Portal:Current events/2010 June 9

June 9, 2010 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan:
- The bodies of two Australian soldiers killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan begin their journey home. (People.cn) (Chinamil) (thisislondon) (Sky News)
- A NATO helicopter crashes near Sangin in Afghanistan's Helmand Province under hostile fire with four troops being killed. (BNO News), (AP via MSNBC)
- At least 39 people are killed and more than 70, including the groom, are wounded as an explosion rips through an evening wedding party in Arghandab, Kandahar. Television appeals are transmitted for blood donations. (BBC) (Washington Post)
China announces that 3 residents of Dandong city in Liaoning province were shot dead and one injured in a China-North Korea border incident last week. (China Daily) (Chinese Tools) (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) (People's Daily)
At least 12 people are killed and at least 22 others are wounded during fighting and a roadside blast in Mogadishu. (Reuters)

Art, culture and entertainment

Environmental themes will feature during this week's Shanghai Television Festival and the upcoming Shanghai International Film Festival, officials said at a press conference to mark World Ocean Day. (Shanghai Daily)
Michael Jackson's estate makes $1 billion since his death. (Xinhua) (china.org) (Sina)
Barbara Kingsolver wins the Orange Prize for Fiction for her sixth novel, The Lacuna. (BBC) (The Guardian) (The Hindu) (The Sydney Morning Herald)

International relations

Around 60 unsuccessful Iraqi asylum applicants are forcibly and controversially deported to Baghdad from Britain, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. Amnesty International condemns the move as the deportees face violence and mutilation in that city. (Aljazeera)
The United Nations Security Council imposes a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. (UN News Centre) (BBC) (Press TV) (Al Jazeera)
Middle East:
- President of the United States Barack Obama meets President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas at the White House in Washington, D.C., United States and promises Palestinians $400 million in US assistance for the West Bank and Gaza. (The Washington Post) (The Times of India)
- There is controversy in Egyptian media after an Egyptian member of parliament who was on the Gaza-bound flotilla says that the flotilla participants overpowered three Israeli commandos and took their weapons from them. (Ynetnews)
- Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu proposes setting up a panel of jurists to investigate non-political aspects of the fatal Gaza flotilla raid with at least one American to assist if the Obama administration approves. (news.com.au)
- Egypt lifts its closure on the Gaza Strip, allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza via Rafah and Israel eases its blockade of the Gaza Strip for food items. (Haaretz)
President Nicolas Sarkozy defends his plans to sell up to four French warships to Russia, despite concerns raised by his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili during talks taking place a few days before a visit to Paris of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. (EU Observer) (eu-russiacentre)
France closes its military bases in Senegal and removes 900 of its 1,200 troops based there. (BBC)

Law and crime

The U.S. state of Georgia executes its 24th death row inmate Melbert Ford by lethal injection. (11Alive Atlanta Georgia)
Three men are arrested, two protesters are kicked and pushed downstairs and eggs are thrown during demonstrations as Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki hides under an umbrella while leaving the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin. (RTÉ) (The Washington Post) (FCNN)
Kikaya Bin Karubi, the Congolese ambassador to the UK, says Les Resistants Combattants have said Saturday's arson attack on his London home, which destroyed several vehicles and damaged his house, was an act of retaliation for last week's death of leading human rights activist Floribert Chebeya. (BBC)
The UK government brings forward new rules which make it compulsory for immigrants from outside the European Union, particularly South Asia, to understand the English language. (BBC)
The wife of Ratko Mladić is arrested in Belgrade. (Aljazeera)
An Oxfam aid worker is kidnapped in Abéché, Chad. (BBC)
The same-sex couple, who recently came to international attention when they were convicted of homosexuality under a British colonial law, tell Malawi's The Nation that they have separated and that one of them now lives with a woman. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Dutch general election of 2010:
- Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende resigns as leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) after a disappointing election result. (Dutchnews) (Aljazeera)
- Mark Rutte, leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), obtains the most votes, with exits polls showing the party with 31 seats. (NOS)(CNN)
The results of the Philippine presidential election are certified and Noynoy Aquino and Jejomar Binay are proclaimed as President-elect and Vice President-elect at the Batasang Pambansa in a joint session of the Congress of the Philippines. (Philippine Daily Inquirer) (ABS-CBN News)
Dozens of workers in China are hurt during labour strikes, with at least 2,000 workers clashing with police in the city of Kunshan. (AFP) (Press TV) (China Daily)
Somalia:
- Somali Defense Minister and warlord Yusuf Mohammed Siad, who was leading a fight against Islamic insurgents in the country, resigns from government. (news24.com) (BBC)
- Two other ministers also resign. (IOL) (ABC News)

Science

The 2010 Millennium Technology Prize is awarded to Swiss solar innovator Michael Grätzel. (BBC)
A new in-depth genetic study on Jewish history is published in Nature: researchers analysed genetic samples from 14 international Jewish communities and 69 international non-Jewish communities. (BBC)
Researchers find that many species of snakes are in decline. The causes are unknown.(BBC) (Biol. Lett.)
The world's oldest leather shoe was found in Vayots Dzor, Armenia by a team of international archeologists. (National Post)

Sports

Nelson Mandela's grandson says his grandfather plans to attend the 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in South Africa this week. (CNTV)
The Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime to win the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals in six games. Blackhawks' captain Jonathan Toews is awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player. (TSN)