Portal:Current events/2009 September 24

September 24, 2009 (Thursday)

Treaty of Lisbon:
- Czech President Václav Klaus says he is "adamant" Irish voters will reject the European Union's Treaty of Lisbon when they vote on it again in the country's 2 October referendum, meaning his unwillingness to sign the treaty will be justified. (Aktualne)
- Libertas founder Declan Ganley and Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary clash during high-profile radio and television debates on the Treaty of Lisbon as the referendum campaign intensifies. (BBC) (Irish Independent)
The 2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit commences with two dozen world leaders in attendance.
Sixteen members of al-Qaeda, five of whom have been sentenced to death, are at large after escaping from prison north of Baghdad. (BBC)
India's Chandrayaan-1 probe discovers large amounts of water on the Moon. (Press Trust of India) (Financial Times) (Xinhua) (The Australian) (The Guardian)
The United Nations Security Council, headed by world leaders, unanimously approve Resolution 1887 to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. (BBC) (China Daily) (New York Times) (Associated Press) (Hindustan Times)
Thailand and the U.S. Army announce a breakthrough of a HIV/AIDS vaccine, after trials find it can reduce infection by 31%. (Thai News Agency) (Bernama) (Xinhua) (BBC) (CNN)
Arthur's Day: The 250th anniversary of the signing of a lease by Arthur Guinness for a brewery at St James's Gate in Dublin. Events organised by Diageo get underway in Dublin, Kuala Lumpur, Lagos, New York and Yaoundé. (RTÉ) (The Irish Times) (Philadelphia Inquirer) (Sky News)
The last surviving Ottoman, Ertuğrul Osman, dies in Istanbul at the age of 97. (BBC) (Today's Zaman)
Nine North Koreans enter Denmark's embassy in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi to seek political asylum. (BBC) (Taiwan News) (New York Times)
An online petition is launched after President of The Gambia Yahya Jammeh threatens to kill human rights workers that "destabilise" the country. (BBC) (Newstime Africa)
Australia begins clearing up after its worst dust storm in seven decades, which smothered Sydney and brought transport to a standstill. (BBC)
The United Kingdom's largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure, a collection of 1,500 gold and silver pieces comparable to the Book of Kells, is discovered buried beneath a field in Staffordshire. (BBC) (The Guardian) (The Times) (The Daily Telegraph) (The Independent) (RTÉ) (Malaysian Sun) (The Australian) (Sky News)
The News of the World and Daily Mail newspapers apologise to Fabio Capello, the manager of England's national football team, after printing pictures of him and his wife Laura resting in mud-baths on an Italian beach. (BBC)
South Korea agrees to develop 1,000 km² (386 sq miles) of farmland in Tanzania. (IOL) (BBC) (The Korea Herald)
A painting worth up to 3 million euros by surrealist artist René Magritte is stolen by thieves at a museum in Brussels. (The Times) (AFP)
Detained Burmese National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi welcomes a new United States policy shift which would engage with the Burmese military government. (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (The Guardian) (Bangkok Post)
A court in Taiwan rejects former President Chen Shui-bian's appeal to be released on bail. (Associated Press) (Bangkok Post)
The Tanzania Albino Society (Tas) calls for the men found guilty of killing an albino boy in Tanzania to be hanged publicly as a warning to others. (BBC)
Bobby Cox, manager of the professional baseball team Atlanta Braves, announces he will retire at the end of the 2010 season. (AP/FOX Sports)
Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts chooses former Democratic National Committee chairman Paul G. Kirk, Jr. to replace former Senator Teddy Kennedy on a temporary basis, until elections can be held to choose a permanent replacement to fill the remainder of Kennedy's term. (Houston Chronicle)
2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit:
- Leaders of the world converge on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the opening of the G-20 Summit. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
- Police use a lachrymatory agent to disperse a riot at the 2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit. (AP via Fox News)
Tongan Loloahi Tapui, the housekeeper of Attorney General for England and Wales Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, is arrested alongside her husband over alleged immigration offences. (BBC)
Five deaths occur in Turkey as a result of flash floods. (Xinhua) (Reuters) (BBC)
Nigerian politician Waje Yayok, third in command in Kaduna State, is kidnapped. (BBC)
Melting ice is pouring off Greenland and Antarctica into the sea far faster than was previously realised because of global warming, new research shows. (Irish Independent)