula One World Championship in Interlagos, So Paulo, Brazil, by finishing fifth in the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Germany and Israel complain about a Bangkok museum billboard depicting a salute by Adolf Hitler beside the slogan “Hitler is not dead”. (BBC) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)
Hurricane Rick strengthens to a Category 5 storm, becoming the strongest hurricane in a decade in the eastern Pacific Ocean. (Associated Press) (Straits Times) (CNN)
The Australian state of Queensland declares a state of emergency after more than 50 wildfires burn out of control. (TVNZ) (Al Jazeera) (The Australian)
Eight people are jailed in Hubei, China, for “disrupting public order” after 10,000 people participated in riots following the controversial death of a chef in June. (BBC) (China Daily) (Bangkok Post)
Scotland Yard investigates a complaint about an article by Jan Moir in the UK’s Daily Mail tabloid concerning her views on the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately. (RT)
2009 Pishin bombing:
Senior commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are among 35 people killed in a suicide bombing in the southeast of the country. (Zee News) (Press TV) (RIA Novosti)
Iranian state television says Britain was directly involved in the attack and intended it as a distraction from problems it faces in Afghanistan. (Reuters)
The Pakistani charge d’affaires is summoned after Iran says it has evidence the attack had been launched from Pakistani soil. (Press TV)
Seven people are killed and 20 injured after gunmen open fire in a bar in Puerto Rico. (Associated Press)
Two foreign aid workers Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki one Irish and one Ugandan working for the GOAL charity captured in Sudan’s Darfur region more than three months ago are released. (Associated Press) (RT) (BBC)
A boat with 76 migrant workers on board headed for Canada is seized by the Canadian Navy and RCMP off its west coast in the Pacific Ocean. (CTV) (AFP)
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) assists Indonesian and Malaysian agencies with two distressed boats. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
The Icelandic government says it has come to a new agreement with the governments of the Netherlands and the UK over the repaying of $5bn. (BBC)
Current events of 19 October 2009 (2009-10-19) (Monday)
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Charles Wesley Mumbere is crowned king of the Bakonjo people in the Rwenzururu district of Uganda. (NPR) (AP via Google)
United Nationsacked electoral fraud investigators throw out a third of President Hamid Karzai’s votes leading to a runoff in the presidential election. (AP via Google)
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico says that he will also demand an opt-out in the Treaty of Lisbon if the Czech Republic is granted one. (Der Spiegel)
Abraham Lauhenaspessy (“Captain Bram”), a suspected kingpin people smuggler, is detained in Indonesia. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (The Australian)
The Opposition in the Australian Parliament demands details on the salary of high-profile Kerry O’Brien, presenter of The 7.30 Report for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
32 Extra Solar planets are discovered and announced, this making the record of most exoplanets discovered in one day and in one month. (CNN)
Current events of 20 October 2009 (2009-10-20) (Tuesday)
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Afghanistan’s election commission orders a run-off election for November 7 in the Afghan presidential election. (AP via Jamaica Observer)
In a set of canon laws, the Vatican welcomes groups of Anglicans as “personal ordinariates” into the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI announces. (BBC) (CNN)
A court in Yemen sentences 10 Shi’ite Houthi rebels to death and jailed five others over clashes which killed hundreds of people last year. (Al Jazeera) (Al Bawaba)
Nine North Koreans who entered the Danish embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam last month leave for South Korea. (The Copenhagen Post)
Richard Herman resigns as the Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a result of an admissions scandal. (Chicago Tribune)
Sun Microsystems announces plans to lay off up to 3,000 workers as it prepares for a merger with Oracle Corp. (Market Watch)
The entire government of Kyrgyzstan resigns as President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announces a new reform campaign. (AFP) (BBC) (Taiwan News)
Niger is suspended by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after its President Tandja Mamadou went ahead with a parliamentary election it had asked to be postponed over boycotts. (BBC) (Reuters)
At least four students are killed and many injured in bomb explosions at an Islamic university in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP via Google)
China pledges to rescue the crew aboard the Chinese ship De Xin Hai after it is hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. The pirates threaten to kill the crew if there is any attempt to rescue them. (Xinhua) (CNN) (The Guardian)
Detectives arrest a man in Belfast in connection with the Massereene Barracks shooting in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, in March 2009. (RT) (BBC) (Press Associaton)
Iran buries its dead members of the Revolutionary Guard, killed in a suicide attack two days ago. Thousands of people attend the funerals. (BBC) (Press TV)
The United States Supreme Court agrees to decide whether federal courts have the power to order prisoners held at Guantnamo Bay to be released into the country. (The New York Times)
Nearly 100,000 Italian women sign a petition after Silvio Berlusconi says a female politician is “more beautiful than intelligent” on live television. (BBC) (Reuters)
Rare footage of the abuse of suspected witches causes controversy in India. (BBC)
The United States observes the National Day on Writing, sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) .
Current events of 21 October 2009 (2009-10-21) (Wednesday)
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The Philadelphia Phillies win the 2009 National League Championship Series 4 games to 1 after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 104. (New York Times)
A report on the discovery of a new species of dinosaur, Fruitadens haagarorum, measuring around 70cm long, is published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society. (RSPB), (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph)
After 10 hours, a man armed with a rifle and wearing military camouflage holding 8 people hostage in downtown Edmonton, Canada during the 2009 Workers Compensation Board of Alberta Hostage crisis surrenders peacefully to the Edmonton Police Service (Global Edmonton) (CTV Edmonton)
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev appoints former mayor of Bishkek, Daniar Usenov, as the new Prime Minister following the resignation of his predecessor, Igor Chudinov. (BBC) (Reuters)
President of the Marshall Islands Litokwa Tomeing is ousted in the country’s first successful vote of no confidence. Ruben Zackhras is appointed acting president until a new election on October 23, 2009. (AFP) (Yokwe)
Hundreds of protestors gather in Lima, Peru, as a bill proposing the legalisation of some form of abortion is approved. (BBC)
The United States is to send a rare mission to Burma for talks with the military government. (AFP) (Reuters)
Several people are arrested over a bomb attack in southeastern Iran that killed 42 people, including members of the Revolutionary Guards. (Associated Press)
Azza Transport Flight 2241 crashes on take-off from Sharjah International Airport, in the United Arab Emirates, killing all six crew. (Gulfnews) (Arabian Business) (Aviation Safety Network)
Armed men take six people captive at a Lidl supermarket in Sevran, France. (BBC) (Euronews) (Ghana Broadcasting Corporation) (Channel News Asia) (Jakarta Globe)
At least thirteen people die in India’s Rajasthan state after the Goa Express crashes into the stationary Mewar Express. (CNN)
A goods train derails east of Poti, Georgia, in an incident described as “sabotage”. (BBC) (The Times of India) (Khaleej Times) (RIA Novosti)
The International Atomic Energy Agency propose draft agreement for Iran and three world powers to agree, aimed at reducing international concerns over Tehran’s nuclear programme. (BBC)
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk agrees to station SM-3 missile interceptors from United States President Barack Obama’s reformulated missile defense system on the territory of this NATO ally. (The New York Times)
The crypt of Daniel O’Connell at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin is refurbished and opened to tourists . (RT)
A Japanese convict who served seventeen years in prison for the murder of a four-year-old girl pleads not guilty during a retrial. (BBC)
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announces plans to curb the number of state companies by privatising some. (RIA Novosti) (Financial Times)
Former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela denies writing a foreword praising Republic of the Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s biography, Straight Speaking for Africa. (IOL) (The Guardian)
Current events of 22 October 2009 (2009-10-22) (Thursday)
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Sweden’s Lutheran Church decides to conduct same-sex marriages, becoming the first major church to do so. (Reuters)
China’s economy grows at 8.9% in the third quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace in a year. (Bloomberg) (AFP) (CNN)
In a change of policy, the British Broadcasting Corporation controversially gives a platform on Question Time to the far right British National Party (BNP) leader Nick Griffin. (BBC) (Associated Press)
The Microsoft operating system Windows 7 goes on retail sale worldwide. (CNET News)
The Russian civil rights society Memorial is awarded the 2009 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought. (EP press release) (RIA Novosti) (euronews)
Ethiopia appeals for food aid for 6.2 million people facing starvation. (AFP) (CBC)
Nearly 6,000 Tamil refugees are released from Sri Lanka’s main camp for war-displaced people, to be re-settled over the next few weeks. (BBC)
A U.S. State Department report to Congress alleges that war crimes were committed by the Sri Lankan Military and the rebel Tamil Tigers in the final months of the Sri Lankan Civil War. (AFP) (Guardian) (BBC)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will allow Chinese and Russian tourists to travel to the Northern Mariana Islands without a visa. (Saipan Tribune)
The Olympic Flame was lit during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece to start the 2010 Winter Olympics Torch Relay.(Gamesbids.com)
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee approved a measure establishing a Consumer Financial Protection Agency.(Washington Post)
Current events of 23 October 2009 (2009-10-23) (Friday)
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At the end of their three-week synod in the Vatican, more than 200 African Roman Catholic bishops issue a 12-page document urging what they call corrupt political leaders on the continent to repent their sins or resign and criticising multinational companies who exploit and destroy the earth. (BBC) (Reuters) (CBC)
Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, says that the Vatican is considering the possibility of converting the Lefebvrist group into a personal prelature. (Pakistan Christian TV)
A universal mobile phone charger that works with any handset is approved by the International Telecommunication Union. (BBC)
Jean Todt defeats Ari Vatanen in an election to become the new head of the Fdration Internationale de l’Automobile, replacing former head Max Mosley, who held the position for 16 years. (BBC)
The UK GDP contracts by 0.4% between July and September, meaning that the United Kingdom has been contracting for 6 successive quarters for the first time since records were kept in 1955. (BBC) (RT)
The Swiss Government says that the United States has formally requested the extradition of film director Roman Polanski for having unlawful sex with an underage girl in 1977. (AP via Washington Post)(Yahoo)
A huge explosion rips through an upmarket area of Peshawar in Pakistan. (AFP via Google News & Yahoo News)
A huge explosion occurs at an oil refinery in Catao, Puerto Rico. (Reuters)
Vitit Muntarbhorn, United Nations Special Rapporteur for North Korea, says the country should improve its “abysmal” rights record, adding it should provide food to over 8 million citizens. (Al Jazeera) (Taiwan News) (BBC)
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) launches its first human rights body, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). (Thai News Agency) (Associated Press)
A white Kenyan, Thomas P. G. Cholmondeley, is released after five months of an eight month prison sentence for manslaughter. (Daily Nation) (BBC)
Current events of 24 October 2009 (2009-10-24) (Saturday)
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The International Day of Climate Action occured worldwide in prelude to the United Nations Climate Change Conference of 2009, with over 5,400 actions to raise awareness of the assertion that 350 ppm is the maximum safe level of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere, and call for mitigation of global warming before Earth reaches a climatological tipping point. (New York Times) (CNN)
Ten corpses with gunshot wounds thought to belong to a kidnapped Colombian football team are located in Venezuela. (BBC) (Latin American Herald Tribune)
Pakistan reports re-gaining control of Kotkai, South Waziristan, birthplace of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud and also the hometown of the Taliban’s master trainer of suicide bombers, Qari Hussain, after a week of fierce fighting with the Taliban. (BBC)
Morrissey, ex-frontman of The Smiths, is hospitalized after collapsing on stage while performing “This Charming Man” during his world tour. (BBC) (The Guardian) (Sky News)
Rosanna Al-Yami, a female journalist in Saudi Arabia, is sentenced to sixty lashes and a two-year travel ban for her involvement in a controversial sex programme. (BBC) (CNN) (The New York Times) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) (Reuters)
Senior envoys from North Korea and the United States hold rare talks on North Korea’s nuclear programme in New York City. (Channel News Asia) (Reuters)
At least 15 people are killed after two trains collide in Al-Ayyat, near Cairo, Egypt. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Less than a week after the release of GOAL aid workers Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirms one of its French employees has been abducted in Darfur. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Burma’s Prime Minister Thein Sein tells the 15th ASEAN summit his government is prepared to relax the house arrest on National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (Financial Times) (Bangkok Post)
A magnitude 7.0 undersea earthquake strikes off the coast of eastern Indonesia. (Associated Press) (Jakarta Post)
Thousands of people protest in London, England, demanding the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan. (BBC) (The Times) (AFP)
The ruling National Movement for the Development of Society wins a controversial parliamentary election in Niger. (African Press Agency) (AFP)
An assassination attempt on President of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov is averted. (RIA Novosti) (Bloomberg)
Current events of 25 October 2009 (2009-10-25) (Sunday)
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The New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 in Game 6 of the 2009 American League Championship Series to advance to the World Series. (New York Times)
Israeli police and Palestinians clash at Temple Mount, Jerusalem’s holiest site, resulting in 12 arrests. (BBC) (Straits Times) (Associated Press)
Bomb blasts kill 155 people and injure at least 500 in central Baghdad, the country’s deadliest attack for two years. (BBC) (Reuters India) (The Sydney Morning Herald)
India tells China that the Dalai Lama is an “honoured guest” and will not be barred from visiting Arunachal Pradesh despite protests from China. (Associated Press) (Times of India) (Straits Times)
Nigeria’s main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, declares an indefinite ceasefire. (NEXT) (African Press Agency) (Xinhua)
Maksharip Aushev, human rights activist and opposition leader of Ingushetia, is shot dead while driving his car near Nartan in Kabardino-Balkaria. A female passenger is also attacked. (Xinhua) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) (RIA Novosti)
Tunisians vote in a general election. (Al Jazeera)
Uruguayans vote in a general election. (Press TV) (Associated Press)
Easter Islanders vote to restrict the number of immigrants in a referendum. (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) (BBC)
The oil refinery fire continues to burn out of control in Catao, Puerto Rico, two days after the initial explosion. (Washington Post)
Buildings across the Netherlandst. Martin’s Cathedral, Utrecht, Rotterdam’s Euromast and Groningen’s Martinitorenim their lights as clocks go back in Europe. (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)
Inspectors from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrive in Iran to inspect a newly disclosed nuclear facility near the city of Qom. (CNN)
It is revealed that composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. (The Guardian)
Current events of 26 October 2009 (2009-10-26) (Monday)
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President of Tunisia Zine El Abidine Ben Ali wins 90% of votes, his fifth term and a new five-year mandate in the country’s general election. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (CBC)
Jurelang Zedkaia is elected the 5th President of the Marshall Islands, following the ouster of Litokwa Tomeing in a no confidence vote last week. (Bernama)
At least seven people are killed and at least four others are injured when a three-story building falls down in Palma, Majorca. The dead include at least three from Colombia. (BBC)
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadi boycotts his own trial as it begins in The Hague. (BBC) (The Guardian) (The Australian)
The UN’s court in Freetown, Sierra Leone sees its final case after seven years of investigating the country’s civil war. (BBC) (Reuters Africa) (Ghana Broadcasting Corporation)
The trial of Japanese singer and actress Noriko Sakai begins in Tokyo. (Xinhua) (BBC) (Japan Today)
South Korean cloning scientist Hwang Woo-Suk is convicted of fraud over his stem cell research. (BBC) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) (The New Zealand Herald)
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia removes the sentence of 60 lashes for Rosanna Yami, female journalist involved in the Red Lines sex scandal. (BBC) (Al Arabiya) (CBC)
A Sri Lankan court in Colombo releases Vetrivel Jaseeharan, the publisher of North Eastern Monthly, and his wife after they were charged with conspiracy against the government in March 2008. The editor was given a twenty year jail sentence in August 2009. (BBC) (Khaleej Times)
It is announced that Silvio Berlusconi will stand trial on 16 November. (BBC)
A court in Milan rules that Mediaset run by Silvio Berlusconi is being anti-competitive against News Corporation run by Rupert Murdoch. (BBC)
The five surviving Conway sextuplets, the first sextuplets born on the island of Ireland, return home. (BBC)
At least 10 patients from thirty-four operated on partially lose their sight after free cataract operations in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. (BBC)
A crater found in northern Latvia, believed at first to be a meteorite strike, is revealed to be a hoax perpetrated by telecom operator Tele2. (Fox News)
Uldis Nulle, a scientist at the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre, said: “This is not a real crater. It is artificial.” (The Sun).
Prof. Salamat Akhtar demands a repeal of blasphemy laws in Pakistan. (Pakistan Christian TV)
Silvio Berlusconi has been diagnosed with scarlet fever. (The Times)
The composer and pianist Elton John cancels his third concert in several days due to flu. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph) (CBC)
Yahoo! discontinues its free web hosting service GeoCities, ten years after purchasing it from David Bohnett and John Rezner. (The Los Angeles Times)
Australian authorities offer a Aus$1 million reward in their search for a man suspected of ordering the murder of a vampire. (BBC)
A police officer in Liverpool, England is hospitalised in a life threatening condition after undergoing a homophobic attack by a gang of twenty youths. (Sky News) (BBC)
Current events of 27 October 2009 (2009-10-27) (Tuesday)
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A report by the Australian government warns that global warming climate change threatens the coastal lifestyle of the country, with a prospect of a ban on coastal homes. (The Guardian) (The Daily Telegraph)
Grassroots occupations of Austrian universities spread to several more in Vienna, Graz and Linz, demanding free education for everyone. (Boston Herald) (CNN iReport) (Austrian Times)
Qatar inaugurates one of the world’s largest LNG trains, operated by RasGas. (Al Bawaba) (The Peninsula) (Gulf Times)
Pope Benedict XVI appoints Cardinal Peter Turkson of Cape Coast, Ghana, to serve as the new head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. (Pakistan Christian TV)
NASA announces a delay in the launch of the Ares I-X test rocket, developed to replace the space shuttle, due to poor weather conditions. (New Scientist) (BBC)
The Church of Scientology in France is convicted of organised fraud. (France 24) (The Times) (Al Jazeera)
China confirms it has executed 2 Tibetans over unrest last year. (Angola Press) (The Guardian) (The Hindu)
The son of ex-French President Franois Mitterrand, Jean-Christophe Mitterrand and an ex-government minister, Charles Pasqua, are convicted for their roles in illegal arms sales to Angola. (Associated Press) (Reuters)
A nephew of Honduran interim leader Robert Micheletti and a high ranking army officer are found murdered. (Times of India) (BBC) (Press TV)
A British couple are missing after their yacht is hijacked by Somali pirates off the Seychelles. (Bloomberg) (AFP) (Xinhua)
North Korea says a South Korean man has defected to the North across the Korean Demilitarized Zone. (Yonhap) (Associated Press) (Xinhua)
Burundi and Uganda tighten security after threats by the militant Somali Al-Shabaab, a group with links to Al-Qaeda, to attack their capitals. (Reuters India) (VOA)
The autonomous Aceh province in Indonesia is to ban women from wearing tight trousers under a new law, while a law authorising the stoning to death of adulterers and the whipping of homosexuals will be reviewed. (Jakarta Globe) (Straits Times) (Reuters South Africa)
Authorities in Venezuela arrest a number of people accused of being secret service agents from neighbouring Colombia, on charges of espionage. (El Universal) (Colombia Reports) (BBC)
Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva backs autonomy for the restive southern provinces to bring an end to violence in the region. (The Nation) (Straits Times)
Current events of 28 October 2009 (2009-10-28) (Wednesday)
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Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell is mauled to death by coyotes at the age of 19. (CBC) (The Star)
Voters in Mozambique go to the polls for the general election. (AFP via Google News) (IOL)
A blast in Meena Bazar, Peshawar, Pakistan, kills at least 95 people while 110 are injured. (Geo TV) (The Times)
12 people including six United Nations staff are killed after Taliban militants assault an international guesthouse in the Afghan capital Kabul. (Associated Press) (New York Times)
One of Germany’s last Nazi war crimes trials begins, with Heinrich Boere charged with the killings of three civilians in the Netherlands. (The Local) (BBC) (Deutsche Welle)
Ares I-X, the first test article for NASA’s Ares I rocket, launches successfully from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a sub-orbital test flight. (CNN)
The Lebanese army says it has found and deactivated four 107-mm rockets in the garden of a partly built house a day after a rocket fired from Houla hit the northern Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona. This is the fifth time rocket attacks have been used to try to break the cease-fire. (Reuters)
Chinese police rescue over 2,000 children in a six month campaign against human trafficking. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph)
Ireland and the United Kingdom agree to ensure drivers disquali…