Portal:Current events/2010 April 17

April 17, 2010 (Saturday)

Tehran International Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, 2010:
- The "Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapons for No One" disarmament conference opens in response to President of the United States Barack Obama's conference in Washington, D.C. (Al Jazeera) (ABC News)
- China and Russia are represented, as are 60 countries, including several foreign ministers. (Malaysia Star)
- The United States is not invited to Tehran as was the case of Iran at the Washington, D.C. conference. (The Washington Post)
- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls for the establishment of an independent body to oversee nuclear disarmament. (Al Jazeera)
- Iran proposes a five-point plan to "democratise the global security architecture". (The Hindu)
- Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, describes the United States as an "atomic criminal", saying that religion prohibits the use of nuclear weapons (haram) and calls for the US to be expelled from the international nuclear system. (The Daily Telegraph) (BBC) (The Sydney Morning Herald) (Myanmar News) (AFP) (The Times of India)
- France accuses Iran of shunning nuclear dialogue, while the EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton branded Iran the number one challenge today for world security. (AFP)
Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull:
- The volcanic ash cloud above Europe causes a third day of disruption to air travel, leaving millions of passengers stranded unable to reach their destinations. Officials warn that airspace could remain shut for several more days. (BBC)
- Irish airspace shuts down again, having reopened yesterday. (RTÉ) (The Irish Times) (Reuters) (The Wall Street Journal)
- Reports indicate that the disruption caused by the ash cloud is costing airlines up to £130m every day. (The Guardian)
- Health authorities warn people to stay inside if they smell a sulphurous smell, as it could pose a risk to people with breathing difficulties. (The Guardian)
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel is re-routed to Rome via Portugal on her return flight home from the United States, and is now stuck in Bolzano, Italy. (Reuters)
Child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church:
- Former Vatican Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos says his 2001 praise of a French bishop for hiding a paedophile priest was endorsed by Pope John Paul II. (RTÉ) (The Times of India) (Reuters)
- Benedict flies to Malta to commemorate the 1,950th anniversary of the shipwreck of Saint Paul on the island, his first overseas visit since the latest round of child sex abuse claims. (The Observer) (The New York Times)
- President of Malta George Abela mentions an abuse trial involving three Catholic clergy in his speech to mark Benedict's coming, saying "justice had both to be done and seen to be done". Benedict makes no direct reference. (BBC)
April 2010 Kohat bombings:
- Twin bombings on a centre for the displaced in the town of Kohat, Pakistan, kill at least 42 people and injure dozens of others. (TVNZ) (Xinhua) (Reuters) (The New Yorjk Times)
- The United Nations condemns the twin attacks. (Dawn)
Twin bombs injure eight people outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore ahead of an IPL-3 league game between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Mumbai Indians. A third device is located outside. (Indian Express) (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph)
Over 100,000 mourners attend a memorial service to honour the death of the Polish president Lech Kaczyński, and 95 others who were killed in a plane crash the previous week. (The Guardian)
Snowfall in central Tokyo matches a record set in April 1967. (The Japan Times) (MSN Malaysia)
Two oil tankers collide and burst into flames, killing at least five people and wounding several more, in southwest Nigeria. Three large freight trucks along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway also ignite. (AFP)
Internal e-mails reveal Porter Goss, a former head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), agreed with a decision to destroy hundreds of tapes purportedly showing agents waterboarding two al-Qaeda suspects being held in Thailand in 2002 over fears that public release of the tapes would be "devastating". (Al Jazeera)
An earthquake strikes Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, and is felt 50 kilometres away. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
An investigation is launched after a plane crashes into a field and bursts into flames in Weyhill, Andover, Hampshire, United Kingdom, killing at least two people. (The Daily Telegraph) (RTÉ) (BBC) (Sky News) (The Guardian)
Toyota is to recall 600,000 Sienna minivans in the US over fears of corrosion. "In the worst case, the carrier cable may fail and the spare tyre could become separated from the vehicle" a statement from the company read. (BBC)
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia buys 202 double decker buses from China's Zhengzhou Yutong Group for €35 million in the first cooperation between the two countries. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Stages 1 and 2 of Circle MRT line began operations, with all 11 stations along the Stage 1 and 2 of the MRT line from Dhoby Ghaut to Tai Seng being opened at the same time operated by SMRT Trains Ltd.