Portal:Current events/2010 July 23

July 23, 2010 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and incidents

Nigerian part of Jos is sealed off as police search the city following the discovery of a booby-trap bomb. (BBC)
North Korea responds to nearby joint United States-South Korean military exercises by stating that the acts resemble 19th century "gunboat diplomacy", describing them as "a threat to the Korean peninsula and the region of Asia as a whole". (BBC)
One person is killed and 42 injured after a Swiss tourist train derails in the Alps. (CBC) (AP)
Israel Defense Forces soldiers kill a Palestinian man attempting to enter the Israeli settlement of Barkan. (BBC) (Jerusalem Post)
The United Nations Human Rights Council appoints Sir Desmond de Silva of Britain, Karl Hudson-Phillips of Trinidad and Tobago, and Mary Shanth Dairiam of Malaysia to investigate the Gaza flotilla raid. (Aljazeera) (Radio New Zealand)
Guinea and Djibouti pledge to contribute troops towards the African Union Mission supporting the Transitional Federal Government in Somalia. (Al Jazeera) (AP)

Arts and culture

The legal case over Precious is dismissed. (BBC)
The Diocese of Rome criticises homosexual priests, accusing them of leading a "double life" and advising them to leave the priesthood. (BBC) (The Guardian)
Singer Billy Corgan collapses during a performance of "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" in the United States. (BBC) (CNN) (CBS News) (Daily Mail)
Black Swan is announced as the opening film of the 67th Venice International Film Festival. (BBC)
The British-Irish boy band, One Direction, is formed in the 7th series of the television show, X Factor UK (www.starpulse.com)

Disasters

Alarms on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig are found to have been disabled before the explosion and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. (The Guardian)

International relations

Serbia states its intention to never recognize Kosovo's independence after International Court of Justice's yesterday ruling. (BBC)
Venezuela severs diplomatic relations with Colombia after Colombia claims Venezuela is a "haven for guerrillas". (BBC) (Latin American Herald Tribune) (Samaylive News)

Law and crime

A Dutch court finds Trafigura guilty of illegally dumping toxic waste in Côte d'Ivoire in 2006. (BBC) (The Guardian)
Two Spaniards and a journalist sue Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, plus other Israeli ministers and officials, as a result of the Gaza flotilla raid. (BBC) (IOL) (The Irish Times)
An investigation by The Independent uncovers the first evidence of a UK-based rendition recruitment drive, free of American involvement, suggesting MI5 was directly involved in the 2004 "illegal" transfer of a Moroccan national from a Belgian prison to London. (The Independent)
Michael Conahan, a former judge in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, pleas guilty to racketeering conspiracy by assisting in the jailing of juvenile defendants in return for bribes. (BBC) (The Washington Post)
China sentences an Uyghur journalist who spoke to foreign media after riots in Xinjiang last year to 15 years imprisonment. (BBC) (Reuters Africa)
A court in the U.S. state of Arizona listens to challenges to the state's policy against illegal immigrants. (BBC)
A panel decides Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga should stay in jail in The Hague: Lubanaga says he is not guilty of the charges against him. (Aljazeera) (BBC)
A Pakistan court requests that a mentally-ill woman who was charged but never went on trial for a 1996 desecration of the Koran be released. (BBC)
Death of Ian Tomlinson:
- The family of Ian Tomlinson, filmed being pushed to his death by police while walking home from work past the 2009 G-20 London summit protests, say the incident is being covered up by authorities. (The Independent)
- The Independent Police Complaints Commission supports a prosecution for manslaughter. (The Guardian)

Politics

France's defense ministry says it aided a recent raid by Mauritania against al-Qaeda in North Africa in a failed search for a French hostage. (Aljazeera) (BBC) (IOL) (Reuters)
Nigeria's senate changes the country's constitution to reschedule elections. (BBC)
Former President of Sri Lanka Chandrika Kumaratunga criticises the current government for "completely forgetting the legacy" of Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the first female prime minister on earth. (BBC)
A paralyzed Cuban political prisoner achieves a successful application to leave Cuba and go to the United States. (Aljazeera)

Science

President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces plans to launch a manned shuttle into space by 2019. (BBC) (Press TV) (The Straits Times)
The Indian government unveils a solar power touch-screen laptop, cheaper than America's iPad, expected to be on sale next year. (BBC) (The Guardian) (The Independent) (The Jakarta Post)

Sport

The French Football Federation suspends its entire team that played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. (BBC Sport) (The Independent) (Reuters)
Professional footballer Gavin Grant is found guilty of murder. (BBC) (The Independent)
The torch lighting ceremony for the first Youth Olympic Games, to be held in Singapore from August 14 to 26, is held in Olympia, Greece. (The Straits Times)