Portal:Current events/2010 April 19

April 19, 2010 (Monday)

Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot of Kenya wins the 2010 Boston Marathon, setting a new course record. ESPN
Kyrgyzstan unrest:
- Several hundred people armed with sticks and stones clashed with ethnic Russians and Meskhetian Turk landowners in the village of Maevka, before moving toward the capital Bishkek and demanding talks with officials. Alertnet
- Jalal-Abad: Approximately 1,000 people gather in the southwestern town's main square, denouncing the interim government and chanting pro-Bakiev slogans. Rallies also take place in neighboring Osh and Batken provinces. RFE-RL
Middle East
- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay calls for Saudi Arabia and Gulf states to lift restrictions on women and to improve the position of millions of foreign workers in the region. (AFP) (BBC) (Reuters India)
- Former United States presidential candidate and US Senator, John McCain, calls for sanctions against Iran designed to prevent the country from producing a nuclear weapon. (UPI) (The Washington Post)
- Derviş Eroğlu, head of a party opposed to reunification of Cyprus, wins leadership elections in the Turkish Cypriot north but pledges talks with Greek Cypriots. (Al Jazeera)
Iraq:
- Iraqi election officials order a manual recount of votes cast in Baghdad after complaints are raised. (BBC) (Financial Times) (Reuters)
- Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki and officials from the United States say two of the country's al-Qaeda leaders are killed. (BBC)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict:
- Hamas executions by firing squad of Palestinians accused of aiding Israel is condemned as murder by France, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, urges Hamas to halt plans for further killings. (The National) (The New York Times)
- Israeli police raid the Tel Aviv apartment of Anat Kamm, a journalist who had been put under house arrest after leaking classified documents, claiming she was visited by a family member who had not been approved by the courts. (Ha'aretz)
- Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak says that Israel will allow a separate Palestinian state "whether you like it or not". (BBC) (CTV) (The News International)
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will not accept demands that Israel stop building in East Jerusalem. (BBC)
Air travel disruption after the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull:
- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) criticises European governments, questions their leadership and asks them to reevaluate their decision-making process in the wake of the disaster. (RTT News)
- Thousands of Kenyan farm workers are temporarily laid off as harvesting of flowers and vegetables is stopped due to flight disruptions; the Kenya Flower Council says 3,000 tonnes of flowers meant for export have been scrapped. (BBC) (Business Day) (Reuters Africa)
- Gordon Brown and COBRA deploy the Royal Navy to rescue stranded Britons around the world. (BBC) (The Guardian) (The Independent) (The Times)
A report by the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL) concludes the track on which Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died at the 2010 Winter Olympics was faster than it should have been. (BBC)
Aftershocks of the Yushu earthquake continue. Quake death toll rises to 1,944. (Xinhua) (People) (QNA) (CCTV)
Seven are killed and 30 are injured in a magnitude 5.3 earthquake in the mountains north of Kabul, Afghanistan. (The Washington Post)
Hundreds of Indonesian protesters in Jakarta demand the riot police be disbanded after three are killed and at least 156 wounded in bloody clashes between Indonesian National Police and demonstrators. (The Times)
North Korea denies it sank a South Korean naval patrol boat in disputed waters between the two Koreas. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
The Thai army moves into the Bangkok CBD to block the path of protesters. (BBC) (Japan Today) (Melbourne Age) (The Washington Post)
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd shows a two-hour presentation on his health reform plan at a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Canberra. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
UN Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie appeals for safety in Somalia for thousands of Somalis trapped in the country’s capital of Mogadishu. (UN)
Franck Ribéry and other footballers from the French national football team are investigated by police in connection with an underage prostitution ring. (The Times) (AFP) (RTÉ) (Ennahar)
Drug trafficker Carl Williams of Melbourne gangland killings fame is murdered in prison. Yahoo