Portal:Current events/2010 June 29

Current events

• Aftermath of the Gaza flotilla clash
  • Turkey says it will return an ambassador to Israel if the Israeli government formally apologizes for the killing of nine Turkish citizens during the Gaza flotilla raid, compensates their families and when an independent commission is established into the matter. (The New York Times)
• Israel
  • Egyptian border guards fatally shoot an Eritrean woman in the stomach and leg as she tries to cross the border illegally into Israel. (BBC)
  • Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman promises no Palestinian state before 2012 after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. (Reuters)
  • United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967, Richard A. Falk, issues a statement calling Israel's plan to demolish 20 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem illegal and states the forceful transfer of four Palestinians in another incident could be a "war crime". (Reuters) (The Vancouver Sun)
  • Lebanese authorities arrest a man accused of spying for Israel for more than 15 years. (BBC)
  • An international youth charity finds that children in the West Bank live in significantly worse conditions than children in Gaza. (Aljazeera)
• United States
  • The Supreme Court rules that Nigerian families can sue drug company Pfizer for using a deadly antibiotic on their children. (BBC)
  • General Stanley A. McChrystal, who led the United States in its war on Afghanistan until last week, announces his retirement. (CNN) (Aljazeera) (BBC)
  • One of the ten people arrested in the United States for involvement in an alleged Russian spy ring is said to have used a false Irish passport, the second time this has happened recently and following the expulsion of an Israeli Dublin embassy official in protest over a similar misuse. (The Irish Times) (The Guardian) (RTÉ)
  • King Abdullah and Barack Obama meet in the United States to discuss Palestine, U.S. objections to Iran's nuclear program and the U.S. war on Afghanistan. (Aljazeera) (Arab News) (Reuters)
• Africa
  • Prime Minister of Kenya Raila Odinga undergoes brain surgery in Nairobi. (Reuters) (Daily Nation) (AllAfrica.com) (Times LIVE)
  • Rescuers in Ghana's Central Region end an operation to search for survivors from a gold mine collapse in which 70 people were thought to be dead. (My Joy Online) (BBC)
• China
  • China and Taiwan sign a trade deal in the southern mainland city of Chongqing. (AP via Google News) (Focus Taiwan News Channel)
  • China states it can have Tibet "forever" but indicates a heavy security presence will be necessary to maintain public control. (Reuters)
  • Google ends a redirect to its Hong Kong site in China and provides a new method of reaching unfiltered results after the Chinese government threatened to end its Internet Content Provider license. (BBC) (The New York Times) (AFP)
  • One body is recovered after 107 people were buried by a landslide triggered by flooding in the southwestern province of Guizhou. (Xinhua)
• A report by Human Rights Watch calls on Britain, France and Germany to stop using intelligence obtained through illegal torture in third-party countries, saying that it contradicts the European Union's anti-torture guidelines and is self-defeating in the "fight against terrorism". (Aljazeera)
• At least 26 policemen are killed in a Maoist attack in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
• At least 20 people are killed and more than 50 others are injured during a huge explosion in Hyderabad, Sindh. (The News International)
• Six people are killed in a train derailment in East Java, Indonesia. (Jakarta Globe) (CNN)
• The United Kingdom's Iraq Inquiry resumes after a break for the general election, with Douglas Brand as the first witness. (BBC)
• Thousands of workers take part in a 24 hour strike in Greece in protest against government austerity measures. (Al Jazeera) (Reuters Africa) (Xinhua)
• Sudan announces it will close its border with Libya due to the operations of Darfur rebels in the area. (BBC) (AfricaNews)
• Indonesian publisher and blogger, the "Prince of Jihad", is imprisoned for five years after being convicted of concealing information about suicide attacks on two hotels in Jakarta. (Aljazeera)
• Dr. Jayant Patel is convicted at the Supreme Court of Queensland, Australia of three charges of manslaughter committed while working at the Bundaberg Base Hospital. (AAP via The Australian)

Science

• Australian Winter
  • Sydney experiences its coldest June day in 27 years. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
  • Ballarat experiences its coldest day of the decade. (Ballarat Courier)
  • Melbourne experiences its coldest day in 2 years. (The Age) (Herald Sun)
• At least 21 people die and hundreds are evacuated after major floods in the northeast of Romania. (Yahoo News) (Hindustan Times) (Reuters)
• Hurricane Alex becomes the first hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season with warnings posted from Baffin Bay, Texas south to Mexico. (Canadian Press via Amherst Daily News)
• 21 suspected cases of swine flu A (H1N1), with one death, have been reported in Thanjavur in India. (EB) (The Times of India) (The Hindu)

Politics and elections

• Presidential transition of Noynoy Aquino:
  • Aquino names the incoming cabinet and becomes the Secretary of Interior and Local Government in acting capacity. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
  • Aquino names former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. as head of a truth commission that will put "closure on so many issues". (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
• The entire Maldives cabinet resigns en masse. (Aljazeera)
• Same-sex marriage is legalized in Iceland making it the 9th country to do so